Tim asked L.E. Modesitt Jr.:

I find the moral views made by your protagonists usually to be very much in line with my own. Are they yours as well, and where do you think they originated from?

L.E. Modesitt Jr. Obviously, in one way or another, the views expressed by characters reflect the author, either in agreement or opposition to the author's own views, or somewhere in the middle. I'm hesitant to either claim or disown any set of views expressed by characters because generally the moral views of characters are less nuanced than my own. For example, in ADIAMANTE, Ecktor believes in trusting first, striking second -- regardless of circumstances, while Nathaniel Whaler in the Ecolitan books -- as well as other characters in other books -- believes in preemptive action as the way to minimize overall casualties. I tend to believe there are times when preemptive action is absolutely necessary and other times when it will lead to disaster.

On the other hand, I do share the belief expressed by many of my characters that there are moral and physical costs associated with any action, and the question is only who bears how much of them.

Most likely, whatever my personal ethical/moral/belief system is, it's been largely shaped by what I'd call a practical but Calvinist upbringing that stressed personal responsibility and the value of doing a job well... and was leery of extremism in any form.

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