Getting practical
May. 12th, 2004 03:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arpadLet’s face it – a double morale standard do exist.
Former Iraq could attack neighbor countries and kill thousands of its own citizens. Assad can openly feed terror groups. Arafat can spit on agreements he made. Chechen militants can bomb crowded stadium. Zimbabwe can push white farmers off their land. North Korea can use nukes as valid argument in getting aid. No one seriously count it as crossing a red line.
Why? Because all are silently sure: this is what those barbaric states are supposed to do.
On other hand, US occupation of Iraq, Israel targeted killings of terrorists, Russian reconquest of Chechnya, Serbian attempt to find military solution in Kosovo were labeled a grave offense to humanity.
Jail abuse by US soldiers or lone Jewish terrorist instantly become a point of national politics. Point that forces country leaders to mutter apologies and start investigations. Whereas cutting off head of captured American or killing Jewish children is just legitimate show of people’s anger. Whereas habit of killing your own sister or daughter for family honor sake is just a part of Islam domestic culture. Whereas – well you all know what I am talking about.
In the end of previous century there was hope of raising common degree of civilized behavior in the world. Do we still believe in that now?
I am afraid that the situation will continue, amplified by the media, and unresolved on every level of political and ethical thought.
And if that will continue long enough - at some point Western feeling of moral superiority will snap. I am horrified by the consequences. Because with superiority goes responsibility.
You think that US behavior in Iraq bad? Well – imagine the same but without any “program of rebuilding”. Imagine the same as a true ruthless conquest aimed to take natural resources, kill most of population and push the rest into Stone Age. Do you really think US, France, Japan, Russia can not do that? Do you really think that caught between economical and political troubles they will remain sane?
Former Iraq could attack neighbor countries and kill thousands of its own citizens. Assad can openly feed terror groups. Arafat can spit on agreements he made. Chechen militants can bomb crowded stadium. Zimbabwe can push white farmers off their land. North Korea can use nukes as valid argument in getting aid. No one seriously count it as crossing a red line.
Why? Because all are silently sure: this is what those barbaric states are supposed to do.
On other hand, US occupation of Iraq, Israel targeted killings of terrorists, Russian reconquest of Chechnya, Serbian attempt to find military solution in Kosovo were labeled a grave offense to humanity.
Jail abuse by US soldiers or lone Jewish terrorist instantly become a point of national politics. Point that forces country leaders to mutter apologies and start investigations. Whereas cutting off head of captured American or killing Jewish children is just legitimate show of people’s anger. Whereas habit of killing your own sister or daughter for family honor sake is just a part of Islam domestic culture. Whereas – well you all know what I am talking about.
In the end of previous century there was hope of raising common degree of civilized behavior in the world. Do we still believe in that now?
I am afraid that the situation will continue, amplified by the media, and unresolved on every level of political and ethical thought.
And if that will continue long enough - at some point Western feeling of moral superiority will snap. I am horrified by the consequences. Because with superiority goes responsibility.
You think that US behavior in Iraq bad? Well – imagine the same but without any “program of rebuilding”. Imagine the same as a true ruthless conquest aimed to take natural resources, kill most of population and push the rest into Stone Age. Do you really think US, France, Japan, Russia can not do that? Do you really think that caught between economical and political troubles they will remain sane?
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-12 07:29 pm (UTC)First of all: you are wrong. We are not going to snap. Yet. The main reason being that nothing the enemy has done so far warrants "taking natural resources, killing most of population and pushing the rest into Stone Age" as dictated by the oldest moral standard of all - "an eye for an eye". It's unlikely any amount of economic or political troubles will make us step over it.
Now, if tomorrow North Korea nukes Seattle or LA, killing 75% of the population there, we (the US) might in response obliterate a country or two - but that won't violate any moral standards as it will be considered self-defense or a legitimate deterrent of future attacks (and at least before the war in Iraq the rest of the world would have been on our side - now we probably won't elicit much sympathy due to our own violation of other moral standards).
Another possible scenario of potential snapping - if the extremists among us get even more power than they already have. I doubt you can sell the logic "we nuked Japan and look how well they turned out!" to the majority of the public in the US, but there are other political means of advancing radical goals. We can discuss them at a later time, if you wish.
Back to the issues of morality. I don't think there are double standards. Nobody assumes that "those barbaric states are supposed to do" whatever barbaric things they do or "that just legitimate show of people's anger". But a lot of us assume that we have little control over it, unless we step over our own moral standard. That's the trick - maintain the standard and still improve something in the world. Not easy, as the example of Iraq is showing - if you remember, we wanted to raise "common degree of civilized behavior in the world" by building democracy in the Middle East. Noble goal, and at least one person still believes in it. So don't worry, idealists among us are alive and well. However, implementation sucks.
There's no feeling of superiority either - there's only the acknowledgment of our own moral standard and, as you pointed out, of the responsibility that comes with it. That's why the apologies, investigations, etc. - we have to follow our own laws. Just a bunch of people doing their jobs.