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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank
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To: Yogizuna who wrote (42070)1/8/2002 4:34:14 PM
From: Solon  Read Replies (2) of 82486
 
THey are in a minority I believe (I hope). The position is so repugnant to the average human being from all cultures, that most will not climb into the "bear pit" to "discuss" it.

One can understand the terrible craving for revenge at the time. All the familes and lives destroyed; the atrocities from all sides; humankind at her ugliest. But even at the time there were always those who could not stomach torture, murder of prisoners, etc., even though it was widely practiced from all sides.

This seemed to be a combination of ignoring advice from leaders, and mixing in a very real and justified fear of Communism expanding her physical and psychological foot holds. By showing what they had they got everything on the table...and so began the Cold War.

I always hear apologists talking about the benefits of hindsight, and holding forth that decisions at the time were moral--even if they were not later. These people do not understand philosophy or ethics. The morality of the decision to target innocents as a means to an end stands independent of what people do, or do not know of future intelligence. There is always hindsight to fill in the unknown, but this does not invalidate or remove the personal obligation of moral agency, NOW.

If the principle is one of expediency or opportunism, then I think most of the people in America and in the world have been adhering to a higher principle. Those who would place the moral issue of the tasrgeting of noncombatants under the principle of expediency are dangerously mad. But there has to be a higher principle, and for the most part the human race have tried to preach it.
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