The Principle of Responsibility says:
Every individual is responsible for all the consequences of all their actions.
This is (or so they say) a core conservative belief. I would have thought, this would be an area of agreement between Gandhians and the War Party. Yet I find that Conservatives (like much of the Left, I must admit) habitually uses convoluted arguments to avoid responsibility (while loudly denouncing the excuses used by the Other Side).
There is an endless list of excuses people use, to avoid personal responsibility for their actions:
1. I was just following orders.
2. I am oppressed (or poor, powerless, unarmed, etc.).
3. Our motives were good. But some initial assumptions were flawed, so there were unintended consequences.
4. There is nothing I can do about it.
5. I had a bad upbringing. My dad beat me, and my mom didn't make me do my homework, so that's why I raped my girlfriend.
6. The collateral damage was unintended (and/or unavoidable).
7. I didn't know about it.
8. Everybody does it. They always have. It's human nature. (excuses 7 and 8 are often used together, although they are mutually contradictory)
9. It's not my job.
10. It was the lesser evil.
11. The ends justify the means.
12. Our enemies aren't human. They are (take your pick): savages, infidels, automatons controlled by a violent ideology, not the Chosen People, an inferior race (or inferior religion, or inferior culture).
13. God told me to do it; I am carrying out His work. (This, at one time or another, has been used to justify every barbarity humans are capable of. 12 and 13 are often used together, since many people think their God said "Anyone who follows any other God is subhuman and fair game.")
14. There is no other way to protect myself (or my family, or my tribe or nation). The only thing They understand is force.
15. He hit me first.
16. I was afraid he was about to hit me first. So I hit him first. (Preemptive War Doctrine).
17. I was afraid he would eventually hit me first. It was inevitable. So I hit him first. (Preventive War Doctrine). Notice how either 15, 16, or 17 can be used, to justify everyone in every war. |
