#338 — The Sin of Moral Equivalence
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
146.6318
Summary
In this episode, I make a point that should not be controversial, because it cuts through all the arguments and pseudo-arguments that attempt to paint some moral equivalence between Israel and its enemies, or to justify the actions of Hamas as though they were a response to Israeli provocations, or the daily humiliation of living under occupation, and literally digging up graves, in Gaza. The point I'm making now says nothing about the causes of the recent violence in Israel, and yet it cuts right through them, and cuts through the pretensions that have been peddling for years about the role that religion plays in inspiring conflict. And yet it doesn't prejudge any of the questions that people might disagree about. It doesn't prejudice any of them, either. It's a simple point, and it's one that's not controversial because it's not even controversial at all, and that's why it's so important to make it. And it's also important to remember that there are people and cultures that revel in war crimes, and don't celebrate them. And that's a cause for jubilation, not celebration. And if we have been wrong about these dichotomies, then we have all been guilty of war crimes at one time or another, and if we're all guilty of crimes, then it's time to go back to one of two things: one of them is a war crime, and the other is a crime, which we should be celebrating as a sacred and a sacred crime. If you agree with me on this dichotomy, then you're on the wrong side of the dichotomy. of course, and you have been part of the right side of history, and not part of history of history and history of which we can be a victim of the moral progress and that which is a sacred war crime if you're guilty of it or not guilty of that dichotomy at least you ve been a victim, right or wrong of it, right? I hope you agree that we can all agree that this is a good one, right and wrong, and agree that war crimes are a matter of justice, not a right and a right, not of justice but not a crime . not a good or a bad one right and good, not wrong, not bad, not good and a good thing a good and bad in a time of war, not right and bad?
Transcript
00:00:00.000
I want to say a few things about recent events in Israel.
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I'm sure I'll do future podcasts about this and speak with a wide range of relevant experts.
00:00:30.320
But for the moment, I'd like to say something brief that stands a chance of being useful
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as we watch the initial expressions of support for Israel begin to decay as it wages war in Gaza and perhaps beyond.
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As many of you know, I've spent years talking about the clash as I see it between Western civilization and Islam.
00:00:51.760
Specifically, I've spoken and written about the connection between the actual doctrines of Islam and jihadist violence.
00:00:58.440
Of course, this violence has fallen out of the news in recent years, especially since the collapse of the Islamic State.
00:01:08.260
But I've been under no illusion that the problem has gone away.
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Now, those of you who have been following my work for 20 years know that I've said everything I have to say on this topic ad nauseum.
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And I'm sure I'll just periodically repeat myself for the rest of my life.
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Because eruptions of jihadist violence and the attendant secular moral confusion about it will be with us for generations.
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However, I don't want to rehash any of my criticism of Islam here.
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I'll just briefly remind you of what I believe, which is that there is no possibility of living in peace with jihadists.
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So whether we want to admit it or not, we are perpetually at war with them.
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And we must win a wider war of ideas with everyone both within the Muslim world and outside it who is confused about that.
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And there's no place on earth where the truth about jihadism is more obvious or excruciating
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and the moral confusion about it more reprehensible than Israel today.
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But leaving all of that to one side, for the moment I'd like to make a very simple point
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Because it doesn't prejudge any of the questions that people might disagree about.
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You don't have to agree with me about Islam or about the role that it plays in inspiring conflict.
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The point I'm making now says nothing about the causes of the recent violence in Israel.
00:02:38.220
And yet it cuts through all the arguments and pseudo-arguments that attempt to paint some moral equivalence
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between Israel and its enemies, or to justify the actions of Hamas as though they were a response
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to Israeli provocations, to the growth of settlements, or the daily humiliation of living under occupation.
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There hasn't been an occupation there since 2005, when Israel withdrew from the territory unilaterally,
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forcibly removing 9,000 of its own citizens, and literally digging up Jewish graves.
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The Israelis have been out of Gaza for nearly 20 years, and yet they have been attacked from Gaza ever since.
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But even a statement like that wades too far into controversy.
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Whatever you think about the origins of this conflict,
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whatever you believe about the role that religion plays here, or doesn't play,
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whatever you think about colonialism, or globalism, or any other ism,
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whether you're a fan of Noam Chomsky or Samuel Huntington,
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you should be able to acknowledge the following claims
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to be both descriptively true and ethically important.
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At this moment in history, there are people and cultures
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that harbor very different attitudes about violence and the value of human life.
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There are people and cultures that rejoice, positively rejoice,
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Conversely, there are people and cultures that seek to avoid killing innocent civilians,
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and they occasionally prosecute and imprison their own soldiers
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There are people and cultures who revel in the anguish of hostages
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and prisoners of war who will parade them before cheering mobs
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and often allow them to be assaulted, or raped, or even murdered.
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and all of this carnage is a cause for jubilation.
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Conversely, there are people and cultures who find such barbarism revolting,
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and again, would be inclined to prosecute anyone on their own side
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In short, there are people and cultures who revel in war crimes,
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and who do not hide these crimes, or their celebration of them,
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but rather proudly broadcast their savagery for all the world to see.
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who have given us the very concept of a war crime
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of maintaining the moral progress of civilization.
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and this will absorb all the nuance and nonsense
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that may be percolating in the brains of many listeners,
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that we in the West have been on the wrong side
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have at one time or another been guilty of war crimes.
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all of human conflict was just a litany of war crimes.
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in fact, to find large pockets of Western culture
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from what we now see in much of the Muslim world.
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celebrating the lynchings that occurred in the American South
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to watch some young man or woman be tortured to death
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and then strung up on a tree or lamppost for all to see.
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Seeing the pictures of these people in their Sunday best,
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having arranged themselves for a postcard photo
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often took souvenirs of the body home to show their friends.
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Teeth, ears, fingers, kneecaps, internal organs,
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and sometimes displayed them in their places of business.
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that there are permanent differences between groups of people.
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that happen to be ascendant at any given time and place.
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is that if we recognize the monstrosities of the past,
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we should recognize the monstrosities of the present
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and acknowledge that at this moment in human history,
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for the purpose of using them as human shields.
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I'm talking about something far more inscrutable.
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who will strategically put their own non-combatants,
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for fear of killing or maiming innocent non-combatants.
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can be found together in their most perfect forms,
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And it's natural for ethical and educated people