Last week, in my peace studies class, we were presented with four views on war and asked to choose the one that best describes our position:
Realist: War is hell--deal with it.
Neo-realist: War is a necessary but unfortunate evil, justified by the greater evil it's meant to combat.
Just War: War is often the last resort, but also as such can and should be regulated by rules and norms.
Pacifist: War is hell--and evil--and to fight evil with the evil of war is to sustain two evils.
I think it's essential to know one's beliefs, now especially with the pending escalation in Iraq. I know most people have sincere beliefs, and all sincerity should be heard. So, to anyone who might possibly read this (all 2 of you, maybe)...where do you stand?
But what are we really fighting for? Do we know? More than ever, the basic structure of a country like the US is dependent on China and India and Iraq and the Sudan, etc...Many would even argue that the nation-state is in its demise. So how can a state declare war on what's really one of its parts?
ReplyDeleteJust thoughts :) Thanks so much for posting! FYI, much of our class was aligned more neo-realist.