Unfortunately there's a huge crowd of people on the right wing of politics everywhere who believe that war is the inevitable state of humankind. There has always been war, they will tell us, and therefore there will always be war.
Well, there are a lot of things that "always were", and yet we've put a stop to so many. You don't see a whole lot of land wars in Europe or human sacrifice anymore, do you? And there a lot more "always were"s that we're slowly stamping out: genital mutilation; asbestos; honour killing.
The most telling comment, though, regarding the father of the man who died so recently in Afghanistan, is this one from the mother of another deceased soldier:
"You've gotta believe that what they did, they did for a reason," she said, adding: "I honestly believe they're there for a good reason."
It sounds sadly desperate, doesn't it? You gotta believe. You just gotta. They can't be dying and killing for no reason. No. No way.
2 comments:
Actually, Greg, though I fervently wish what you wrote were true, dishonor killings are on the increase globally.
Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"
http://www.redroom.com/author/ellen-r-sheeley
Hm. Apparently I made an assumption that was unwarranted - that acts of wanton misogynistic stupidity were on the decrease because of my own personal experience.
Obviously enough, if there's a lot of destruction and chaos around the world, the abuse of would generally increase.
Still, I don't see anyone arguing that we should just live in a state of putting up with "honour" killings just because it "always was" that way.
Also, I don't know if "honour" and "dishonour" are the right words. Isn't this more of a reputation thing?
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