Chris Hedges

If I believe I am right and you believe you are right, what is the correct answer?

1. I am right, you are wrong
2. You are right, I am wrong
3. Since both of us are cognizant and thoughtful humans, right must be somewhere between each of our positions
4. There is no absolute right, so both of us are wrong, or both of us are right. It just depends on how you define things
5. There is one right answer. Lets find it and then we will see where each of us is relative to that one right answer.
6. No one is perfect. Therefore, even though you may be mostly right, you are not completely right under some framework, so therefore you are wrong. And, even though I may be mostly wrong, under some framework I am somewhat right, so therefore I am right.
7. It depends on your track record with me. If you have my trust, then I will believe you are right. If not, I will believe you are wrong and I am right.

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Here is my take on Chris Hedges

1. In the US, all citizens are equal under the law. Chris Hedges would make this "All people are equal under US law." How we treat a terrorist mastermind in Iraq should be no different than how we would treat a pastor in Vermont who double parked.
2. All nations are equal under international law. As anyone who lived through the OJ trial knows, court decisions may reflect issues other than the one in front of the court. Those who fear the big guy, the "abuse of power" will find for the little guy even when the little guy is wrong.
3. Trade, treaties, tariffs, foreign aid, social arrangements, business arrangements and diplomacy are also forms of conflict, where the strong can impose on the weak. Deaths and injuries occur differently with these, but to assume that they do not occur is simplistic. War is just the next step in imposing one's will.
4. One measure of a person is not how he treats his friends, but how he treats his enemies. The president is not "Bush" but "President Bush". The lack of politeness detracts from the impact of any message you are trying to deliver. Where in all your ethical readings did you come up with the belief that being impolite is good? This is one of the major failings of the left.
5. Mr. Hedges time horizon is quite short, and this is the typical problem with liberals. When all you have to go on is your feelings, they dry up quickly. A plan sometimes is better for long term goals. The correct answer is not somewhere between Sharia law and US law. The correct answer, as we know, is individual freedom without religious tests, human rights extended to all people. Anything less would be, well, uncivilized. Bringing civilization to the Israelites took 40 years, just about as long for the Ivory Coast, and probably as long for Afghanistan and Iraq. Patience is a virtue, and that can be said in a sound bite.
6. Mr. Hedges, everybody wants to rule the world. Be it fundamental Christians, Islamofascists, drug dealers, or white male liberals. If the answer is some type of unified world view, then the answer will be an amalgam of various ideas and principles, a melting pot of ideas, not a Balkanization of legal systems and rights and wrongs. Hopefully, it will not be a compromise so that everyone can feel good about their contribution, but a real system that optimizes the good of humanity, even if most of the concepts come from one source.
7. Lastly, I am quite aware that many people hate us and feel justification at either attacking us or cheering for our enemies. Guilt implies that, if the shoe were on the other foot, they would have treated us better. I do not see the evidence of that being so. I see that we have been as good, if not better, than others although admittedly not perfect. While good indeed is the enemy of the perfect, the best approach is to go from good to great, not to destroy or tear down good.

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