Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

by Robert Hutchinson

In these times of heightened debate amongst the freedom-minded, there are more and more errors and misconceptions sneaking into the arguments. I thought I'd run through those I've noticed in the past weeks.  

1. The people are not the government/religion. This is the big one, but I'll risk putting it first instead of last. It's big because it's ultimately the key to understanding the truth about "collateral damage." Whether anarchist or statist, I doubt anyone reading this has agreed with every action taken by his or her government. Further, I doubt very, very few have wished, intended, or were thankful for their government's most blatant aggressions. I myself refuse to be held in any way accountable for Waco/internment/Manifest Destiny/Inquisition/insert atrocity here.  

While this would seem obvious to most people who read it, most of these same people come down on the opposite side when it comes to the amorphous mass murder we call war. The terrorists find Islamic justification, so Muslims must therefore be expendable. The terrorists are funded by someone in Afghanistan (or not), so Afghanistan (or whatever country) must be destroyed.  

I find this fallacy is most easily refuted by pretending to be one of the "guilty" parties in question. You were born in Afghanistan. You despise the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, but your friend who tried to complain suddenly went missing, and you still need to find some food for tomorrow anyway. Then the cowboys arrive, cut off what little food you were getting, and kill you with a smart bomb. Or "better" yet, they kill your kids. You wouldn't be angry at all, would you? Nooo. You failed to turn into Rambo and overthrow your government. You deserve what you got.  

After reading this, if you cannot prove that such a person is not living in Afghanistan right now, you cannot advocate any retaliation that is not guaranteed to keep him out of the crossfire. There is not a bomb in the world smart enough to take an inventory of people in a building, so bombing is right out. If you continue to support such action, my principled friends and I are going to have to declare you an advocate of murder, and we really don't want to do that.  

(Oh, and while I'm on the subject, please please please try to stop using country names as subjects of sentences. "The United States supports war" and "Afghanistan harbors terrorists" are meaningless. People do things. Governments, it can be argued, do things. Countries most definitely do nothing. This is how holy wars get started.) 

2. "Anti-war" and "leftist" are not synonyms. This one isn't as important, but I am truly growing to despise it. Just because certain people oppose warfare because of concerns about globalism, discrimination, or any other idiotic worry, it does not follow that there is no principled basis for opposing war. Furthermore, just because those opposed to war on principle link to and agree with leftist anti-war arguments, it does not follow that we must share all of their beliefs. Take your broad brush and burn it; see previous warning about holy wars.  

Since I'm seeking a fair hearing for my ideas, it would only be right for me to be careful to seek the same for others. I personally believe that many leftists actually do oppose war on proper principle. They usually lose all sense of reason when capitalism is added to the mix, but some are still sane enough to believe that an innocent person is an innocent person and a bomb is a bomb.  

3. We want justice too. I'm not going to elaborate on this, as those who continue to use the smears of "supporting terrorism" and "moral equivalence" have been given a thorough talking-to, but it's worth listing.  

4. Government still isn't your friend. I've left the least divisive for last, since "civil libertarians" are still getting something of a fair shake. Insofar as government officials like Bush and Giuliani have spoken and acted out of a sincere concern and desire to help, I support them. However, in the big picture, that's about as far as I can throw my computer. Rhetoric is not intelligent simply because shaken people want to hear wisdom. Taxation remains theft in the direst of emergencies. Regulations are intrusive despite astounding poll numbers. Democrats still blow. Republicans still suck.  

Please get these straight. I don't want to still be bickering about pacifism when they issue our tracking IDs.  

October 3, 2001