A Swiss businessman told a new friend of mine that if there were no soldiers – there would be no wars. Now I think almost everyone reading this would agree that it would be like saying, if there were no policemen – there would be no crime.
A few weeks ago the wife of my cousin was also confused as to why someone like myself would be a soldier. She thought it counter-logical to my apparent philosophy. And since the past little while I have consistently met people with similar ideas opposing war. Now to be fair, their reasoning is never consistent. Some think out of logic, others don’t. The latter being by far the majority.
So how do I explain a passion for justice? How do I explain that I am sick of living in a world where good people are afraid of bad people? I am sick of reading and seeing stories of persecution, of rampant injustice with no accountability. Christians say that revenge is for the Lord, I think the Lord works in many ways… not just in the eternal realm (take note of the entire old testament narrative, and also Christ’s Action – his reactive righteous anger in the temple). Was Hitler a man to have simply thought as many did, “Oh God will have his revenge, just have faith and remain steadfast.” It is shameful when good people do nothing and then hide behind their faith. The Bible stands for Justice, the God of Love hates evil… for that is what defines love. Those who believe should delve deeper into the Old Testament, and begin to read the New in light of the Old. For the New was written in that very way.
If I can save the life of even one good person by accelerating this ‘eternal judgment’ by the Almighty, I will. And I will take the burden of guilt, and whatever judgment I receive from Him. Now the intellectuals of this world will have alarm bells going off just about now. Who am I to determine what is right and wrong and then dare to act upon it? “who do you think you are?” “You have the spirit of a dangerous dictator…” etc. etc. This is absolute nonsense. The day that we can no longer see what is right and wrong will be the day we can no longer sense good and bad, no longer feel love, no longer feel hope, no longer feel peace, and no longer be able to look at nature with a sense of beauty. No longer be able to smile at people laughing uncontrollably. No longer be able gaze upon an old couple holding hands as though they were all that was left in the world, without tenderness and great compassion. No longer be appalled by torture, by discrimination to the point of evil, by men who abuse their wives and their children just because they – these men - are weak and pathetic, sickened by a group of kids who go around insulting women and then kicking them to the ground. Sickened by a genocide, where people are slaughtered with machetes just because of a physical feature. Must I go on? Does humanity not know what is healthy? Does humanity not know what love feels like? Does not humanity hate what is evil? Does not Nature itself hate what is evil? We know when it is wrong, because it hurts inside. Watch a child when something bad happens around him. Watch the spirit of a man break when his world gets taken from him… You don’t need to be God to see and feel pain. You don’t need to be God to stop someone from hurting your family. You don’t need to be God to see the tears of a person crying out in despair – the gift of life stolen from them because of corruption.
A good person aches for the sorrows of others. I believe that if it weren’t for fear, a good person would be the first to pick up arms and defend those in need. This fear tries to find an excuse, for Christianity this is a couple verses taken out of the Bible about vengeance. Even though 75% of the Bible tells a completely different story. For idealists, they completely forget about the state of reality in which we live. We live forward, but understand backwards. (This is a world where ‘me’ always comes before ‘you’… and unless everybody has everything; conflict will forever reign) There will always be evilness in this world, there will always be a drive for power and money. And there will always be exploitation and suffering in order for someone to reach this position. Love simply cannot tolerate evil. And because of this, Love will always stand against evil… to the point where one day, Evil.. will begin to fear and tremble.
These are my simple thoughts.
Just after having written this yesterday morning. I went into downtown Brussels. I was waiting for a metro when a man grabbed a girl on a bench by her hair. He dragged her off the bench then began fully punching her in the face. Over and over again.
Without thinking I quickly moved towards him and grabbed him from behind. He warned me to back off. When he started threatening me, she had a chance to run away. He tried to grab her again but I held him back until she was gone. Of course this is where it all began. All his violence turned towards me, and he began yelling for all his friends in the area to help him. Simply put, it was a Moroccan community and everybody who was of that origin started coming around and defending their kind, so to speak. I was pushed against the wall, as young Moroccans began coming out of everywhere. I was pretty much a dead man.
I was punched a few times in the face, then the metro arrived. I just managed to push myself through the mess and barely got on the metro as the doors were closing. Only three of the guys managed to get on with me. Of course they told me that I was going to be stabbed, and that I had no idea who I was dealing with. Then they began calling on their cells phones, because apparently three against one is still not even enough for these manly men. So at every stop a couple more of them would get on and continue to add their threatening comments. Eventually some big leader guy got on the metro, they all went to him and began telling him what I had supposedly done to their “little brother.”
The metro stopped, I went out at the stop, waited a few seconds… the doors beeped and then got back on last second. I think I would be lying in the hospital right now if I hadn’t managed to barely get on that first metro. There was no point discussing with these people… maybe it is their youth, and I quickly realized that if I had done even one aggressive movement while surrounded and cornered, it would have been over.
All this for what? This is the world we live in. People do nothing. They just watch… because the people who do something pay a heavy price. One that is only worth it in principle… but for this principle, I hope that I would lay down my life.
Ironically it is a moral stance which has allowed Brussels to develop in this way. The average Belgian is disenfranchised by minorities (to some extent) losing entire neighborhoods to sociopath delinquents.
The reaction to this is one of submission, that the actions of a small group against the majority are ipso-facto a result of some racial injustice. People are indignant about the act itself, but accept the systematic racism (with violent expression) within these communities.
In my view it is similar to the how some victims of rape feel that they did something to deserve it. In simple terms the public is not willing to face the injustices upon them brought about by these communities because it feels morally bound to take on the role of the fictitious oppressor.
I apologise for this harsh view, but I am tired of seeing and hearing these things in Brussels over and over again ending with the same apologist rhetoric about their youth or that “they are really friendly yet downtrodden people”. I’m glad you stood up for something, Belgian society probably never will.
Hi Pierre
I know this isn’t totally related but popped into my head after reading your post. Chris Hedges wrote a book called ‘War is a force that gives us Meaning’ (sounds very right wing American, but isn’t!) Perhaps it’s interesting for you if you don’t already know him.
He writes well — I have read his other recent book on Atheism.
Hope you are well, perhaps we’ll see each other in Brussel sometime (or indeed Cologne, you’re welcome to visit!)
B
I think that there is very little that I disagree with my little friend. If I could ask a question however: To what extent then is ethics no longer subjective but intrinsic? For someone so enveloped in the hyper-modern world, relativity will continually bring about questions of what right one country has to go on the offensive. Or is it a matter of morality? I’m sorry I get confused between the two sometimes.
martin B. i am not sure who you are – nor is it really of any importance. but thankyou for your comment. i assume you are from brussels. i generally agree with your ‘harsh view’ as you call it.. we will pay a heavy price for our tolerance..
hey big guy
basically, ethics is the plural form of morality. so, no real difference.
and yes, not subjective – intrinsic is far truer. it is something far deeper than preferring vanilla to chocolate. it is only thanks to those who are ‘intellectually fashionable’ that ethics has been discussed in the realm of subjectivity and objectivity. it is never just one or the other… never have we found truth in this paradigm of yes or no, black or white. but our scientific world likes formulas. and whatever isn’t formulaic is… well, menially subjective. oh the age of reason…