Funferal

Why liberalism is morally insufficient

My annoyance at Liberal individualism is peaking again these days. Last week it was liberals such as Al Franken, talking on the Daily Show I think, trying to reclaim the phrase ‘I support the troops.’ Now, of course, on one level the reclamation makes sense – if one is highlighting the class-based nature of recruitment – but it is at heart untenable as a basis for an anti-war stance. It posits war as wrong because ‘our’ soldiers may be hurt. It follows that preventing injury to these people will outweigh far more injury caused to others, including innocent civilians. It is from this stance that the ‘destroying the village to save it’ logic emerges.

Now with evidence of torture and mistreatment of prisoners by US soldiers in Iraq, we see people complaining, not that Iraqis were hurt, but that America’s image is tarnished (and that this is why the matter should be investigated). To be able to think of atrocities primarily in this way has to represent some form of character flaw. Yes such atrocities tarnish the image of the US army/government (such as it was) but the reason there should be an investigation is because evil and wrongdoing must be rooted out, not because this might help ‘rescue’ that reputation.
The piece that provoked me today is a mail I received from MoveOn, calling for an investigation. I know they do (they must!) care about those actually hurt by these crimes, but this lead paragraph doesn’t reflect such concern – just how the protrayal of these crimes will hurt ‘us’/’them’:

Recently released photos of American soldiers abusing and torturing Iraqi prisoners have shocked the world, provoking a global backlash against our country. As the Washington Post reports, “U.S. diplomats around the world have sent troubling cables back to Washington… with warnings that the graphic photographs… could seriously affect U.S. standing and broader foreign policy.” Now more reports are coming out, and Amnesty International and other groups report that torture and human rights abuses of Iraqi detainees may be occurring routinely.