69 million page views

Authentic morality demands realism

Reader comment on item: Give War a Chance

Submitted by Dave (United States), Jun 7, 2021 at 10:44

In any culture there are moral standards. These make up the criteria by which people judge themselves and others as good or bad, worthy or unworthy. We've all seen these values in action, and we often take them for granted: The nurse who risks her life to save patients, the generous philanthropist, the brave soldier falling in defense of his country. Then there are those values that are less admirable: ostentatious wealth, status, external beauty, power. More subtly, in the West, with its inheritance from Judeo-Christian ideal, we are taught to forgive, to turn the other cheek, and that the meek will inherit the earth.
These latter pacifistic ideals stand in stark contrast to power ideologies such as fascism, Communism or Islamism. It was no accident that Hitler was able to bamboozle his adversaries for so long, since he just wanted power and domination, but they kept wishing for peace and reconciliation despite ample evidence to the contrary. The Islamic ethos glorifying victory over infidels is the opposite of Christian virtue: A virtuous Muslim is a triumphant warrior, emulating Muhammad, a virtuous Christian is a peacemaker, emulating Jesus.
These moral values are intimately bound up with a person's self-respect. This is where the trouble begins, since all people want to be seen as socially respected and virtuous. Muslims will delude themselves about achieving phantom victories and Christians and Jews will delude themselves about phantom lambs lying down with imaginary lions.
This would all be amusing were it not for the horrible consequences. If war is a a virtue in itself, then peace will always be elusive. If peace is an absolute good that resists a realistic assessment of one's adversary's intentions, then war will follow from non-deterrence. The West came within a whisker of destruction had Winston Churchill not corrected Neville Chamberlain's folly. Nowadays, jihadists and the Global Left are partners in delusion, making peace much more difficult.
Perhaps the answer is to make peace through strength and realism the ultimate virtue, regardless of one's religious inclinations, thereby elevating realistic leaders as the saviors they deserve to be.

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Reader comments (26) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Mohammad's treaties were to buy time and, then, launch even more brutal attacks [264 words]PrashantAug 4, 2021 00:17271594
Inability of Islam to Stop [177 words]M ToveyAug 18, 2021 12:01271594
2Accordingly, What are the Implications for an ISRAELI VICTORY? [280 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
RobertJul 16, 2021 05:25270023
War a Default Situation Resulting from Irreconciliable Differences - Coalition Failures [168 words]M ToveyJul 20, 2021 16:11270023
Cycle of War Now Promised From All Quarters - Hamas - Hizbollah - Russia/Syria - Iranian Islamic Regime [197 words]M ToveyJul 26, 2021 00:19270023
Nuclear Negotiations Done Deal - No Deal as Iranian Islamic Regime Continues to Draw Blood [203 words]M ToveyAug 1, 2021 16:54270023
Wartime Influences Expanding - Chain of Iranian Islamic Command Structure Shifted [132 words]M ToveyAug 3, 2021 13:32270023
Ancient Persian Gauntlet Waiting to Be Picked Up [98 words]M ToveyAug 4, 2021 00:53270023
And the Conflict Continues - Reinvigorated Hamas Refloats Balloons [31 words]M ToveyJun 15, 2021 13:25268260
Apparently - Timing is Everything - What are They Waiting for Now? [106 words]M ToveyJun 20, 2021 13:27268260
Interlude – Still in Anticipation of Next Acts of Hostility [299 words]M ToveyJun 23, 2021 11:44268260
Tripartite Summit Signals Strategic Revsion [99 words]M ToveyJun 28, 2021 10:29268260
Anxieties Building in Greater Anticipation of Increased Hostile Acts [168 words]M ToveyJul 3, 2021 14:12268260
Influences of Tisha B'av - A Changng Middle East Landscape for Israel [251 words]M ToveyJul 5, 2021 20:45268260
Contnuing Repercussions of Tisha B'av. [251 words]M ToveyJul 19, 2021 00:52268260
2The Roles of Humiliation and Martyrdom [161 words]RobertJun 11, 2021 09:41268154
Watch out for Turkey [66 words]AlexJun 7, 2021 21:15267976
Yes - Turkey Remains on the Radar - Right After Syria [151 words]M ToveyJun 8, 2021 18:32267976
2Authentic morality demands realism [348 words]DaveJun 7, 2021 10:44267950
Conundrum of Moral Issues - Morality of War Not Humanly Determined [174 words]M ToveyJun 24, 2021 13:02267950
Western complicity [31 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Dan SchnittkerJun 4, 2021 08:44267868
West Cannot Stop the Continuing War [267 words]M ToveyJun 5, 2021 15:46267868
Quelling Hostile Intentions - Incitement for Lost 'Palestinian' Cause Continues [217 words]M ToveyJun 7, 2021 17:04267868
Continuing War for the Sake of War the Sake of Empires [376 words]M ToveyJun 9, 2021 11:32267868
Celebrating the Martyr's Complex [160 words]M ToveyJun 3, 2021 15:34267839
Warrior Martyrdom - Celebrations of Death for the Wrong Reasons [145 words]M ToveyJun 10, 2021 12:57267839

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)