And there, of course, is the rub. In the final analysis, you have to balance all the facts you have, the frameworks for making decisions you have, and then decide, hopefully with your gut and you mind in some form of agreement, based on your values, and knwoign that there will be consequences, whether you're right or wrong.
And people of good conscience and conviction often differ, even after they're thought it all out carefully, because their values differ. Witness our disagreement concerning Afghanistan. I believe that you are an honourable person who evaluated the situation based on your knowledge and values and formed your opinion accordingly in the belief that it was the best possible thing to do in the face of harm or injustice, and I'd hope you would grant me the same courtesy - a courtesy which I don't, unfortunately, grant to many of the people who actually made the decision.
(As an aside, I'd never argue that life was better for women under the Taliban - but I'm more likely to argue that political and economic pressure, and direct support to women's organisations on the ground, such as RAWA, might have done more good in the long run, since women's lives so far have not improved all that much in a great many parts of Afghanistan, and aren't likely to, IMO, since the mission was never actually about helping women, that was just the cover story used to sell it to liberals. I suspect that if a strong governemnt could pull itself together and take control of the country, and take on the job of hunting out what remains of the Taliban and any of Bin Laden's associates still in the area, The Powers That Be wouldn't give a rat's ass if that government continued to vicimise women and allow women to be victimised - as Karzai's goverment does, because he hasn't the power to make changes that no one there who has power wants.)
It's actually comthing I think about a lot - I *feel* that my decisions and opinions are as right as an imperfect person who is really trying in the face of imperfect information can manage, but I know that I can't really know that I'm right. But to do nothing is almost always wrong, at least in the kinds of situations I'm thinking about.
I sometimes envy the people who, at least so it seems, have the kinds of values and worldviews that can allow them to be certain of the rightness of their decisions and actions.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-08-21 12:29 am (UTC)And there, of course, is the rub. In the final analysis, you have to balance all the facts you have, the frameworks for making decisions you have, and then decide, hopefully with your gut and you mind in some form of agreement, based on your values, and knwoign that there will be consequences, whether you're right or wrong.
And people of good conscience and conviction often differ, even after they're thought it all out carefully, because their values differ. Witness our disagreement concerning Afghanistan. I believe that you are an honourable person who evaluated the situation based on your knowledge and values and formed your opinion accordingly in the belief that it was the best possible thing to do in the face of harm or injustice, and I'd hope you would grant me the same courtesy - a courtesy which I don't, unfortunately, grant to many of the people who actually made the decision.
(As an aside, I'd never argue that life was better for women under the Taliban - but I'm more likely to argue that political and economic pressure, and direct support to women's organisations on the ground, such as RAWA, might have done more good in the long run, since women's lives so far have not improved all that much in a great many parts of Afghanistan, and aren't likely to, IMO, since the mission was never actually about helping women, that was just the cover story used to sell it to liberals. I suspect that if a strong governemnt could pull itself together and take control of the country, and take on the job of hunting out what remains of the Taliban and any of Bin Laden's associates still in the area, The Powers That Be wouldn't give a rat's ass if that government continued to vicimise women and allow women to be victimised - as Karzai's goverment does, because he hasn't the power to make changes that no one there who has power wants.)
It's actually comthing I think about a lot - I *feel* that my decisions and opinions are as right as an imperfect person who is really trying in the face of imperfect information can manage, but I know that I can't really know that I'm right. But to do nothing is almost always wrong, at least in the kinds of situations I'm thinking about.
I sometimes envy the people who, at least so it seems, have the kinds of values and worldviews that can allow them to be certain of the rightness of their decisions and actions.