On Syria and finding ways to make the world ‘less horrible’

Last updated on: September 9, 2013 at 3:48 pm by Fred Clark

On Syria and finding ways to make the world ‘less horrible’ 2013-09-09T15:48:21-04:00 Fred Clark

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve only written two posts about the proposed U.S. military strikes against Syria: “Bombing Syria is not a last resort, so bombing Syria is neither just nor justifiable” and “It is happening again.”

I haven’t written more than that for much the same reason Ari Kohen discusses here:

The reason I haven’t written anything is because there hasn’t seemed to me to be anything useful to write. The situation is horrible, everyone surely knows it’s horrible, and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do to make it less horrible.

I’m frustrated by all the people who insist they’re staking out some sort of moral position by demanding the U.S. do nothing that involves the military and I’m frustrated by all the people who insist they’re staking out some sort of moral position by demanding the U.S. do something that involves the military. …

… If it seemed clear that U.S. intervention in Syria would lead to a good result for the people of Syria in the long term, I’d support it. … But — given the country’s history, demography, and geography; the make-up of the rebel forces; and the results of other recent U.S. interventions — that doesn’t seem to be the case at all.

And if it seemed clear that the people of Syria would be able to get a good result in the long term without any sort of intervention, then I’d feel better about arguing for the U.S. to stay out things. But — given the death toll of the past two years; the mass exodus of refugees; and the clear willingness of the government and the rebels to [flout] the most basic human rights norms — that doesn’t seem to be the case at all.

I disagree with Kohen somewhat because of a distinction he makes in that second paragraph and then blurs in the fourth. He first writes of “demanding the U.S. do nothing that involves the military,” but then fudges that up, unhelpfully, by equating that with “any sort of intervention” (my italics).

And that, right there, is our problem. The U.S. has become so locked into the idea that “any sort of intervention” must, by definition, “involve the military” that America has become almost unable to act otherwise — or to imagine any way that anyone could act otherwise. And so we end up with this horrible situation in which we think of the only possibilities being either to do nothing while people are being slaughtered, or else to slaughter people in response to people being slaughtered. We’ve become so accustomed to turning to the last resort of military intervention that it has become our first resort and our only resort — the only thing we know how to do and the only thing we can imagine doing or not doing.

That’s why I invoked Gene Sharp earlier. For decades, Sharp has collected and chronicled examples of effective nonviolent action from all over the world. His research — his history — shows that these approaches have been more consistently effective and efficacious than the use of violence.

Mention someone like Sharp and you’ll often encounter a hostile reaction dismissing him (and you, for mentioning him) as a feckless, irrelevant hippie. This is often expressed in a mocking tone, “So, what? You want us to go over there with daisies singing ‘Kumbaya’?” That mocking caricature confirms the problem: A lack of imagination that has ossified into a determined ignorance — an ignorance that clings tightly to remaining ignorant. It confirms that we are unable to find other solutions and other approaches because we have given up looking for them.

We have given up looking for other approaches even when we know that the one approach we’re committed to does not and cannot work. We have given up looking at other approaches even though we know that many such approaches can and do work.

The next step in dismissing any effort to broaden our imagining is a transparent bit of dishonesty. Advocates of military intervention as a first-and-only resort will demand that anyone arguing otherwise must, at this instant, produce an alternative plan that would guarantee a successful outcome of perfect peace and justice. This comprehensive alternative plan, it is demanded, must pass a test that the default call for military intervention has already failed. They cannot provide a magic-bullet solution, but they demand others produce a magic *non-*bullet solution. Defenders of the military default are thus betting in bad faith: You must pay up if you lose, but they owe nothing when they lose. Such bad faith bets are another clear sign that those demanding them have run out of ideas and arguments.

I don’t have a magic non-bullet solution for the horrible situation in Syria, but I’m far from convinced that more bullets will make that situation any less horrible.

I don’t accept that bombing and “doing nothing” are the only possible options when confronted with such horrible situations. Surely “any sort of intervention” can be more creative — and more effective — than only interventions that involve bombs and bullets and death.

Uncategorized

just war

Previous Post

September 9, 2013

7 things @ 9 o'clock (9.9)

Next Post

September 9, 2013 'Option is not a failure' and aiding Syrian refugees

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category class warfare evangelicals Iraq Left Behind Mammon music Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What famous cathedral is in Paris, known for its flying buttresses and rose windows?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Notre Dame St. Peter's Canterbury St. Paul's