Respecting the other side

This entry was originally at http://kingsley.blog-city.com/read/53763.htm

Ashish pointed me to this site, and I must admit, it’s one of the few rationally argued cases against why America should not go to war against Iraq. On the other hand, the photos he pointed to are but a one-sided emotional appeal to stop the war, as much as those of the celebrations in Baghdad are a one-sided appeal for it. For good or for worse, this war has caused extreme polarization of political groups, with neither side willing to report anything that might lend support the other. It’s gotten to the point where neither side really respects the other. The liberation is for real. So is the human cost, in lives and disabilities and relationships. It’s a fine line drawn on shades of gray whether you think one is worth the other. I feel that it was worth it. Others have reasoned that it wasn’t, and I do respect that.

What I do not respect are the Bush bashers, the US haters, the unreasoning throng whose sole refrain comes down to “its all for oil” and “bush is a warmongering idiot capitalist”. Against such an educated and reasoned assessment, I have no defence. I must admit that my respect for such people crumbles before such an onslaught of intelligent analysis.

PS:A lot of times, what is being questioned by the anti-war group is the motivation and timing of the war, rather than the war itself. I’ve had those questions myself. However, I came to the conclusion that they where irrelevant to the question of whether there should be a war or not. I will judge the war by the way it is waged and its results, not by the suspected motivations of the coalition. Most opinions on the motivations of the pro-war and anti-war camps are just that: opinion and conjecture.

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