For the Record

I have to make this post because of some discussion that I have had with various people over the last several weeks. Readers of this blog will know that I am hyper-critical - some would say paranoid - of the abuse of government power against powerless individuals. I have repeatedly railed against the abuses that our government has perpetrated against US citizens and foreigners alike. Some people have suggested that I have actually made excuses for the conduct of fundamentalists, Jihadists, terrorists, and the like. I will now lay out my underlying thoughts on this, in as clear a fashion as I am able. First - I do not support murder, torture, bigotry or abuse. By ANYONE. Many of the tactics of the Jihadists are reprehensible, and for them, there is no justified excuse. The same goes for the detention, torture, and abuses perpetrated by "our" side (I have nothing to say to anyone who believes the we have done nothing at all for which we should be ashamed). Second - I am not responsible for the actions of Jihadists. This may seem obvious, but the fact is that I have no direct attachment to the cause or the actions of the Jihadists, and therefore I feel no moral tepidation for it. I feel revulsion, disgust, some anger, and a lot of confusion, but I know that I have no moral responsibility to answer for their actions. Third - I AM responsible (at least partially) for the actions of our government. I support the effort though my taxes, and by the fact that our government is "by the people, for the people". Therefore, if our government behaves in a way that is morally reprehensible, I have a moral responsibility to act. I am too cowardly to publicly martyr myself for the cause of morality (by refusing to pay taxes, or taking some other physical stand against injustice that I see), so I do something much less aggressive: I write. Through my writing, I attempt (in my own, small way) to raise the awareness of what is being done in our name. My hope is that, through a grass-roots swell of informed public opinion, the population will demand that our government stop participating in moral and human rights atrocities. Again, I am not responsible for what others do, I am only responsible for what I do. By supporting an organization (government) that I KNOW is involved in some of the worst moral and human rights violations in the world today, I make myself complicit in those violations. By assuming that this blog will somehow help to fight against the violations, I attempt to make small amends. Yea, yea, I know... whatever helps me sleep at night, right?