Ethics 101

I realize that Harper's magazine is not well-known for its objectivity or depth but its recent news summary is an example of ethical myopia.

One of its news items is "Israel bombs Lebanon." That's it. No explanation as to why the Israelis bombed - it was in response to a terrorist attack - or where they bombed - they hit a terrorist stronghold - because those facts must not matter.

Just "Israel bombs Lebanon."

This is a hot button for me because it is part of a trend to treat non-equivalent actions as equivalent. The nation that strikes back in self-defense is treated as the moral equivalent of the one that attacked first. It's the "cycle of violence" school of thought that gives the transgressor an unjustified equality with the victim. Just as in the Second World War - right? - when the U.S. and Japan entered a cycle of violence.

Of course, "Israel bombs Lebanon" is even worse because it doesn't even argue equivalence and just takes after the innocent party. It reveals a great deal about the mindset of the person who wrote that simple sentence.