“I abhor the targeting of civilians in any armed conflict, though why those who rain bombs on defenceless people should be allowed to lecture anyone on terrorism beats me. If there is a war, then Britain, given the complicity of Blair, could become a prime terrorist target. He is thereby potentially a bigger danger to our country than Saddam ever was.” – Jimmy Reid, The Scotsman.
THE DEATH OF RAWLS: Perhaps the most self-effacing but influential American political philosopher of recent times, John Rawls, died Sunday. Jacob Levy has a generous appreciation and some links to further reading. I agree with Levy. Although Rawls’s writing never, to my mind, plumbed the psychological, spiritual and moral depths of the great political philosophers, his bold attempt to re-think liberalism from first premises reinvigorated political theory in the 1970s and became the basis for much valuable and intricate criticism – a model for what philosophy can do.
THE ISRAELI VICTIMS: Five documented names should suffice: Haggai Sheffi, Shai Levinhar and Leon Lebor in the towers; and Danny Lewin and Alona Abraham in the planes. Dozens of Jewish-Americans also perished. It sickens me I even have to report on this easily accessible information and that a professor at a major university, with the same facts at his fingertips, chose to perpetrate an evil lie instead. One reader also had a fitting response:
My standard response to the “No Jews died at the World Trade Center” slander is “I went to David M. Weiss’ memorial service. He was Jewish. So are his kids. I’ve met them. If you don’t believe me, ask the surviving members of Rescue 1, FDNY. But stand far enough back when you ask.”
THE PURGE BEGINS: A gay seminarian kicked out not for sex but for outspokenness. The Church hierarchy believes that the way to solve this difficult question is to enforce silence on anyone who might know something about it. They keep impressing with their wisdom, don’t they?
IN THE MIDST OF WAR: The Israelis decide to translate the Federalist Papers into Hebrew and have a major conference about them. Somehow, I don’t think they used to do that in South Africa.
REPRESSION OR OPENNESS: Dan Drezner has some challenging points about which kinds of societies are most endangered by HIV and AIDS. He says those that cannot allow open debate about sexuality; those who restrict freedom of speech and open-ended scientific research; and those that can separate church and state. The alternative, he argues, is far more fragile:
Some, like [Phyllis] Schlafly, may argue that there is another option – a fundamentalist regime that actually gets its citizens to practice sexual abstinence. This could work in theory, but it’s a much less robust strategy. Once AIDS occurs in these societies, it’s impossible to stop, since the state can’t admit its existence without admitting its founding principles are being violated. Any discussion would have to admit the possibility of illicit sex and drug use. In fact, the spread of AIDS in totalitarian societies is likely to be much faster because of the state’s reluctance to ever publicly broach the topic.
I would also add a free market in pharmaceuticals. Alas, on that score, we’re headed in the opposite direction.
The Dish 