Moral Equivalence!

I have come to find that this administration and its following suffer from the egregious idea of moral equivalence and the philosophy of moral relativism. To offer a fairly glib interpretation of these two ideas I state that moral equivalence is the idea of justifying one’s behaviors, ideas, and actions by comparing them to another’s. The other’s behaviors, ideas, and actions are usually portrayed as either equivalent in their wrong-doings or are considered to be the greater of the two evils. Therefore, as the lesser of two evils it essentially gives the person(s) carte blanche to do as they will. Moral relativism is the idea that ethics and morals are not universal, but, instead are always to be put in the context of one’s culture, history, and society. While I do slightly agree with this philosophy, I believe that when person(s) take it to the extreme and put ethics and morals into such a narrow purview that it can become dangerous. Both of these practices can be used to consolidate power over a populace and take away essential freedoms without notice.

So, where am I going with this, you might ask? This has been a long summer with many controversial ideas being put forth, both good and bad. Debate has been roaring over healthcare, cap and trade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, taxes, the sky falling, kids singing, birds chirping, food, tires, unions, dogs, and just about a million other things. Well, debate has been roaring on most of these issues from most sides of the political spectrum. Over the last few months I’ve noticed this ever growing phenomenon which has quickly become one of my biggest pet peeves. It’s a phrase uttered by both politicians and the common man when they can’t win a debate or simply don’t want to actually have an honest discussion over an intense issue. What is it you might ask? Well it’s three simple words. “BUSH DID IT!”

Yes, most debates over these last few months have ended with those simple three words as if it were some magical get out of jail free card. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard these words come out of the mouths of my friends, family, and the common man when trying to have an honest debate. More so, I am amazed when I hear local, state, national, and federal politicians at town halls or on television actually utter this phrase. It is amazing, however, because this works. You heard me right, it works somehow. The person merely says this and the debate ends then and there; if one keeps on going one will just hear those words over and over. I always conjure up the image in my head of the child in kindergarten who knows that they are wrong, but, instead of acknowledging it just puts fingers in his ears and screams, “lalalalala, no, no, no, I’m right, you’re wrong,” while running away.

I just want to quickly look at this phrase and tell those who utter it how dangerous this argument truly is. First, does a person’ former action always justify another’s? One can aptly retort with the phrase that we were once taught as children; do two wrongs make a right? The answer is simple. No, they don’t! I am not going to stand before you asking to suspend habeas corpus because well President Lincoln did it. The idea that because someone did something wrong allows you to do something wrong is extremely ludicrous and quite scary. Which brings me to my second point; I recall that when President Bush did these same exact actions you were screaming bloody murder. I recall people in the streets protesting and becoming upset over these actions of our former president. Yet, when our current president does the same exact thing it is all of a sudden fine. If it is was wrong in the past then why is it right now? You have already made the argument that action A is illegal and immoral, yet you justify it by saying, “well it’s ok when our guy does it because the precedent has already been set by a former.” Seriously? Either it is wrong or it is not, you cannot have it both ways.

I honestly hope that eventually we can get beyond this and actually debate these topics. There are many sides of every story that need to be explored and heard. However, what this does is kill the debate and we are all none the better. Our politicians and government need to answer the hard questions and should have the feet put to the fire. If we blindly accept what they offer us then we will soon see the end to individual liberties and freedoms. At times we should explore the precedents that have been set, but, they should not always justify our actions. What is right for one administration is not always right for another. Keep debating and keep questioning and move forward!

I can imagine that I will get asked the following question, “Why didn’t you question Bush then, where were you then?” First, I would like to say that I was not too fond of him I opposed many of his policies, like the bailouts and his stance on immigration. Second, though, I would like to ask you, “are you not doing the same thing that you are accusing me of doing?”