Honzo linked to this post, which criticizes the Vatican's statements about Israel's current military action, implying they are somewhat naïve about the reality of war. This author apparently believes it is necessary for Israel to retaliate against Hezbollah’s aggression with force above and beyond the original attack. Following this same rule of war, the only thing for the Palestinians to do is to respond with even greater force, which will invite more retaliation from Israel, and so on. It doesn’t take a military strategist to see where this is going.

Escalated retaliation does nothing but perpetuate violence. It is precisely what allowed a single man’s assassination to be the cause of the First World War. And yet we have people citing conventional wisdom in telling us this is the way it has to be. Perhaps there’s something to be said for the virtue of naïveté.

I remember when I was in grade school and I first learned about Hitler’s attempted extermination of Jews in World War II. I was utterly confused, not only about his motive for doing such a thing, but also about the practical side of it: How did he know which people were Jewish? They looked to me just like anybody else. It wouldn’t be until college that I would eventually learn the stereotypical features that are attributed to Jewish people. I can’t help but think that the world would be better off if we never learned in our old age to discriminate one group of people from another.

So how naïve is it to expect people to practice restraint when retaliating against a physical attack? In the Old Testament Moses commanded the Israelites to take “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” I’ve often wondered if this statement is not so much a free pass to take revenge, as it is often interpreted, but rather a limit on the damages on can seek. In other words, it directs the Israelites to take an eye for an eye and no more, perhaps to specifically avoid the escalating cycle of retribution that comes from dealing out excessively harsh punishments. So perhaps this is the model the nation of Israel ought to follow today.

For those naïve Catholics at the Vatican, though, Moses’ command is not the final word on the matter. They profess to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, who preached, “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Talk about naïve! This command is so contrary to conventional wisdom that almost nobody has attempted to follow it in the last two thousand years. The 20th century saw two leaders who interpreted Christ’s words literally and used them as the basis for their own responses to violence. Their names were Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Both advanced their nonviolent revolution despite being called idealistic fools, and both were successful. Gandhi brought about the liberation of the Indian people from the British government and King was an instrumental part of the African-American civil rights movement, which created lasting changes in America’s laws and, more importantly, people’s views on racism.

After seeing the results of conventional wisdom in America’s ongoing war in Iraq and in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I think what this world needs is a lot more idealistic naïveté.

What's the difference between Palestinian suicide bombers killing Israeli civilians, and Israel's government killing Lebanese civilians?

How can a morally consistent person condemn one act of terrorism, but support another?

From NPR:

Israel bombed a series of bridges and roads across Lebanon, dividing the country and stranding citizens desperate to flee. One missile hit a van full of civilians, killing 15 according to local police.

Israeli forces also struck gas stations, and an upscale boardwalk in central Beirut, and continued to pound the south Beirut neighborhood that is Hezbollah's stronghold. Lebanese authorities say the total death toll has reached 100, almost all of them civilians.

brendoman's User Page - Last.fm

Last.fm added artist images to the currently playing and weekly top artists sections. That's pretty cool. They also added "recommendation radio" which plays tracks they think you might like based on what you've already played. Very cool.