Moral Responsibility

In an interview recently Norman Finkelstein was asked if he was optimistic that the conflict in Palestine would be resolved and while, I would like to be optimistic, I found his answer both intriguing and revealing, he said; "No, but in one sense it doesn’t matter to me if it is resolved. You don’t do something because you think you will win or lose, but because you feel a sense of moral responsibility. Moral responsibility is not a diffident, political calculation. Of course you think what is the best way to achieve your goals, because you want to succeed, but my involvement is not determined by that, but is determined by the fact that there are people suffering and in need, so I will continue to support them."

This position reminded me of the one  adopted by John Pilger when he interviewed James Schlesinger for his documentary on the fate of the Chagossians.  Mr Schlesinger, the US Secretary of Defence under Nixon and Ford, could not understand John Pilger's interest in the fate of some 4,000 human beings and said that "this is a very small matter. It is being pinpointed now for reasons that I cannot ascribe to anything other than a quest for publicity." Yes, in Mr Schlesinger's great scheme of things, the Chagos islands is indeed a "small" matter and partly because it was such a "small" matter Schlesinger's irritation was soon to become visable, he said; "What is your motivation, if I may ask. Purely a guestion of justice?" To which Pilger replied; "yes, it is." 

Justice has a moral dimension and, of course, Dr Finkelstein is right when he says: "You don’t do something because you think you will win or lose, but because you feel a sense of moral responsibility. In  Philip Pan's marvelous book, "Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China", the young "Red Guardist", Lin Zhao, decides that she will not morally compromise herself. She is to pay the ultimate price. However, if we should doubt that such resistance is worth it, we would do well to heed her own words when she says that "it is better to be destroyed than give up one's principles!" Hers was the ultimate sacrifice and people like her are the conscience for all of us. However, Mr Pilger's and Dr Finkelstein's "moral responsibility" should be grasped by all of us now for while, Dr Finkelstein is right when he says "you don't do something because you think you will win or lose", we haven't yet lost, we haven't yet been destroyed.