Twenty centuries ago two men went to pray in the temple in Jerusalem. One was a holy man by profession, a
Pharisee, the other was a bent tax collector, and he knew that he was a crook. Some say that the Pharisee was an
American on a package tour to Jerusalem, but I cannot vouch for that.
The tax collector was a poor man, had six children, ailing parents, and his mother was suffering of cancer. They all needed food, clothes and medication. He had to pay their rent, and his wages were abysmally low. The only way for him to survive and look after his family was to squeeze more tax out of other poor people than they owed and to pocket some of it. The tax collector hardly dared enter the temple. He felt so unworthy. He was afraid of God seeing him and of all the good people in the temple jeering at him.
So he remained standing by the door of the temple, with downcast eyes, and just mumbled: 'Lord, I am a sinner, have mercy upon me and help my family'; and beat his breast and left.
The holy man knew that he was holy and therefore incapable of doing anything wrong and could look any upright citizen fearlessly in the eye. He said: 'In God I trust' and, hung all over with camera, camcorder, binoculars and mobile phone, he marched right up to the front of the temple where God and everybody else could see him and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not as other men are,
extortionists, unjust, adulterers, tax evaders, dishonest accountants, speculators, or even as that tax collector. I fast twice in the week, my country gives generous aid to underdeveloped countries, we are a democracy and there is justice for everybody in our country, everybody has enough to eat, all races are treated equal, we love our black brethren, our soldiers are
peace loving and never harm a fly, neither at home nor abroad, Hiroshima didn't really happen or if it did it wasn't done by a soldier but it was a scientific experiment, so it's not a war crime, and them bastards what died were yellow heathens anyway, so who cares, our Daisy Cutters are the best in the world, every gardener's delight, where they have been you don't need lawnmowers or
weed killer for at least a thousand years, ha ha ha, Lord-'av-mercy, we embrace only just causes (and our own wives) and defend the weak all over the world. You are just, Lord, and I am sure you will reward me and my country generously for being so good, and you will punish all the bad people, especially the terrorists, drug addicts, and people who believe in a different God and who live in countries which are not nice and democratic as we are.' Then he smiled at the Lord, felt very happy and left the temple. And the Lord smiled, for He is great and merciful, and knows a
bigoted fool when he sees one. He would have said something but he couldn't get a word in edgeways, and even then, the holy man wouldn't have listened. He was far too holy for his own good -- 'beyond redemption', as they say.
This incident was witnessed by Jesus and is written down in Luke's gospel (18:11-12), well, more or less.
Right now the righteous world is up in arms about the refusal of the USA to recognize
the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). As a sovereign nation, the USA are entitled to
recognize or not recognize the jurisdiction of any authority outside its own borders, and they are so strong that nobody can force them to do so. That distinguishes them from
other weaker nations which might have similar doubts about the trustworthiness of an international court but are not strong enough to say what they think.
I have grave doubts about the reliability and impartiality of human justice (power and politics tend to come into play, especially on the international stage), however well intended, and therefore
sympathize with the American stance. It is indeed possible that frivolous lawsuits are brought against American soldiers by the many people who do not like America, and this is even more likely since America, because of its military strength and at the behest of other nations, is involved in many peacekeeping, and other
military operations, about whose legitimacy there can always be a dispute.
However, I do not like stupid and sanctimonious arguments, even if they support a stance which I understand.
On Sunday, 21 July 2002, on BBC Radio 4, the US ambassador to Great Britain, Richard
Williamson, justified the American position on the ICC by saying: 'We do not think a US soldier would ever engage in an act which was a war crime.'
Sancta simplicitas! |
This is as naïve and daring as an American bishop saying: 'I do not think any catholic priest would ever sexually abuse a teenage boy.'
British and American politicians (both those in favour of the court, and those against) sometimes justify their views by saying: 'We are democracies. Democracies do not commit war crimes.'
The pro-ICC people conclude: Therefore we have nothing to fear from the ICC; therefore it may be recognised - to punish members of other nations.
The contra-ICC people conclude: Since we will behave well in any case, the court is not needed for our citizens and will only be used by others for malicious purposes. Therefore we should not recognise the ICC.
These innocents on both sides of the argument have forgotten the fact that even Athens, the cradle of Western democracy, was an imperialist power. It saw nothing wrong with slavery (second-class 'citizens'), committed its war crimes abroad (justice for us, injustice for foreigners), and coined the term 'barbarians' for those people of other races who spoke Greek with an Arabic or Indian accent. It proudly committed the first documented act of genocide on the Mediterranean island of Melos, which wanted to remain neutral during the war of Athens against Sparta.
The Athenians argued: 'Actions are governed by the principles of justice only if the parties concerned are equally strong. If the parties are not equally strong, the stronger party prevails.' Since tiny Melos trusted in the justice of its cause and did not give in, the Athenians besieged the island and eventually conquered it. 'The Melians surrendered unconditionally to the Athenians, who put to death all the men of military age whom they took, and sold the women and children as slaves. Melos itself they took over for themselves, sending out later a colony of 500 men.' (Thucydides, 5, 116). This happened 2400 years ago, in 416 BC. The perpetrator was the world's first democracy.
The innocents who believe that democracies are incapable of war crimes also have forgotten that Britain has been a democracy for centuries, but that did not stop it during the colonial period from committing many massacres and crimes against humanity in Africa and India. Have we democrats become saints all of a sudden?
The people I loathe most are not the criminals who know they are criminals, even if they enjoy what they are doing, but those bigots who think, who sincerely and stupidly believe, they (i.e. every bloody individual of their nationality) are a priori incapable of doing wrong.
This strikes me as an attitude which is too often found in America and makes the American establishment incapable of learning any lessons from 11 September (except that 'others' can be evil), but it is also found in British society when Britain compares itself with other races and cultures.
The 6000 people killed in Manhattan on 11 September were incomparably fewer than the black, brown and yellow people killed under the white colonial regimes.
Between 7 October and 7 December 2001 over 3800 Afghan civilians died as a result of the American campaign, according to a research report by Professor Marc Herold, University of New Hampshire. This is partly due to the fact that the Americans do not wish to risk the lives of their own and democratic soldiers and therefore prefer to use overwhelming power from the air, which is inaccurate and increases the risk to Afghan civilians, whose lives are worth less than American lives. But these cannot possibly be war crimes because an act carried out by an American soldier or administration is, by definition, not a war crime, just like a tiger cannot commit murder.
Soon it will be the turn of the poor Iraqis to be initiated with pentecostal tongues of fire into the democratic way of life. As a free sample they can already observe how Israel, the Western democracy nearest to them, behaves in the territories it has usurped, supported by the USA and its evangelical enthusiasts.
God save us from people who have tasted the apple of Adam and Eve and are so sure about what is good and what is evil in this world, who have the power to 'eradicate evil', and who are as convinced of their own innocence as are Osama bin Laden and his devotees of theirs.
Any feedback to Klaus Bung |
