It’s not easy to exercise the form of moral engagement known as attending to negative consequences. People in power are reluctant to reveal the negative consequences of their acts of aggression.
Consider these examples:
- Former President George Bush’s refusal to hold a public ceremony when bodies were returned to the United States from various war zones.
- The civilian casualties inflicted by American servicemen and women and drones that are covered up by the government and mainstream media.
- The reluctance of ordinary people to think about the murder, torture, dismembering, and terrorizing of men, women, and children in which Americans participate either directly or indirectly. What can be more horrifying than to think of oneself as collusive in such activities, even if only indirectly through doing nothing?
A first step towards moral engagement in response to cover-ups is obtaining the kind of information provided by Wikileaks, the progressive electronic media, and groups such as Psychologists for Social Responsibility.
The next step is to act:
- Read and weigh the available information.
- Insist on public transparency in regard to the effects of our government’s military policies.
- Hold public officials responsible for their behavior.
- Learn who among the nation’s politicians has the courage to speak out against the slaughter our country has caused in various parts of the world.
- Exercise your right and responsibility to vote for pro-peace candidates.
- Attend to the consequences of participation in armed aggression for our own service people and their families; think about the impact of the escalating numbers of cases of PTSD, suicide, homicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and family violence and disruption for the service people, their families, their communities and the health of the nation.
Finally, consider the devastating and long-lasting effects of war on the environment–to be discussed more in future posts. In tomorrow’s U.S. election, beware of political candidates who reap enormous profits from the “harvesting” and selling of fossil fuels and scoff at the overwhelming evidence not just for global warming but other catastrophic environmental events.
See the documentary The 11th Hour and think twice about awarding your votes to profiteers who deny the consequences of their profiteering.
And remember to vote.
Vote for peace.
Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology