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The Modern Left’s Moral Rot
Commentary ^ | 9/21/2015 | Evelyn Gordon

Posted on 09/22/2015 2:15:39 AM PDT by goldstategop

In one short sentence, [Amira Hass] neatly encapsulates the moral rot at the heart of the modern multicultural left: “We don’t rate suffering.” ....

No one has the right to compare in any way the suffering of peoples and human beings, or to quantify it, rank it, calculate it … We don’t quantify. We don’t rate suffering.

This, in a nutshell, is the moral abdication at the heart of today’s multicultural left: In its ostensibly noble desire to ensure that no suffering goes unnoticed or unattended, it has abandoned the very essence of morality – the ability to draw distinctions, which is essential to make moral choices.

In an ideal world, all suffering would be alleviated. But in the real world, with its finite resources of time, energy, and money, choices must be made. And there’s no moral way to decide which causes deserve priority without doing precisely what Hass deems morally untenable – rating suffering. Essentially, it requires a moral version of triage: Suffering we can alleviate merits greater attention than suffering we can’t; suffering that’s more intense or widespread merits greater attention than suffering that’s less intense or widespread; the suffering of innocents merits greater attention than the suffering of the guilty; and when these three indicators don’t all point in the same direction, they must be weighed against each other as well.

On the most basic level, we do this instinctively: If, for instance, a cop saw an attempted murder and an attempted robbery happening simultaneously, we’d expect him to focus on preventing the murder rather than the robbery. But at any level more complex than that, intellect comes into play. And the intellectual principles of the modern multicultural left dictate that, “We don’t rate suffering.”

(Excerpt) Read more at commentarymagazine.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Israel; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: commentary; europe; evelyngordon; evil; good; israel; moralrelativism; triage
"We don't rate suffering."

The post-modern Left, in its embrace of moral relativism, has forgotten how to make and how to weigh moral choices and how to decide what suffering is in urgent need of our attention.

If all suffering is equal, none is and those most in need don't get attention they rightly deserve.

Those who cannot distinguish between urgent and less urgent cases of suffering end up aiding and abetting the worst evils in the world.

1 posted on 09/22/2015 2:15:39 AM PDT by goldstategop
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To: goldstategop

The modern right suffers from this moral rot too, but they can’t see it. That’s why things aren’t getting better. There’s really no solid opposition to moral rot, since all sides indulge in it whenever it benefits them.


2 posted on 09/22/2015 2:21:53 AM PDT by Ethan Clive Osgoode (We have had enough of immorality and the mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty.)
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To: Ethan Clive Osgoode

Yup.


3 posted on 09/22/2015 3:46:19 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.)
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To: cripplecreek

4 posted on 09/22/2015 4:30:20 AM PDT by caww
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To: goldstategop
RATS have all the moral fiber of a goat.
5 posted on 09/22/2015 4:36:47 AM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: caww

+1


6 posted on 09/22/2015 6:45:07 AM PDT by ELS
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To: goldstategop
I've noticed Liberals inability to distinguish between big and small problems.
I suspect that's why they get so panicky about nonsense problems like cow farts or speech codes when we should be more concerned about terrorist invasions.

7 posted on 09/22/2015 12:11:51 PM PDT by BitWielder1 (I'd rather have Unequal Wealth than Equal Poverty.)
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