ALAN KEYES: Justifying War

WND ^ | 11/10/01 | Dr. Alan Keyes

[Keyes For President]

WorldNetDaily: Justifying war

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Saturday, November 10, 2001

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Justifying war

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By Alan Keyes

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© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com--> © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

It is important for any people to understand the reasons for its wars, and the nature of its enemies. For Americans, the question of why we fight always raises issues as old as our Republic. It requires reference to principles which are the very foundation of that Republic.

The war against terrorism is not a war against Islam. It is not a war against an extreme and fanatical interpretation of Islam. We are not fighting, and must never fight, a religious war. We are in fact a nation founded in the hope and promise of being a bulwark against religious warfare. The peaceful and ordered liberty of America is deeply, specifically rooted in our universal respect for the rights of conscience, and in our exercise of religious freedom. Our principle of religious liberty is a standing inspiration to the world to abandon religious warfare everywhere.

Bin Laden has declared religious war on America, but we are not fighting a religious war against him. We are not bombing terrorists because of their beliefs about God. We are seeking to destroy an association of men who have taken violent, evil action against the innocent in our country. Our actions are in response not to sectarian ideas about God, but to actions which shocked every decent human conscience, regardless of religion.

This distinction – between sectarian ideas about God and the notion of "decent human conscience" – is what makes the combination of liberty and moral order possible. And, in modified form, it guides our relations with the rest of the world as well.

The Declaration principles on which America stands were proposed by our founders to the world as "self-evident." The most important of these principles is the equal dignity of all men has been established by a power beyond human will, and no political order can be truly legitimate except in the measure it acknowledges, if only implicitly, the equal dignity of all.

The principle of human equality carries with it the corollary requirement that government receive the consent of the governed. Paradoxically, this can mean at times more enlightened citizens must show great patience in awaiting the consent of the governed to measures necessary for the political order more perfectly to embody the principle of equality. As Lincoln's life taught us, such patience can be a supreme virtue of the American statesman.

The implementation of the Declaration's self-evident principles can be complicated and long-delayed, even within a regime explicitly dedicated to their fulfillment. It should be no surprise, then, that American foreign and security policy must deal with a world of people and nations for whom effective respect for the dignity of all men is often much more remote. America is, at its best, a patient statesman for the community of nations, seeking to evoke by the authentic consent of those nations a respect for the universal principles of human dignity and self-government which cannot be imposed from without.

What does patience of this sort have to do with avoiding religious war? Religious profession and practice are the source of the most profound commitments to morality, to respect for the laws of nature and of nature's God. Religion is, accordingly, essential to the possibility of a people's effort to build a political order which respects human dignity under God. But religion is also, at least in this life, the source of ineradicable disagreements over the specific forms and methods by which the morally good life is to be lived. Religion thus appears both necessary and deadly to the peace of ordered liberty.

The American solution to this dilemma is to acknowledge religion as a principal source of moral goodness, while recognizing the danger of religious sectarianism only and precisely insofar as it appears in the form of actions which are immoral regardless of motive. The ruthless destruction of innocent human life, however it may cloak itself in a false language of theology or religiosity, is always and everywhere evil because it is the most manifest repudiation possible of the principle of human equality. This is one reason our founders listed life first among the rights with which our Creator endowed us.

The American political order exists to advance the attempt of self-governing free people to secure the rights with which the Creator endows them. Those, at home or abroad, who assault those rights by violent action have declared war on the first principles of American life, and must be opposed accordingly.

In calling on the world to assist in the war on terror, we depend upon the fact that the first principles of American life are, implicitly, the first principles of decent conscience in any man. We depend upon the self-evident truth that disregard for the life of the innocent is evil, whatever its motive. And that is why we summon the world to join us in a war not of religion, but of the universal order of natural justice which America has, from the beginning, sought to exemplify to the world.

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Be sure to visit Alan Keyes' communications center for founding principles, The Declaration Foundation.

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Former Reagan administration official Alan Keyes, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Social and Economic Council and 2000 Republican presidential candidate.

[TrueBeliever9]

Since you seem to know Dr. Keyes very well, then, do buy him a copy of The Thousand Year War by Richard Maybury. Maybe he doesn't under the issues and would benefit from a historical review.

[TrueBeliever9]

under = understand

[marajade]

He does. He's too busy comparing terrorism with abortion.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Not to jump in on your discussion with marajade, but how do you interpret this remark?

"I sit in front of a decision like that and I say this is a decision where somebody sat down to figure out how much evil they could get away with".

Determining that "this is a decision where somebody sat down to figure out how much evil they could get away with" is clearly (or at a minimum, a very strong implication) that the person is evil. I imagine one could parse their way out of it if they were really motivated, but it sounds pretty definitive to me.

Did he not say this? Was he not talking about President Bush?

[Howlin]

So now is a lovely moment for various Keyes haters to admit that he sometimes, when he thinks it true and wise, <---------------(YOUR WORDS, NOT MINE---------->)supports the stance of the administration.

We will when YOU admit that MOST TIMES he doesn't.

And once again, I see we are back to when Keyes thinks Bush is true and right; it's always about Keyes; your reponses are always why Keyes is right and Bush is wrong.

But, then, I digress; I had completely forgotten that Mr. Keyes and his supporters are

THE REAL TRUE MORAL CONSERVATIVES

And opposed to the rest of us who have not been priviledged to see the REAL CONSTITUTION, which Keyes, juding from his tomes, thinks nobody except you all understand, -- why, those of us who disagree with him are just plain ignorant IMMORAL CONSERVATIVES.

And please don't patronize me by telling me I have misunderstood what you and the rest of the Keyes Kult have said. Been there, done that.

[Howlin]

This is a political forum. I can, and I will, be honest about my observations regarding Alan Keyes.

Dear, you must be new to the Keyes threads: here's the way it works; one of them posts an article written by Keyes and then you and I and a lot of other people read them; we obviously are too dumb to understand what Mr. Keyes is saying, so in short time, THEY show up to tell us just why WE have completely misunderstood what Mr. Keyes has said (AGAIN) and here is what he really said, blah, blah, blah.

And if you don't still don't "get it," you'll get all kinds of condescending remarks about how you're just LOOKING for anything to bash Keyes about, remarks questioning whether or not you're a "true" conservative, and, depdending on how far they're willing to go, they might even imply you're an IMMMORAL conservative because you don't believe EXACTLY what Mr. Keyes says -- since the beginning of time.

It's one of those "who are you going to believe, Keyes or your lying eyes" things. :-)

You obviously have NOT learned your lessons here at FR; Mr. Keyes does no wrong and has never, ever been wrong about anything he may wish to discuss. Ever. And never will be.

[Howlin]

Oh, d......now you've done it; now they'll have to explain to us why we misunderstood THOSE comments, too!

[Howlin]

and the only thing that might be (mis)construed as an insult was his characterization of what you said (not of you) as an "extreme exaggeration".

How insulting you are to your fellow Freepers.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

LOL! Well, when I was bundled with the DNC because I dared suggest that Alan Keyes hadn't earned the President's loyalty, I took that as an insult!

Thanks for the crash course. ; )

[Howlin]

He may have said he did an evil thing

You just don't know when to quit, do you?

Using your OWN logic, I couldn't call a rapist a "rapist" just because he'd done ONE EVIL thing.

[Doc On The Bay]

NICE analysis--you made Dr Keyes' "point" by another route!

We're STILL the "Good Guys," in this conflict.

As Dr Keyes points out, our "attackers" HAD TO abandon any association with the universally acknowleged "Moral High Ground" (including ANY contact with universally accepted standards of "Human Decency") to "justify"-in their own minds-their utterly barbaric behavior.

Aggressive suicidal attacks on a perceived "enemy" can ONLY be "justified" in the face of imminent annihilation of one's family/homeland/culture!

NO Earthly Civilization/nation has faced such a risk in the last 50+ years!

Our "attackers" are, therefore, Sociopaths/Psychopaths!

They MUST be isolated & stopped! They place ALL of the costly/painful progress our species has made toward survival in terrible jeopardy!

We are in a struggle for the very existence of our species!

Doc

[Howlin]

when I was bundled with the DNC

That seems to be a requirement for the Keyes and Larry Klayman supporters.

Stay tuned.

[deport]

You gonna wear ol' beach out on that other thread....... LOL

Did you hear or see the UN address today? Pretty good I'd say....

[Amelia]

You are soooooo cute

Guess that's why you sent the "Hugs"?

and half clever, I might add

I didn't want it so clever you wouldn't understand me. Obviously, I should have gone to one-quarter clever.

.....are you now trying to backpedal from what you wrote?

Not at all, just objecting to your mischaracterization of it.

[Torie]

Equating Klayman to Keyes may be over the top. Just a thought. Would I send money to either? No.

[Buckeroo]

check out #7 ..... it's the reason why FR sucks.

[Sandy]

Isn't Dr. Keyes saying what President Bush has been saying all along

Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone. We wouldn't want the All-Keyes-does-is-bash-Bush crowd to look like a bunch of fools.

[MHGinTN]

Uh. can we look beyond the personal with Alan and see what his message so eloquently says this time?

The American solution to this dilemma is to acknowledge religion as a principal source of moral goodness, while recognizing the danger of religious sectarianism only and precisely insofar as it appears in the form of actions which are immoral regardless of motive. The ruthless destruction of innocent human life, however it may cloak itself in a false language of theology or religiosity, is always and everywhere evil because it is the most manifest repudiation possible of the principle of human equality. This is one reason our founders listed life first among the rights with which our Creator endowed us.

I don't know about the rest of you folks, but for me, the above paragraph is the heart of the message we must try to convey to Muslims. It will then be up to them to 'get it' or not, and die or live based on the notion that we don't really give a hoot about their religion, but we will by God fight to their death over the principle of our human right to hold faith as one sees fit without coercion or violent submission to a particular faith, to their particular faith.

Too many in Islam see this as a religious war. We are not fighting a religious war but they are. We might want to try and change their perception through reasoned debate, but make no mistake, they are primitive in their understanding of our espoused values ... and that's to some degree understandable, given our penchant to export our sick enlightenment hallmarked by abortion slaughter on demand as the favored alternative to other means of dealing with social and personal problems.

[Torie]

#7 is gone, whatever it was about, yawn. There is really quite excellent commentary in some places in some threads, on some topics. I profit from it, and well, not to sound too hubristic, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. You just have to look for it. If you seek the trash, and wallow in it, you will drown.

[Amelia]

And if you don't still don't "get it," you'll get all kinds of condescending remarks about how you're just LOOKING for anything to bash Keyes about

This apparently happens even if you just agree with them using the "wrong words". See #55 above, then read my post that is referenced - the whole thing, not just the part Rowdee apologized for using & then mischaracterized.