Scotland the Brave
Aug. 26th, 2009 03:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ayoubIt has been said that treason is a matter of dates. I felt that this was apropos.
So, Scotland, Lockerbie, Iran Air Flight 655, and all that...
I've been quiet on this while I've been watching comments and posts from all sides of the subject.
What I see as the central issues here are:
One country trying to overrule the system of justice of another country.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
I guess I can't just leave it at that, can I? If I did, I wouldn't be me, really :P
As far as the first point goes, how amenable was the US government when they held innocent British Nationals at Guantanamo Bay for up to five years? Not very. International politics is about scratching each other's backs. It's not pretty, it's not always fair, but it helps to avoid wars.
Comparing Iran Air Flight 655 to Lockerbie really doesn't help anyone. It's disgusting that nobody has been brought to justice for Flight 655, but that is another matter, except that compassion is shown by the best of us. Sometimes, compassion hurts. I would never dream of minimising the pain of the families of those who lost their lives on either flight, but it's sad that only one set of families has had at least some measure of justice.
I personally think that the Lockerbie Bomber, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, should have been left to rot in prison, but I am not so arrogant nor bullish to second guess an entire country's system of justice.
Which brings me to my second core issue from the ones above. At the end of the day, hatred breeds hatred. An act of compassion, like letting a dying man return home to his family, if unchallenged, will do more to make it harder for others to hate us in the western hemisphere. All of this bickering and cries for people's heads, and worse, boycotts, will simply provide more fuel for those who want to recruit more bombers.
If Western Civilisation wants to be a shining light in the world, and an example to those less fortunate to have democratically elected leaders, then a little internal respect, and silent support of compassionate acts would not go amiss, and, frankly, would speak to the hearts of others more loudly than angry posturing.
So, Scotland, Lockerbie, Iran Air Flight 655, and all that...
I've been quiet on this while I've been watching comments and posts from all sides of the subject.
What I see as the central issues here are:
One country trying to overrule the system of justice of another country.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
I guess I can't just leave it at that, can I? If I did, I wouldn't be me, really :P
As far as the first point goes, how amenable was the US government when they held innocent British Nationals at Guantanamo Bay for up to five years? Not very. International politics is about scratching each other's backs. It's not pretty, it's not always fair, but it helps to avoid wars.
Comparing Iran Air Flight 655 to Lockerbie really doesn't help anyone. It's disgusting that nobody has been brought to justice for Flight 655, but that is another matter, except that compassion is shown by the best of us. Sometimes, compassion hurts. I would never dream of minimising the pain of the families of those who lost their lives on either flight, but it's sad that only one set of families has had at least some measure of justice.
I personally think that the Lockerbie Bomber, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, should have been left to rot in prison, but I am not so arrogant nor bullish to second guess an entire country's system of justice.
Which brings me to my second core issue from the ones above. At the end of the day, hatred breeds hatred. An act of compassion, like letting a dying man return home to his family, if unchallenged, will do more to make it harder for others to hate us in the western hemisphere. All of this bickering and cries for people's heads, and worse, boycotts, will simply provide more fuel for those who want to recruit more bombers.
If Western Civilisation wants to be a shining light in the world, and an example to those less fortunate to have democratically elected leaders, then a little internal respect, and silent support of compassionate acts would not go amiss, and, frankly, would speak to the hearts of others more loudly than angry posturing.