" So relativism appears to remove black-and-white certainties? Good."
That right, "appears". Look at how successful Stalin was at killing his own people, or Mao in China, or Kim Il Jong (sp?) in North Korea. Communists have killed many times more people than the Nazi's ever did, but no one bans communist parties. Is it important to understand Stalin's reasons for killing 10's of millions of Ukrainians? Would it have made a difference? (Oh, now I see, that's why he slaughtered millions of people, he had a difficult childhood. I feel so much better now.)
The dealing with Stalin was a very straightforward deal with the Devil. Hitler was, at the time, the bigger threat. I doubt the allies had any illusions about Stalin, they just needed him to keep chewing up German units.
" So - was this justified? Half of a land you are supposedly "saving", land that belongs to a people who were staunch allies in the War, is taken away from those people. Was this the "greater good", as the Nazis may not have been defeated if not for the USSR? "
Justified? No. Never. What was, however, the alternative? Declaring war on Russia and forcing them out? England had been fighting for 6 years and the public wouldn't countenance any more death. Unfortunately, the European's defence plans are the same now as they were then. Don't spend money on defence. Retreat when attacked. Ask for someone to help. Bitch and whine about the person giving the help after you are safe.
"But I'm afraid that there really are no simple answers and there never have been."
I disagree, sometimes there are simple answers, but people are too blind to see them. Ignoring a grave threat to your existance is not a rational choice. Now, there aren't always simple answers, but you can't say there are never simple answers.
"Think about it some more before you act. "
Saying there is a simple answer doesn't imply that no thinking is required.
"Consider your enemy's reasons. "
No thanks. Someone saying they want to kill me because I am a citizen of one of the "Little Satans" that support the "Great Satan" is enough for me. It is enough for me to know that they are backward, misogynist, lunatics who must be stopped.
Would knowing Hitler's reasons for wanting to exterminate Jew and Gypsys change anything?
"Consider the long-term consequences of your intended actions. "
No argument here but sometimes the short-term consequences of inaction will eliminate the existance of a long-term. Case in point. Last year there was a conference in Toronto concerning people who had survived cancer as children. Radiation treatment and chemotherapy have had long-term consequences for them. Not treating the cancer has short-term consequence because the person is not around in the long term.
"Because you can't turn the clock back once you have acted, and the world is a very small place these days. "
Agreed. Just because I think that there are cases where there is a clear line between right and wrong doesn't mean I advocate mindless action. But I don't advocate sitting around analysing things until someone actually does something and then criticising them because you would have done something different (an artform in some parts of the world.) The world is also a pretty small place when you don't take action.
"There are still near-certainties to be found, but you have to work them out for yourself, and they may not be what you expect. The truth is often uncomfortable."
Exactly. That's why many people don't want to recognise right and wrong. It makes them feel uncomfortable.
