In the Guise of Innocence
The Responsibility and Accountability of Doing Nothing
by Phil Messina
(from: http://warriorcomments.blogspot.com/)
The truth of it is as plain as the face of evil itself. In the battle between good and
evil, those who choose to stand aside and take no side ultimately have chosen the side of
evil. In the battle between good and evil, only evil gains an advantage from those who do
nothing.
Some people refuse to believe in good and evil, and that is likely because admitting good
and evil exist would require taking a stand. Those people would rather have others take a
stand for them, and prefer to be recognized as "neutral" and thereby
"innocent".
Well, when it comes to fighting evil, neutral does not mean innocent, neutral means
cowardly. Those who can watch a crime victim being victimized, without so much as even
notifying the police or being willing to testify are really no different than the
so-called "innocent civilians" who allow terrorists to attack and terrorize
others while hiding in their community. These civilians (and weak-willed politicians) will
then complain about innocent people being jeopardized when the intended victims (in
defense of THEIR communities and loved ones) fight back through them, rather around them.
All society consists of wolves, sheep and sheepdogs and according to Lt. Col. Dave
Grossman the sheepdogs are the warrior class of each society and can be found on either
side of any great conflict.
In this world of wolves, sheep and sheepdogs, the only real innocent civilians are those
that are too young, too old or too unhealthy (either physically or mentally) to choose a
side and fight for it. All others are merely sheep, crying to all sides to protect them,
while they themselves won't take any risk to protect either side. And in the end, sheep do
nothing but get in way. And getting in the way is just another way of being held
accountable for one's inactions.
Allowing terror to continue by your inaction does not make you innocent. It makes you
sheep.
As I write this, there is a limited war going on between Israel and Hezbollah, while
playing the role of the "innocent" is the majority of the Lebanese. It doesn't
really matter whether you consider one side to be the wolves and the other to be the
sheepdogs or you consider both sides to be the wolves. What is clear is that these
Lebanese are the sheep and you can only have so much sympathy for sheep, because unlike in
nature, in human society, healthy people choose to be sheep and are not designated as such
by nature or by some deity.
As cold as it sounds, making the choice to be a sheep, means you are just as accountable
as those that choose to wolves or sheepdogs. In fact the accountability is the same and
the only thing that differs is the amount of control that sheep hold over their own
destiny, which is none whatsoever.
Therefore it is unfortunate the largest part of any society consists of the sheep, who
basically just graze, make a lot of noise and provide nourishment and shelter for the both
the wolves and the sheepdogs. The sheep only flourish because those willing to choose a
side (whether they be wolves or sheepdogs) allow them to. That's right - sheep forfeit
their control of their own destiny by virtue of choosing to be sheep, so the one thing
they can never truly be is "innocent".
Unfortunately, even those that are truly innocent (because they are incapable of choosing
a side or fighting for a cause) can only protect themselves by hiding amongst the sheep
and hoping that by the time they are noticed a sheepdog will be somewhere nearby.
Sympathy belongs only to those that are incapable of choosing a side, not those that take
the easy way out and choose not to take any side. Those people, men and women that choose
not to take sides have the right to call themselves many things but "innocent"
is not one of them.
In my belief system, the universe is controlled through yin and yang, not yin, yang and
yawn. Those who prefer to yawn their way through life, can only expect that when they fall
asleep a nightmare will be waiting for them.
Neutrality in the face of evil holds no claim to innocence. - Phil Messina
****************
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