[lit-ideas] Re: FW: Re: ] Hillary Clinton Speaks Up for israel at U.N.Rally
- From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:46:03 -0700 (PDT)
--- Phil Enns <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Omar Kusturica wrote:
>
> "... moral right to rule over lands like ..."
>
> There is no moral right to rule. There is only the
> ability to enforce
> authority to rule.
*I beg to differ. I would still like to make some
distinction between might and right.
For some states this authority
> arises from an
> enlightened agreement amongst the citizenry. For
> other states, it
> arises from the threat to commit violence against
> those who disagree.
> If there is a moral distinction to be made with
> regards to the rule of
> states in the Middle East, the distinction between
> enlightened agreement
> and threats of violence is a good place to start.
*I don't know of any state that asks those whom it
rules for agreement. (Well, other than Montenegro
which has held a referendum on independence recently.)
In settler-states like Israel or Canada you might
perhaps construe the decision of the first generation
who came to live there as agreement, but I doubt if it
qualifies as enlightened agreement. And surely you are
not suggesting that the Israeli rule in the West Bank
and Gaza is based on "enlightened agreement" of the
population ? What happens to those who do not agree,
should they be forcefully expelled ?
> To insert a practical dimension, if one were to find
> oneself in trouble
> with the law, in which Middle Eastern country would
> one prefer to be
> located?
*I have no idea. I'm not perfect but I am not a
criminal either.
O.K.
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