4 ms·

I'm certainly not singling out U.S., or Europe as "culpable offenders". The U.S. is my society, so I know it better and I feel its societal obligations more st

by hsitz 11y ago

I'm certainly not singling out U.S., or Europe as "culpable offenders". The U.S. is my society, so I know it better and I feel its societal obligations more strongly. As you point out, the Western countries were simply the ones that got there first. And they are also the first to be figuring out how to fix the problems they've caused. Doesn't make them morally better or worse than countries that for historical reasons (smaller economies and lack of technology) have caused less environmental damage. Also, given that you seem to already agree we have the obligation, your insistence on dis-acknowledging our cultural past as a source of the obligation seems odd. Nobody said the obligation had only a single source. The only reason to get angry, so far as I can see, is if a person thinks current steps are perhaps nice to do, but not obligatory. I fail to see how a "never-ending tower of recrimination and anger" can arise from someone simply giving an additional reason that supports the decision we've already made (that we have an obligation).

13thLetter 11y ago
> your insistence on dis-acknowledging our cultural past as a source of the obligation seems odd. Well, look at it this way. If someone had killed my father, I wouldn't be satisfied with them saying "here, I'll pay for your college education and we'll call it even"; I'd want them in the electric chair. Similarly, a focus on alleged crimes of past cultures leads inevitably to angry demands for retribution for said crimes, followed by a lot of people replying -- with absolute justification! -- that they weren't responsible for these past crimes, or maybe the other guys were just as bad. Next thing you know everyone's screaming at each other and the formerly universal values have been turned into a political football. If you've got a concept that should be apolitical and universal, the last thing you want to do is prominently attach it to one side of a bitter cultural war.

by hsitz 11y ago

13thLetter 11y ago

> your insistence on dis-acknowledging our cultural past as a source of the obligation seems odd. Well, look at it this way. If someone had killed my father, I wouldn't be satisfied with them saying "here, I'll pay for your college education and we'll call it even"; I'd want them in the electric chair. Similarly, a focus on alleged crimes of past cultures leads inevitably to angry demands for retribution for said crimes, followed by a lot of people replying -- with absolute justification! -- that they weren't responsible for these past crimes, or maybe the other guys were just as bad. Next thing you know everyone's screaming at each other and the formerly universal values have been turned into a political football. If you've got a concept that should be apolitical and universal, the last thing you want to do is prominently attach it to one side of a bitter cultural war.