After reading the article "Sacred Barriers to Conflict Resolution" I got a further understanding our sacred values and why we have to fight for them. In the article it describes sacred values as the welfare of our family and country or our commitment to religion, honor, and justice. This is why we are sending troops over seas to fight for our freedom and peace. They all have families to protect. In the article it also says that the sacred values that we protect and trade-off would be values such as children's well being, the good of the community, and even a sense of fairness. This is true because the people we are fighting against have their own sacred values. Their most important values are normally family. Americans realized in 1945 in the war against Japan, that if they preserved, or even signaled respect that their emperor might lessen the likelihood that the Japanese would fight to the death to save him. By doing this they conserved many of our troops. The trade-offs for protecting our sacred values started when we went to the Middle East in February of 2007 to discuss the issues of material trade-off. The peace that we have with foreign countries are because of the oil trades we buy from them. This is something that we need so therefore it keeps use sound with them. A symbolic concession that might help resolve the conflict would have something to do with Anthropology and understanding each others cultures. Until we are able to understand this, we will most likely continue to be at war with our foreign enemies.
I completely understand why we have to defend our country's sacred values, although it seems rather sad that we are fighting other countries who have their own sacred values as well. Although freedom and liberty are the U.S's most important values, we share the value of family and duty to our country with the people overseas.
ReplyDeleteOil is definitely a HUGE trade off for us though, but should it really cost the lives of our military men and women?
Understanding each other's diversified culture and values might help, but infortunately I think we're too deep into the war to try and negotiate. I don't think they like the US very much, so it will be really hard for everyone to be tolerant of one another and try to get things sorted out.
If Anthropology doesn't help us receed from war, I don't know what will. It is terrible that we want to force other countries and their religions into American-style politics and widespread freedom; other countries are established a specific way and from the way Muslims talk about their own religion and country, they seem to actually admire the way things are done, so we should not revert to war time and time again with a country that is not devastated by their own government and politics... Just to elaborate on that last thing you said about understanding the other culture and ending war. :)
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