It is not okay to pee on dead Muslims!

I was directed to the following article through email and asked what I thought of it. I responded with a quick statement of my personal moral ideas, and I thought I'd put them out there to share with everyone. This is not an overtly political blog, but I believe some things are important enough that they deserve to invade our personal lives. In cases like this we should put our opinions out in the world to be heard, even if they upset others, because these things are simply too important to go unnoticed. So, in that spirit I am asserting my position on this issue here, and, in that same spirit, if you disagree please feel free to make your opinion heard as well. This one deserves it.

Link to article: http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/268-35/9430-were-all-guilty-of-dehumanizing-the-enemy

My thoughts: 

I think the article makes some good points, especially about the disconnect between behavior toward dead bodies vs live ones. I especially think the article finishes strongly, and I agree with the statement: "There is a final context for this act in which we are all responsible, all guilty." However, there are certain parts of the article where I felt the author was a bit soft on the soldiers. I was listening to NPR the other day and they asked people to weigh in on this particular incident. Lots of veterans called in and said this behavior was disgraceful. I agree with them. The world right now is full of evil, and that makes terrible things like war necessary, but that doesn't excuse acts like this. A good person may have to do bad things for a greater good, but a truly good person will never take pleasure in those things and will never do anything more than is absolutely necessary. It may be necessary for a soldier to kill an enemy. It is never necessary for a soldier to desecrate the body of an enemy.

Chris