Posted 1/25/2005 05:42:00 PM by Douglas

Another mouth-breathing neo-con diatribe, this time about the silliness of sovereignty.

But sovereignty often has nothing to do with ethics and one can respect sovereignty and commit ethical crimes in doing so.

This is one of the stupidest things I've ever read (but hey, it was short). There is no caveat on invading another country's sovereignty, just like there's no justification for rape. The rapist can claim the woman consented, just like the invading country can claim sovereignty was breeched for good reason (which is doubtful), but at that point, you've got to admit you don't give a damn about sovereignty. If you did, it wouldn't even be an issue.

But this guy is off the scales loony toones. Besides being incredibly poorly written (and consider who that statement is coming from), it has all the brilliant political analysis and subtle examples of a high school newspaper. And this last part really sealed the deal:

President Bush understands that "sovereignty" can be the greatest cover for evil and that respect for sovereignty is a minor if sometimes necessary virtue compared to ignoring it in the interest of doing what is right and easing human suffering. We do this in our personal life and we should do it as a nation. What the President has chosen to do is accept the challenge of doing the right thing. Sometimes you can get away with it. If he achieves only 25% of his immensely difficult goals during his tenure, he should be enshrined on Mt. Rushmore.

What's hilarious about this assertion is that it didn't come from The Onion, nor does Mr. Goldberg (or any of his readers, sadly) find this the least bit hyperbolic.

The other part about this I find fascinating is that the very group to cry the loudest about "loss of sovereignty" every time a blue helmeted U.N. troop showed up anywhere in the world are now the exact same people to say that sovereignty is only important in some situations. Namely, in instances when the US thinks it isn't. Somehow, it's ok if the troops are wearing Old Glory on their shoulder. Welcome to the empire.