Ask Auntie Pinko
July 17, 2003

Dear Auntie Pinko,

As a member of Amnesty International, I am concerned about human rights situations worldwide, and I support a U.N. peacekeeping force in Liberia. It seems increasingly likely that the United States will be part of this peacekeeping force - which is something I would normally support. However, given the example of Dubya's blunderous invasions/occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, I'm not sure I trust the Bush Administration's ability to be part of such a multilateral force. Would you support the United States being part of this peacekeeping force in Liberia?

Matthew,
Boise, ID

Dear Matthew,

Auntie Pinko certainly shares your reservations about Mr. Bush's administration with regards to its military ventures. But I also share your concern about Liberia. I think the answer to your question lies in the phrases you yourself used: "U.N. peacekeeping force," "multilateral force," and "part of." If the project is truly multilateral, truly under U.N. auspices, and the United States is only one of several countries participating, I am wholeheartedly in support of our involvement.

I should add one additional criterion: The project should have firm commitments from all participants that they will provide all of the resources needed to complete the project as quickly and effectively as possible. Half-measures will not serve.

The United Nations has seldom been able to realize the full potential of its charter. This isn't surprising, given how much its charter was dictated by a set of circumstances and aspirations that relied heavily on the best in human nature and human history, rather than the worst. And right out of the gate, it became a political football in a game frequently dominated by the least admirable qualities in human nature.

But in spite of its many flaws and failures, the United Nations continues to try to realize its purpose, and I admire and applaud the hope they represent. In the case of Liberia, where neighboring countries support a peacekeeping mission, and where cultural and historical ties offer an additional leverage to American commitment, I would like to indulge a little cautious optimism.

The entire issue of America committing military and other resources to humanitarian interventions is a difficult one for Auntie Pinko. I believe our position as the consumers of a disproportionately vast share of the world's resources, and holders of an equally disproportionate share of the world's economic assets, carries with it the responsibility to put those resources and assets at the service of our neighbors. But I'm also conscious that the power represented by our resources and assets can far too easily become bullying, manipulation, and disempowerment of people who may wish to solve their own problems their own way. And our power and resources are tremendously vulnerable to misuse, abuse, and foolish squandering.

So what to do? Become the world's policeman? We are seeing the perils of that most vividly. Ignore the suffering of our neighbors? We are seeing the results of that, as well.

I think we have to accept certain realities that we may not like, Matthew. First of all, we must be prepared to write off a certain proportion of the resources we put into trying to help our neighbors in the world. We cannot let the realities of abuse, corruption, and folly deter us from continuing to do what is right. (On the other hand, neither should we ignore those realities and fail to learn from them.) Secondly, we must concede that our vision of what a "peaceful, prosperous democratic society" should look like will not always correspond exactly with the visions of those we wish to help. Thirdly, we should neither condition our help upon, nor expect, "gratitude," in the form of support for American economic and political interests by those we help.

In the face of these realities, it seems to me, Matthew, that the best way to fulfill the obligations our wealth places upon us is to do so as part of a team. By providing financial resources, military backbone, and the influence of our long-standing cultural ties with Liberia to a United Nations effort, we have a unique opportunity to get it right. Perhaps, in so doing, we can recover something that has long been adrift in an ocean of "enlightened self-interest." It's never time to give up hope. Thanks for asking Auntie Pinko!