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Created: March 21, 2003
Latest Update: March21, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Attitude Persuasion: What Do We Do Now That We're at War?

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, March 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

On Thursday, March 20, 2003, Francisco Reynoso wrote:

Subject: wrong timing

Why Iraq now, jeanne ? Saddam Hussein is a tyrant who has commited massive, continuous crimes against the Iraqi and Kurdish peoples, and countries close by. But Iraq was contained. It was no longer perceived as a threat to its immediate neighbours. The evidence of a link between Iraq and global terrorist networks was weak, if not highly embarassing to both George W. Bush and Tony Blair. The UN was in, and the inspectors doing their job. Disarmament was occurring, albeit slowly and haltingly. More time could have been given ­ more time to save precious lives on all sides. The Bush/Blair strategy blows all this out of the water. Their war is not driven out of necessity, but out of choice. And within the context of the UN Charter, it is illegitimate and unlawful. Even at one minute to midnight, there was a possible compromise. The US/UK could have offered more time to the UN Security Council in exchange for France, Germany and other countries helping to fund and staff the military presence in the Gulf.

Francisco Reynoso 39 -05
God help us.

On Saturday, March 22, 2003, jeanne responded:

Francisco, I agree. God help us. But these are really complex decisions. Those of us who lived through the Second World War remember the costs of appeasement. There are times when we must stand firm and fight, especially when innocent people are suffering and dying.

From all the analysis to which we are privy, I agree that we should have waited. But what exactly were we waiting for? For some European countries to work out a safe haven for Saddam, his sons, and THEIR stolen wealth? For peace? How will peace come in Iraq? How, for that matter will democracy come? Certainly not because Bush says it should, or Blair, or anyone else.

Reality is socially constructed. But that's an easy phrase. We do have a moral responsibility to form relationships with the Other that are moral and respectful of the Other as human. But there's a giant leap from the face-to-face interaction of individuals to the politics and economics of nations.

Fact is, I'm still holding my breath for fear that some of the End of Days chatter we've heard from the far right may have some credence if Saddam Hussein unleashes a last-minute biological and chemical war.

We'll talk about all this this week, with a special emphasis on how do we know? What and whom can we trust for the information we need. And what can we do once war has begun? Perhaps that is the moment when illocutionary discourse matters most. Consdier Different Aims for Different Discourses and the concepts of persuasion discussed in Classic Theory: Attitude Change and Persuasion.

On Friday, March 21, 2003, Timothy McCaskill wrote:

Hi, Jeanne. This is Timothy McCaskill. I just want to share my thoughts on the war that is upon us. I believe that by supporting a criminal action to respond to a criminal, you have officially endorsed the notion that it is OK for some to make the world a more dangerous place, but not for others.

On Saturday, March 22, 2003, jeanne responded:

Good point, Timothy. We're going to bring this discussion around to the definition of crime and of criminal justice. There has been much complaint in the Palestine-Israeli confrontation that Israel is better equipped and has far more fighting power than Palestine. That complaint pales before the situation in Iraq.

What do we mean to say by that? Is it OK to go to war if both sides have equally deadly weaponry and equal amounts of it?

You are using logic here. And I think I need to point out that there is nothing very logical about killing innocent human beings.

Consdier Different Aims for Different Discourses and the concepts of persuasion discussed in Classic Theory: Attitude Change and Persuasion, as I suggested to Francisco above.

On Saturday, March 22, 2003, a long legged lady wrote:

Good morning,

Today as I sat in the chair while I got my hair done, I saw the American fallen heros. My heart sank. I am a mother of two sons. While I have other responsibilities, being a good mother is the single most important factor in my life.

To earn a living I drive school buses for LAUSD. Several children while riding the bus on Friday asked me about the War. Without thinking, my mothering took over, and I began to answer their questions. By the way, these are junior high school students, from age 11 thru 13. Why is the president so willing to have men and women die for oil that we do not need?Why do people from other places in the world kill themselves?

On Saturday, March 22, 2003, jeanne responded:

Good morning to you, and good question. But it would be nice to have a name.

You know, the role of the mother in war is perhaps the most difficult of all. Last night one of the TV stations spoke to Mrs. Beaupre, the mother of one of the fallen pilots. She chose to speak, she said, so that she could tell Peter Jennings, I think it was, and all of us that she and others like her appreciate the wonderful technology that keeps us so informed. She appreciates the attention that is focused on what is happening. BUT could we please remember the intense pain we are causing every mother as she watches this war, and wonders at each scene if the tragedy she has just seen involves her own child. Now, that's an illocutionary statement if I've ever heard one.

Amidst all these miracles of technology, keep our eye on the need to hear the Others in good faith, all the Others, including the mothers of each of those sons and daughters.

Why? No good reason that I can think of, except that we are just learning that illocutionary discourse is essential to love and caring and respect, and that love and caring and respect are essential to the education of our children if wars and killing and imperialism and exploitation are to stop.

love and peace, jeanne