Hegel & Catch-22 (was Re: Hitchens on genocide)

Yoshie Furuhashi furuhashi.1 at osu.edu
Thu Dec 6 17:39:24 PST 2001



> >David Stannard's point remains: substitute "Jew" for "Native
> >American/indigene" in Hitchens' prose, and you have a recognizably
> >Nazi argument. I don't remember "it happens to be the way history is
> >made" having worked very well at Nuremberg.
>
>First of all the Nazis blamed the Jews for all of the world's
>problems, while the Native Americans were "in the way" of the
>colonizing Europeans.

Perhaps the difference between the Nazis and the colonizing Europeans is a matter of significance to historians in particular and we who live in the present in general. Indians killed by colonizing Europeans, however, are as dead as Jews killed by Nazis; just as those killed by Stalin & his lackeys are as dead as those killed by US imperialists & their lackeys.

***** Yossarian says, "You're talking about winning the war, and I am talking about winning the war and keeping alive." "Exactly," Clevinger snapped smugly. "And which do you think is more important?" "To whom?" Yossarian shot back. "It doesn't make a damn bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead." I can't think of another attitude that could be depended upon to give greater comfort to the enemy." "The enemy," retorted Yossarian with weighted precision, "is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." *****

Now, here's a false dilemma in philosophy of history: either you are with Hegel (= Hitchens' view of historical progress) or you are with Joseph Heller in the world of Catch-22. Identify another option. The length of your essay should be approximately 800 words. -- Yoshie

* Calendar of Anti-War Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>



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