Moral equivalency

Moral Equivalence: Another Leftist Fallacy
By Daniel G. Jennings
One of the most dangerous fallacies of the left is moral equivalence: the belief that crimes committed by Americans in the past make America the moral equivalent of its enemies.
The moral equivalence argument usually goes as follows someone criticizes some foreign country or leader for some crime or misdeed. Instead of answering or refuting the criticism the leftist then cites some terrible interlude from American history (say the crimes committed against Native Americans or the World War II internment of Japanese Americans) and says this proves that America is just as bad or worse than the foreign power being criticized.
The danger in this line of argument is obvious, first it deflects argument from crimes that are being committed today such as terrorist atrocities and puts the focus on past misdeeds which we can’t correct. It keeps us from examining or dealing with the evils occurring in the world today. Evils we might be able to stop or prevent.
Second, it protects today’s criminals by making it impossible for Americans to criticize them or publicize their actions. The American can’t raise his voice against the crimes in the Sudan out of fear of being called a killer of Indians.
By resorting to moral equivalence the leftist doesn’t have to examine or criticize the behavior of peoples in the third world who may be his political allies. Nor does the leftist have to change his or her beliefs.
The leftist can also ignore the obvious moral superiority of America to many other countries. Especially to countries in which torture and terrorist atrocities are being committed today. Remember the American crimes the leftists discuss occurred in the past sometimes the distant past. It must also be noted that Americans, unlike other peoples, have gone out of their way to redress those crimes and expose them with little or no foreign pressure to do so.
Worst of all the moral equivalence argument justifies both the terrible things Americans did in the past and the crimes our enemies are committing today. The terrorist thug hearing this argument can say, “hey I’m only doing what the Americans did in the past. I’m just as good as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln so I should keep doing what I’m doing.” The American can say the terrorist thug is just like us, so I don’t have to do anything to stop his atrocities.
So what is the answer to the moral equivalence argument? The best response is to evaluate the horrors of America’s past and today’s terrorist atrocities in their true historical perspective. Don’t compare these things, instead examine them as separate historical events and try to understand them. That way the moral equivalency argument can be exposed as what it is a shoddy tactic employed by moral cowards looking for an excuse not to take a stand on the important issues of our day.