The second opening statement under “Genocide, Famine and Germ Warfare” was a great introductory sentence that draws the reader into wanting to learn more about that particular issue. It read as “Murder is wrong because it destroys a human subject.” That explanation excellently compelled the argument of why genocide should be universally wrong. It is not morally right to just take innocent lives in such a drastic way. People should feel ashamed of themselves for being a part of anything of that sort and then on top of that to live in a place where it has happened. No one should lose their life for no apparent reason. Goodman also implies that “warfare is not always wrong”. You can take the context of that statement in separate ways. Yes, innocent lives have been taken due to previous wars, but you cannot fully diminish universal wars altogether. However, things would be much easier if we were able to handle issues in a more civilized manner. Another issue discussed was political famine which occurred because of fear and hatred. What interested me the most was the disambiguation between mass murder and a criminal’s slaying a marked victim. Although more lives are taken when they are targeted as groups, as in genocide, I think that they are both incorrect. The end of the third paragraph indicated that “the target is a way of life” in some countries.
“In terrorism, too, mythic violence is inherent in the crime” (Goodman L.E. 2010).That precise sentence introduced the second thing that we should look to which is: Terrorism, Hostages, and Child Warriors. I do not think that terrorism has such universal moral requirements. A prime example of terrorism is the tragic event that occurred September 11, 2001. Innocent lives were taken that day because of the violent act of a foreign group. Who knows why they felt the need to harm innocent people for no ostensible reason. Terrorism is a war crime. The concept is a horrid thing that we wish could be stopped, but there is no way that it will be done away with completely. The text says that hostage taking and the abduction, training, and deployment of child warriors are equal to the violations of human dignity. This is another way of treating humans as objects. It amazes me how child warriors can be recruited as young as the age of nine and nothing has been done about it. Even though “recruitment of children under 15 was named a war crime…no one has yet been convicted of it.” (Goodman L.E. 2010) The law established by the International Criminal Court should be enforced more strictly and seriously. Being treated as some sort of sex slave, getting drugged and exploited is not humane.
Slavery, Polygamy, and Incest is the next topic. Slavery is unethical. People are treated like property, than as humans. Slaves have no control of their own lives. They are under the control of another and forced to work under the threat of violence. Many slaves have been deceived by traffickers who manipulate the helpless people with false charades of a good education or job. Although slavery is illegal, it is still happening. Anyone that is involved with this inhuman service should hang their heads low in shame because if the shoe was on the other foot, they would see what they are doing is not ethical. Another form of exploitation happens to