While perusing the left side of the internet I came across a surprising and poignant review of A Mighty Heart (free subscription required; here is a free site), the movie about Daniel Pearl. The review was written by Judea Pearl, Daniel’s father:
For Americans, Danny is a symbol of one of our very best national instincts: the desire to extend a warm hand of friendship and dialogue to faraway lands and peoples. And for anyone who is proud of their heritage or faith, Danny’s last words, “I am Jewish,” showed that it is possible to find dignity in one’s identity even in the darkest of moments. Traces of these ideas are certainly evident in A Mighty Heart, and I hope viewers will leave the theater inspired by them.
At the same time, I am worried that A Mighty Heart falls into a trap Bertrand Russell would have recognized: the paradox of moral equivalence, of seeking to extend the logic of tolerance a step too far. You can see traces of this logic in the film’s comparison of Danny’s abduction with Guantanamo–it opens with pictures from the prison–and its comparison of Al Qaeda militants with CIA agents.
You can also see it in the comments of the movie’s director, Michael Winterbottom, who wrote on The Washington Post’s website that A Mighty Heart and his previous film The Road to Guantanamo “are very similar. Both are stories about people who are victims of increasing violence on both sides. There are extremists on both sides who want to ratchet up the levels of violence and hundreds of thousands of people have died because of this.”
Drawing a comparison between Danny’s murder and the detainment of suspects in Guantanamo is precisely what the killers wanted, as expressed in both their e-mails and the murder video. Obviously Winterbottom did not mean to echo their sentiments, and certainly not to justify their demands or actions. Still, I am concerned that aspects of his movie will play into the hands of professional obscurers of moral clarity.
I think Mr. Pearl may be a little too trusting in believing that Winterbottom does not subscribe to those moral relativist tenets. It’s ashame that Hollywood usually adds such political indoctrination into their product.
One sentence caught my eye, though:
Moral relativism died with Daniel Pearl, in Karachi, on January 31, 2002.
It saddens me that it took Daniel’s death for some to come to this realization. Hopefully many others learned that lesson too.
Judea Pearl is president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, an organization committed to interfaith dialogue, and co-editor of I am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl.
Filed Under Uncategorized ·
Comments
10 Responses to “Moral Relativism and A Mighty Heart”Search
Our Sponsors
Poll
Loading ...LST Book Club
-
Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy
by Natan Sharansky -
Fear No Evil
by Natan Sharansky -
The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror
by Anatoly Shcharansky -
The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul
by Yoram Hazony -
Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
by David Brooks -
Snobbery: The American Version
by Joseph Epstein -
A Conflict of Visions: Idealogical Origins of Political Struggles
by Thomas Sowell
Hollywierdos would be in the first lot to be beheaded by an islamic caliphate, they are just too stupid to know it. Killers whipped into a frenzy by their moon god and their message carried by Hollywood and protected by PC Speak…
Instead of an olive branch being extended, they need a Louisville Slugger!
Swing batta batta Swing batta batta Swing batta batta Ssssswwwwwwwiiiiiiiiiingggggggg.
Moral relativists have no foundation to criticize Pearl’s killers. That is one of the clues that it is an intellectually bankrupt (though wildly popular) ideology.
AW- good one :)))
Hamous I agree, Mr. Pearl is looking for the best in Winterbottom. However, I imagine I would do the same in that situation.
“Moral relativism died with Daniel Pearl, in Karachi, on January 31, 2002.”
Unfortunately it didn’t it is growing on a daily basis.
Great work on this one, Hamous! This was a good reminder to everyone just what these facists are about and capable of and the threat they pose to all.
a.jolie-voight can get lost as far as I’m concerned. Crazy liberal fool. I’ll never watch any of her poitical movies….
Why do I have such a difficult time with this? And I do. I can not comprehend how any one believes destruction and death is the answer and I am not naive. It just can’t compute in my logistics, yet they exist. And when faced with them my immediate response is always the same, risk nothing, especially don’t risk our own children - kill them first and figure it out later.
I hate this.
Elizabeth,
War is not nessarly logical… it is sometimes nessary.
Spelling bad-thought good
Of course, it is better for Hollyweird to show us that a great tidal wave will swallow New York in the year 2250 because so many, like Al Bore’s own daughter, drives a Masarati that gets 13 mpg. But then, by 2250, Italy will only be a memory and lines on a map, France will be under Shri’ia law, the gay life style will be no longer tolerated in Denmark because it has been outlawed by the Islamic courts and most of Europe will speak Arabic. Lopping off heads will resume as the punishment of choice in France (reinstatement of the guillotine?) and the stoning of wayward women will be viewed as correct punishment for them exhibiting they have a mind.
No, it is better we worry about global warming and show the Islamists that we are sincere about not portraying them in a bad light. After all, we must build bridges so that they understand that we are considerate of their practices of being inhumane to humanes. We can call it the “Chamberlain Philosophy” of appeasing the alligator hoping the alligator will eat us last.
Remember, there is nothing in the world that is wrong, evil and corrupt that we cannot blame on the United States. Never mind that we have never retained ownership of any nation we have defeated in war but the best way for any nation to prosper is to declare war on us. Nevermind that we are not really the imperialistic nation that conquers and controls, we are wrong, no matter what the ills of the world may be.
Global warming? Nah, it is really the dawn of the New Dark Age. And Hollyweird will help it along the best they can. Until such time as Hollyweird is no longer legal under Islamic law.
My advise to Hollywood? Enjoy it while you can for you are signing your own death warrant.