Whatever It Takes?

What Does your cause justify “whatever it takes”?

This is Black History Month, so my question’s motivated by thoughts of America’s struggle with civil rights for African-Americans. But it applies equally to questions of national sovereignty, disability issues, or gathering support for relief to earthquake victims in Haiti.

Is any cause so right, so just, so morally imperative that it justifies “whatever it takes” to advance its mission?

My answer is, “No.”

WHAT IF …

I’m not a big fan of hypothetical dilemmas. It’s far too easy to stake out a position when I don’t actually have to face the consequences of my choice. In a hypothetical world it’s too easy to manipulate or ignore important variables in order to justify a pre-conceived conclusion.

I’ve learned that “If I were you, I would …” is usually a good signal to stop talking. I’m not you, I don’t have to walk in your shoes (or, for me, roll in your tracks).

I respect those who’ve actually been there, fought the battles, and endured the trials. It’s just too easy, from my position of safety, to second-guess those who’ve really confronted a difficult choice.

I can’t claim to understand the frustration of those who are oppressed and brutalized. I can’t state emphatically what I would do if I confronted the desperation of starvation or the reality of a life-or-death battle. I know I haven’t always faced my own trials well, so I’m hesitant to pontificate about what I’d do in far more difficult circumstances.

We’ve all encountered these simplistic hypotheticals. In the late sixties I recall saying that if I were ever drafted and ordered to Viet Nam, I’d refuse to go. That was an easy position to advocate from the safety of my college deferment, but I doubt if my convictions about the war would have held quite so firmly in the face of an actual choice.

TRUE NORTH

Perhaps the best I can do is identify what I hope I would do when confronted with any dilemma. I’ve been helped a great deal in this regard by Gus Lee. Gus talks about identifying “True North” principles, those central values that serve as the compass during a storm.

Since I’m relatively new to this inquiry, I float my true-north principles as a work in progress, but here’s what I’m working with right now:

Agape: self-sacrificial, unconditional love
Courage: the willingness to act for right regardless of risk
Grace-and-Truth: a cyclical process of encountering truth, acknowledging my faults, seeking forgiveness, and then encountering truth once more.

I make no claim that these are the “right” principles or that I even approach living according to them. For me they represent an ideal toward which I can strive.

These principles are the basis for my belief that no cause justifies “whatever it takes.” I’ll close by throwing out three observations, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Causes come and go, while true-north principles endure.
It seems to me that it’s a lot harder to believe in and stick to principles than to causes.
In the long run, truly enduring principles are more effective than situational, whatever-it-takes approaches.

What do you think? I’d really like to hear your thoughts about “whatever it takes.”