Do the Means Justify the Ends?

What a time to be alive!

No seriously, what a fucking time to be alive. When I was a punk-ass teenager in the southwest desert, we dreamed of these times. We schemed, we planned, we raged against the establishment, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Obviously we didn't rage loudly nor effectively enough, since fascism and authoritarianism has only gotten steadily worse since the 90s. Too many of us "grew up" and sold out.

Now I got a kid that is raging, but unlike us as teens, he may actually be on the precipice of a battle for our lives and for our planet. Scary and exciting shit. We did a lot of talking on our short road trip last week. One of our most lively and in depth discussions was about a simple concept:

Do the ends justify the means?

When it comes down to it, I don't give a fuck what your ideology, political leanings, or spiritual beliefs are. I don't give a fuck if you are an angel or an asshole. The only thing that matters is do the ends justify the means?

This can be determined on the micro scale -- does stealing a loaf of bread justify keeping my kid from starving? It can also be determined on the macro scale -- does jailing innocent people, many BIPOC, justify the cheap production of consumer goods for the general public?

Sometimes the ends DO justify the means. Think of those old, probably romanticized, stories of famine in olden times where the elders went without so that the younger generation could make it through, in order to ensure the continued survival of the community as a whole. The key here is that those most likely to suffer or die had a major hand in deciding whether their death justified the means of community survival (at least in the stories, perhaps they had no choice in reality).

Compare that to the present issue where a subset of the population is willing to sacrifice a large swath of the elderly, disabled, and health compromised so that they can "save the economy," whatever the fuck that means. Those being sacrificed have little to no choice in the matter. Even worse, the desired ends may not even be possible even with the sacrifice -- the scientific knowledge on the pandemic is still evolving. 

Ask the Question Effectively

Determining whether the ends justify the means isn't something you can just DO. Nope, it takes a lot of thinking. You gotta study the situation, think of all the possible outcomes, research the likelihood of the desired outcomes as well as the likelihood of the undesired outcomes. Only after putting in this time, and working hard not to allow emotion to dictate your decision, can you decide if the ends justify the means.
The kid was talking revolution. When do we start the revolution? I argue that it has already begun with small skirmishes, but research and planning is necessary before engaging in the actual war. Each thing the revolutionaries do will need to be carefully weighed -- do the ends justify the means? Is the sacrifice worth it? Is the risk worth it? Are there other, more effective means to achieve the same or similar ends?

We didn't come up with any answers, but we did start the initial process of shaping the argument that may carry us toward a very different future. Hopefully a better one. We just gotta make sure the means we choose will justify the end. Further, we need to make sure we are working toward the right end. 

Revolution isn't a game, it is both death and rebirth. 

Right now, my place in the revolution is to create a safe haven for humans to coexist with the natural world. My place is to teach people how to survive and work with the ecosystem after the revolution, and perhaps to provide a safe place for the revolutionaries when it occurs. As for the kid, his place in the revolution is yet to be decided. But hopefully he will think about the ends before jumping too quickly into the means. 

Resistance is fertile, friends.

 

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