Bigley, Dignity

Mark Steyn argues that Ken Bigley ought to have been braver, when he died. He tries to correct Mr. Bigley: chiding him for not emulating the beheading of an Italian who shouted, "I will show you how an Italian dies!"

Mr. Steyn's callous opeds have always repulsed me, but surely this takes the cake. From Fleet Street comfort, reporters get to tell those who risked their lives by going to Iraq how they should submit to their beheading?

Steyn tells us that the individual doesn't count. He writes, " A war cannot be subordinate to the fate of any individual caught up in it." But that is how unjust wars like this are rationalized, for defending individuals is the only just reason for a war. When a war is not about defending people, then its usually a question of follow-the-money. And if money is not the reason for war, then it is usually about the acquisition of power for already powerful people who never themselves fight.

If we cannot allow ourselves to be concerned with the fate of one man, then we cannot honestly say we have anything but theoretical interest in the fate of many. For the many are all individuals, first and foremost, and every hair on their heads are counted too.