jamesteufel.com

Human beings are by default predictably irrational animals. A couple examples of this tendency are the 700 mile border wall between the United States and Mexico and the Iraq War. It is clear that the United States government currently does not follow anything resembling a sound business model and that a large segment of politicians display narcissistic and/or sociopathic characteristics. With these qualities in mind, politicians inevitably make ridiculous decisions; at least from the perspective of reasoned people who value empathy, insight, rationality, reason, and common sense. The question addressed in this commentary is: “What is more ridiculous the United States border wall or the war in Iraq?” At first glance, this question may be perceived as tactless and callous by some people. I believe, in opposition, that not addressing such questions is self-serving, unexamined, and amoral. In addressing this question, I distinguish the analysis on four dimensions: utility, accuracy, propriety, and feasibility. In comparing processes and outcomes, the Iraq was has greater utility but less accuracy, propriety, and feasibility. The Iraq war shows greater utility because it has a possibility, though still improbable, of establishing a sovereign and democrat Iraq, whereas the border wall will have little to no influence on illegal immigration. The border wall is a farce and distraction. Fences have previously been established on the Mexican border, and they have been ineffective. Human creativity, especially when addressing basic needs, will always overcome something as simple as a wall in contemporary culture. The Great Wall of China was constructed about 2,200 years ago and protected China from invaders for about 1,800 years. However, this wall was longer (4,000 compared to 700 miles), 2 to 3 times higher, made of different materials (stone instead of wire and wood), and dozens of times thicker than the United States wall. The bigger problem of the United States wall, really a fence, is that it is now 2008 (not 200 B.C.), and technology has advance exponentially across the last 100 years. As a result of ridiculous premises, the United States wall will serve no function other than a symbolic function. This symbolic function does not fit well with the current world climate. We now have an interconnected network of nations, and the insular position of the United States does nothing but further hurt our reputation on the world stage.
The accuracy of the United States wall plan is greater than the Iraq war. The border wall is simplistic and therefore easier to accurately implement than the Iraq war. The Iraq war is less ethical than the United States wall in that thousands of people have been killed or injured for a cause of questionable utility, accuracy, and feasibility. As a result of the United States wall a handful of people will die and dozens will be injured, but this does not in anyway compare to the Iraq atrocity. To put the Iraq war into context, given that all judgments are relative, let’s think of drug company accountability. If a pharmaceutical is put on the market and many thousands of people are prescribed and take the drug as directed and half a dozen deaths are attributed to the drug, there is public outrage, despite the drugs displaying evidence of benefits prior to distribution. There is relatively little outrage in popular culture over the Iraq war, which has less social benefits and more social costs than any recent drug company scandal. With regard to horrendous death, there is no greater atrocity in United States popular culture than the Iraq war. This is not to say that this is the greatest atrocity in the United States with regard to domestic preventable death. For example, young black males dieing as a result of firearm violence, similar to an urban civil war, is likely as great of an atrocity as the Iraq war, but this and other domestic atrocities receive very little attention in popular culture. With regard to feasibility, the United States wall is a more feasible initiative than the Iraq war in large part due to the relative simplicity and tangibility of the project. In addition, the social and cultural components of the United States war are more easily addressed than those in the Iraq war. In conclusion, the United States wall is more ridiculous than Iraq war from the perspective of utility, whereas the Iraq war is more ridiculous the United States war when judged from the perspective of accuracy, propriety (ethics), and feasibility. The United States must embrace the action of improving rational decision making and increasing reasoned behavior in order to diminish the negative effects of the nation’s current false consciousness. Without an escape from the current false consciousness, the United States will continue on its downward trajectory.