British politics and the lost art of rhetoric
Hilary Benn and others were acclaimed for their speeches in the Syria debate in the Commons. But if this was the House at its best, its best is not good enough.
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Tag: Ethics
Razed to Life
We often feel it is important to preserve what we have inherited, but unless we appreciate that we would not even have such an inheritance unless others had been willing to tamper with what they in turn were bequeathed, we cannot understand what is really at stake and what matters.
ReadHow do we respect others’ choices?
True respect in a multicultural society first requires that everyone sees others as capable of hearing their criticisms and entering into robust debate about them. There is nothing respectful in thinking that people are either too tender or too murderously zealous to defend themselves civilly.
ReadShould we be embarrassed?
What embarrasses us also tells us a great deal about how we want others to see us. This can be surprisingly revealing. It shows that no matter how much we strive to be our own people, it is hard not to crave the approval of others.
Read“Returning” relics is never simple
The refusal to give up stolen artefacts seems even stranger when you consider that there is one set of objects that everyone agrees should be returned: anything seized by the Third Reich. In 2009, parliament passed the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act, which forms the basis of the Indian plaintiffs’ case. It seems there is one law for Nazi loot and another – or rather none at all – for the colonial variety.
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