WHY I DIDN'T BOTHER TO OPPOSE THE IRAQ WAR | 2003-05-31
I stopped opposing the war in Iraq as soon as I saw it was inevitable.
I have supported Lost Causes in my time, but if I support a Lost Cause, it has to be one that is very important to me. Saddam was not very important to me.
When something is inevitable the best thing you can usually do is to get in and try to redirect it. But that is a rule you have to be very, very careful about. Supporting something because it is inevitable is an awfully tempting path to immorality.
I have complained about people who say that the odds are on the bad guy's side, so we should all give up. First, I don't think that's true. Second, if you surrender to evil simply because it is strong then you are as bad as the enemy.
Defeatism is the enemy of good. Anyone who argues that we should surrender for any reason is an enemy, no matter what his real opinions may be.
On the other hand we cannot simply throw our limited resources into lost causes.