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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Good news for skiers ... Should women serve in combat roles? ... Flood watch issued for Sunday ... Good news for skiers ... Should women serve in combat roles? ... Flood watch issued for Sunday ... RELOCATIONS Herb Rothschild Jr.: Do what we say, not ... Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Oct. 31, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Oct. 31, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Of several obstacles to helpful discussion of public affairs, perhaps the biggest is an unwillingness to think beyond our own partialities. As Adam Smith put it in “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759), “We can never survey our own sentiments and motives, we can never form any judgment concerning them; unless we remove ourselves, as it were, from our own natural station, and endeavor to view them as at a certain distance from us.” To achieve this distancing, Smith posits “the impartial spectator,” and urges us to consider how s/he would view our actions. Take the NIMBY reaction to so many public proposals — e.g. location of a small group home for the autistic, construction of low-income housing units. Nearby homeowners worry about their property values or their safety (often exaggerating the threat). If questioned, most would agree that such facilities will enhance the general good, but Not in My Back Yard. It’s the role of elected officials, who take office swearing to represent all their constituents, to discern how best to reconcile the tension between particular interests and the general good, and between short-term costs and long-term benefits. They presumably act as Smith’s “impartial spectator.” How well they do varies greatly, mainly because the interests of the wealthy and well-placed almost always trump the interests of the poor and marginalized, at least to some extent. Thus, sacrifices for the public good — such as siting waste facilities or urban throughways — have fallen disproportionately on the latter. Still, at the local, state and national level, elected officials are institutionally positioned to view policy questions from a certain distance. When it comes to international policy, however, none of them are. That doesn’t prevent presidents or members of Congress from thinking beyond the particular interests of the U.S. and working for the welfare of the world’s people. But it isn’t part of their sworn duty. Short of an international government with power to impose its judgments, what would conduce national policymakers to remove themselves from their “natural station,” their partialities, and make decisions with the general good in mind? We might seek an answer by considering Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria. On Oct. 12 the foreign ministers of the European Union issued a statement saying "The recent Russian military attacks ... are of deep concern and must cease immediately." Now, the U.S. has been bombing in Syria (and several other sovereign nations) for a good while, and those same foreign ministers never asked us to cease. An impartial spectator might ask why the U.S. is entitled to demand the overthrow of the Assad regime and intervene militarily to achieve it, while it’s intolerable for Russia to intervene militarily in support of Assad. Our behavior has set the example for others and denied us any credible grounds for condemning their actions. Many in this country want the U.S. to disregard any opinion beyond our borders and pursue whatever policies we deem fitting, because they believe the U.S. has a monopoly on power and on righteousness. But we have a monopoly on neither, and resistance to our will mounts daily. The situation in Syria is grave. Let’s hope the U.S. won’t institute a no-fly zone there, which in all probability will lead to a military showdown with Russia. Instead, let’s hope that, without being compelled to think beyond our partialities, we’ll discern that our own interest, short-term as well as long, requires a new way of conducting foreign policy. Herb Rothschild Jr. is chairman of the board of Peace House in Ashland. DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Oct. 31, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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