Murphy’s Law of the Gua-Gua: Just when someone gets off and you think you’ve managed to claim yourself a little space to breathe…a fat lady gets on.

Anyhoo, this is my last week of interviews, as my last post may have mentioned.  It is sinking in that I won’t be here for that much longer.  That’s good in some ways, because I’m running low on funds and I’m looking forward to seeing my family and starting the school year.  But man, my Spanish was just getting almost workable!  I mean sure, I still sound like a stuttering idiot when I try to talk about subjects my vocabulary doesn’t cover (one of which is politics, and that’s all people talk about around here) and my syntax is often unforgivable, but still!  I can ask for directions and talk about microfinance and school and food.

This is the part of the experience (judging by last summer) when I really start to love the area.  I am about to leave Santo Domingo, so I am willing to forgive its faults.  Also, I’ll have to say goodbye to Ciprian, Hilda and Alani.  This is the first time I’ve ever been in constant contact with a baby for any length of time, except for when my sister was born, but I was only two then.  Little Alani has grown.  Her face is more expressive now.  At first she mostly just looked amazed and kind of terrified all the time, with her big wide eyes and drooling mouth.  Now she sometimes gets this thoughtful look like she’s trying to figure out all she’s seen in 4 months of life (I’ve been here for more than half of her life!), and then she smiles her crooked toothless grin.  She was trying to crawl the other day, but she can’t do it yet.  She squirmed ineffectually toward her teddy bear, then her head dropped and she fell asleep.  It was hilarious.

So anyway, I’ll miss this place, but let’s not get sentimental yet.  I’ve still got some time.

I’d like to say a word about my Independence Day post (if you’re not interested, stop reading.  I don’t mind). Looking back on it I realized the only non-rhetorical, actually-controversial question I asked was the last one about the war.  Here’s why I included that one: My translator Agustin is a committed if not philosophically rigorous pacifist.  I am convinced that a just war is possible in theory, though aware that theory gets muddled in real life. I believe war should be avoided at any cost short of allowing an injustice that would be greater than a war.  Having Agustin around, and being in a country that overwhelmingly believes the war in Iraq to be unjust has made me ask myself what makes a war just or unjust.  I have grave doubts about the justice of the war in Iraq, but I am still unsure about my opinion.

I write this with the full recognition that this medium is not a good one for discussing controversial issues (the popularity of political blogs notwithstanding).  So forgive me, and if you have a different opinion I hope we can talk about it face to face sometime.

My good friend and future roommate Chris Thornton responded to my post with Mr. Bush’s statement that we cannot distinguish between terrorists and countries that harbor terrorists.  This seems to me a sufficient, though over-simplified justification for the invasion of Afghanistan.  I see less application for this justification in Iraq.  It seems that the war in Iraq was the result of poor intelligence combined with a dangerous bluffing game played by Saddam Hussein, who seemed unwilling to reveal the actual weakness of his position, and his apparent lack of weapons of mass destruction.  Any post-hoc humanitarian justifications don’t seem to fit the rhetoric of before the war.

So, here are some questions that I’ve been trying to sort out about this war:

Can a war begun with false information be just?  Can it actually be considered unjust if bad information was followed with good intentions?

What is the justification for a “war of liberation?”  Is it a comparison between the suffering caused by war, and the current suffering of an oppressed people?  What if the suffering caused by the war is worse?  Can you ever improve a people’s situation by invading their country?  How many people have to want you to invade in order for the war to be justified?

If we are justified in invading any country with an evil dictator, why haven’t we invaded the countries in Africa that have suffered under unjust regimes?  Where do you draw the line between being a “liberator” and being a neo-colonialist?

Can you base a just war on a possible good that might come about in the future (i.e. a peaceful, stable, democratic Iraq)?

So as you can see, I’m really confused.  If you have any suggestions for reading on the topic of just war theory, bring ‘em on.  Have a great week everybody!