Oh What a Lovely War!

7 Sivan 5784

In the shadowed streets of Little Odessa, where the clamor of conflict meets the silence of abandoned homes, the ethics of resistance weave through the daily lives of those who call this warzone their home. It's here, amid the stark realities of war, where I've come to reflect on the profound moral complexities that resistance fighters across the globe face every day.

Resistance, often romanticized in films and literature as the noble struggle of the oppressed against their oppressors, holds a grittier, more ambiguous texture in the real world. Each day, those who resist must make choices that weigh survival against sacrifice, and principle against pragmatism.

In Lewiston, where I've spent the past weeks embedded with various factions, the question isn't just about who to fight, but how to fight. Here, the resistance has morphed from peaceful protests to armed conflict. Buildings are draped in tarps, not just to hide from the cold but to shield movements from the ever-watchful eyes of drones. Every corner of this city whispers stories of desperation and defiance, a mother who takes up arms to protect her children, a young student who trades books for barricades.

The ethics of such resistance are mired in a quagmire of survival ethics. Can violence ever be justified, and if so, under what conditions? Is there a moral high ground in war, or does it flatten all to varying shades of grey?

These are not questions with easy answers. They require us to look beyond the simple dichotomy of right and wrong. For instance, the use of drones by government forces here is touted as a measure to prevent greater loss of life, targeting only "known" insurgent strongholds. Yet, the reality on the ground is often indiscriminate, a school mistaken for a sniper's nest, a hospital reduced to rubble under the guise of harboring fighters.

The resistance, too, faces ethical dilemmas. In their struggle for what many perceive as freedom, there are moments when lines are blurred, when the innocent become pawns, and the distinction between combatant and non-combatant is obscured by smoke and debris.

But amid this moral complexity, there is also profound courage. There are those who resist not just with guns but with graffiti and guitars, with protests and poignant acts of defiance that assert their humanity in the face of overwhelming odds.

As I prepare to leave Lewiston, what stays with me are not just the sounds of gunfire or the sight of shattered buildings but the resilience of the human spirit. It is this resilience that redefines the ethics of resistance for me, not as a clear-cut framework of right and wrong, but as a deeply human response to oppression.

To resist is to hope, and in that hope, there lies a radical assertion of humanity. Perhaps, in the end, that is the ethical heart of resistance, the unwavering belief that despite the darkness, there remains something in us worth fighting for.