In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Martin Luther King Jr.

The song, Which Side Are You On, made famous by the immortal Pete Seeger was written by the wife of a union worker in 1931, after thugs broke into her home and terrorised her and her children. Her name was Florence Reece, and she wrote the lyrics on the back of a calendar after the thugs left.

We are told that every story has two sides. That it is “on the one hand” this but “on the other hand” that. And that “this” and “that” both have their justification. They are both valid. That it is all a matter of perspective.

I guess it really is. Both sides have their justification.

Though you have to make up your mind about which of these justifications work for you. Sitting on the fence is not an option.

Think Black and Tans. Think Vietnam. Think Germany in the 1930s and 40s. Think Sudan, Palestine, Israel, Russia, or Ukraine. Think how we treat the most vulnerable in our society. Think what some people get away with. Think broken promises. Think looking to the other side. Think “I didn’t know”.

Now, I believe that there is a “right” and that there is a “wrong”.

I believe that right and wrong can be determined by rational consistency. That a moral law must apply equally to all people. That morality is absolute. That if an action violates the categorical imperative, it is always wrong, regardless of culture, feelings, or situation.

I believe that there is only one correct moral answer. Like Kant, the German philosopher posited.

Because reason is universal, the conclusions of moral reasoning is also universal.

Denying people the right to a meaningful life, no matter their abilities, is wrong. Taking over land promised to the An Saol Foundation for Teach An Saol and building their own building using plans prepared pro bono by half a dozen of Ireland’s biggest companies for Teach An Saol, including the planning permission, is wrong. Declaring that young people with disabilities should not be placed in nursing homes and then shipping a 19-year-old into one, is wrong. Declaring that people with disabilities and their families should have access to respite care, and independent living, and then shifting aside Teach An Saol, offering the right support, is wrong. Not keeping promises, is wrong. Not taking responsibility, is wrong. Blaming others, is wrong. Allowing this to happen, is wrong.

The categorical imperative means that some actions are objectively right or wrong,
and their rightness comes from rational universality, not from authority or outcomes.

Because, in the end, we will remember the silence of our friends.

The silence of those who say that there are always two sides to consider. That we have to be balanced.

It is time to shout out what is right and what is wrong. We have to declare which side we are on.

PS 1:

Today, Germany remembers the Reichspogromnacht, also known as Kristallnacht — the Night of Broken Glass — which took place tonight in 1938 across Nazi Germany and Austria.

PS 2:

Today is also the anniversary of the “Mauerfall”, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.