In Defense of Just-War Thinkers
Gerald W. Schlabach’s article (“In Defense of White Flags,” December) rightly clarifies how a “white flag” can be a call for parley rather than surrender and that “just-war theory means that surrender can never be off the table—not despite the justice of one’s cause, but because of it.” However, when Schlabach alleges that “just-war thinkers themselves” are “the deepest sources of misunderstanding” suggestions about negotiating an honorable and conditional surrender, I wish he would have quoted and named some of them. While I appreciate the passing reference to “a few honest proponents of just-war theory” who have included the possibility of saying “no” to continuing a war, these, too, could have been more explicitly identified—especially if we are being urged to “really want to offer tools to vulnerable peoples in the face of unjust aggressors.” As Schlabach knows, some of us (e.g., Joseph E. Capizzi, Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare, Oxford, 2015) who were also students of John Howard Yoder and carefully studied the contributions of both John Courtney Murray, SJ, and Paul Ramsey, do address this possibility in connection with just-war criteria such as right intent, proportionality, and probability of success, all of which should be assessed and reassessed continuously during any given war.
As for Schlabach’s assertion that it is “impossible to know the mind of Putin” and that “Russian culpability shouldn’t be relevant to just-war deliberation on the side of Ukraine or its allies,” I would respond that, as noted by Halyna Yanchenko, since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has participated in over two hundred rounds of negotiations and violated every signed agreement, including twenty ceasefire agreements (“Ukraine Seeks to End the War. What’s Wrong with the ‘Peace Scenarios’?,” The Wilson Center). While we cannot give up on the possibility of a genuine negotiated agreement, we must take seriously the aggressor’s consistent pattern of behavior over time. As Jesus warned, “by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). Although he had false prophets in mind, I think this is a good rule of thumb about anyone, and we should especially beware of those “who come to [us] in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly…are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Ukrainian Parliament member Yanchenko puts it well: “Ukraine earnestly seeks to end the war, not just secure a pause. But it is vital that this war be concluded justly.” If there is to be a parley, it must be one that sets the stage for a just and lasting peace.
Tobias Winright
St Patrick’s Pontifical University
Maynooth, Ireland
Prioritizing Politicking
Rand Richards Cooper’s review of Conclave (“Habemus Pablum,” January) hits the nail precisely on the head (a skill I never mastered). A film that enabled us to understand some of the peculiar rituals associated with the death of a pope and the election of his successor veered off into a simplistic overview of the politicking and then threw all credibility to the wind in its final scenes. A great movie gone south.
David Madsen
Seattle, Wash.
Integration, Not Assimilation
As the son of two island-born residents, I share Bishop González’s concern for Puerto Rico’s ancestral heritage (“Citizenship Without Statehood,” December). The evidence of history reassures me that our traditions will not be culturally “absorbed by another nation,” as the bishop fears. The U.S. territories of Florida, Texas, New Mexico, California, Louisiana, and Arizona became states with large populations of Spanish-speaking residents. They have all enriched the cultural life of the nation with their music, art, films, and languages.
We can also point to the fact that more Puerto Ricans now live on the mainland than in Puerto Rico. This six-million-plus diaspora celebrates our heritage from New York to California with annual parades and festivals. By moving to states, these Puerto Ricans have chosen statehood for themselves and their families. They reject the unequal and undemocratic status of the island while affirming their heritage by choosing cultural integration, not assimilation.
Texans are not the same as the Down Easters of Maine. They often carry their state flag along with the flag of the United States. Maine’s Francophone population is as proud of their language as the Spanish speakers in Texas, California, Florida, and New Mexico. Similarly, Puerto Rico’s culture and identity could live under statehood as well as independence. We need a permanent solution to the suffering produced by the island’s unequal and undemocratic status as a U.S. territory. As Dr. Efraín Vázquez-Vera, former chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico, explains: “Puerto Rico’s colossal bankruptcy is not only financial but also political, social, and moral. And the main responsibility for this colonial bankruptcy lies in its territorial political status, which is immoral, unfair, anti-democratic, discriminatory, and prevents Puerto Rico from recovering.” Continuing as a U.S. territory is forcing island residents to leave Puerto Rico and directly threatens Puerto Rico’s culture.
Gene Roman
The Bronx, N.Y.