|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
With respect, this time you're off-track.Reader comment on item: War as Social Work? Submitted by David Scholem (United States), May 6, 2003 at 11:19 Dear DP:When I was a child support investigator, tracking down deadbeat parents (an equal-gender crime) and finding them under rocks around the world to bring them to book, I was doing "social work"... a person working on an aspect of this-here American society to accomplish some improvement of just one unit of society: the, usually desperately struggling, custodial family. On an immensely larger scale and addressing ALL aspects of society, Social work is EXACTLY what the U.S. did in Germany to rehabilitate its society desperately struggling with the total overturn of everything familiar. You may want to visit www.germans-and-democracy.com to taste the PBS documentary I've been doing on the subject for over 2 years. The point is, when America intervenes on the massive scale of going to war, as in Iraq or the Germany you quote, it IS also implicitly undertaking an equally massive post-war continuity of mission. Demolishing the known that results from decapitating a tyrant-hydra is a job for the long haul. And being in denial about that is perilous to the settlement of the undertaking. "Social work," so scorned as a political expletive, is the other side of any regime-change coin of true value. It behooves opinion-leaders championing democracy to face this and show a path out of the Pavlovian misuse of language-- in this case social work a derogation-- that is dangerously near the language control of tyrannies. As ever, in respect and admiration, David. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". << Previous Comment Next Comment >> Reader comments (51) on this item
![]() |
![]() Latest Articles |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes (The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998. For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.) |