Priorities – The Hugh Hewitt Show

More than 40 people are still missing….

Amid pockets of public anger over missed fire risk warnings and evidence of unsafe construction practices, Beijing has warned it would crack down on any “anti-China” protests.

China long ago made clear that its priorities are something other than human life.  Watch this horrendous story disappear – quickly.

Which brings me to this story about Israel’s use of robotics in the Gaza War.  The tech is fascinating and quite sophisticated.  And strategically it makes all the sense in the world as the good guys risked no life while the bad guys lost.  But it also gave me pause.  America’s Civil War killed massive numbers because the technology of warfare out stripped our tactics and defense capabilities.  World War 2 moved war from the battlefield to the everybody’s home front because of technological advances – reaching a zenith in nuclear weapons.  We have learned how to kill en masse, and it seems we are learning how to kill without risk.

I do not wish to be anti-war here.  If war must be fought, we are wise to fight it with every tool and every tactic at our disposal.  I am looking more broadly.

What I see in all of these stories is a sacrifice of our humanity.  We sacrificed our quest for knowledge and adventure for the sake of a problem that has no solution – poverty.  In chasing that problem without a solution we have dehumanized the impoverished.  Whether it be the tower fires in Hong Kong or covid policy, matters of state seem to matter more than our human lives.  What does it say about humanity if warfare becomes entirely an automated affair.  As is often the case, science fiction has explored this question – here’s a clip.  Even James T. Kirk and Spock conclude war must have a human face.

Yesterday we looked at how influential intellectuals are coming to God and they are doing so not through intellectual activity but by once again finding their humanity.  Progress, it would seem, comes not from the denial of our humanity, but from its flourishing.  Therefore its flourishing should be our highest priority.