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確かに、ずるいよね
子供はまだ小さいころから
「嫌だ」という言葉を口にするようになる。
これは「自分にとって嫌だ」という個人的な意見だ。
少し大きくなると、今度は、
「ずるい」という言葉を口にするようになる。
こちらは、だれにとってもあてはまる意見だ。
つまり、「それはほかの人がやってもいけないし、
自分がやってもいけないことだ」という
意味合いがあるのだが…。
You're right, it's not fair
When I taught political theory in college, one thing I tried to teach was the concept of justice. One approach was to look At how children first learn the language of justice.
Among the first words children learn is "no" (in Japanese, "iyada"). This helps children protect themselves against things they don't like. But when a child (or anyone) says "no" (or "I don't like it"), that's a private statement. I don't like it, but somebody else might.
At around 3 or 4, children start saying: "That's not fair" (in Japanese, "zurui"). They might not realize it, but they are making a statement that applies to everyone. If I say, "It's wrong to do that," I am saying it would be wrong for me or for anyone else to do that. To say, "That's not fair," is to promise not to do the unfair thing. Yes, many people break that promise, but still that's what the words mean.
I will give two examples where it would be good to remember this simple truth.
One is in the response by Americans to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In an earlier ST article I quoted a young American who, right after the attacks, said, "I guess this proves that bombing civilians is wrong, doesn't it?" This statement invites the people in shock and mourning to take the step from "I don't like it" to "It's unjust." If it's unjust, it shouldn't be done by anyone, anywhere. This invites people to expand their imagination and think, if the killing of 3,000-plus people here was this horrible, this monstrous, then think how the people must have felt in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki, in Dresden, in Korea, in Vietnam, in Afghanistan. It invites people to think, "Now that I know this pain, I would never want to be responsible for causing the same kind of pain to others."
In fact there are some Americans, including families of victims, who do see it that way, and who oppose the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. But that's still a minority view.
A second example is the tragedy of the 13 people kidnapped (rachi) some years ago by the North Korean government. The Japanese mass media have taken this issue up actively, and the public now has a vivid idea of how awful, how life-ruining it can be to be kidnapped or to have a member of your family kidnapped. To paraphrase the above quotation, I guess this proves that kidnapping is wrong.
And if it was brutal and wrong to kidnap those 13 Japanese, then it was equally brutal and wrong (actually, worse) to kidnap (kyousei renko) tens of thousands of Koreans during the last war, and to use them as forced laborers and sex-slaves. Today's passion against kidnapping gives the Japanese public an opportunity to remember that the majority of the Koreans in Japan are here because they, their parents or their grandparents were kidnapped. In fact there are some Japanese who do see it that way. But it's still a minority view.
Shukan ST: Nov. 29, 2002
(C) All rights reserved
- it's not fair
- 公平ではない
- political theory
- 政治理論
- concept of justice
- 正義の概念
- approach
- 取り組み方
- protect 〜 against 〜
- 〜に対して〜を守る
- private statement
- 個人的な意見
- I don't like it, but somebody else might
- 私は嫌いだけど、好きな人もいるかもしれない
- At around 3 or 4
- 3歳か4歳ぐらいになると
- might not realize it
- 気付いていないかもしれないが
- applies 〜
- 〜にあてはまる
- (is)wrong
- 間違っている
- promise
- 約束する
- break
- 破る
- still
- それでも
- mean
- 意味する
- response
- 反応
- attacks of Sept. 11, 2001
- 昨年9月11日の米同時テロ事件
- In an earlier ST article
- 2001年10月5日号本欄
- quoted 〜
- 〜の言葉を引用した
- proves
- 証明する
- bombing civilians
- 民間人を爆撃する
- invites 〜 to 〜
- 〜に〜するよう促す
- mourning
- 悼むこと
- take the step from 〜 to 〜
- 〜から〜に進む
- unjust
- 不正な
- expand
- 広げる
- monstrous
- 恐ろしい
- victims
- 犠牲者
- oppose
- 反対する
- invasions
- 侵攻
- minority view
- 少数派の見方
- tragedy
- 悲劇
- mass media
- マスコミ
- have taken this issue up actively
- その問題を盛んに取り上げている
- vivid
- 生々しい
- awful
- 恐ろしい
- life-ruining
- 一生が台無しになる
- paraphrase
- 別の言葉で言い換える
- brutal
- 残酷な
- equally
- 同様に
- forced laborers
- 強制連行の労働者
- sex-slaves
- 従軍慰安婦
- opportunity
- 機会