The Virtue of Wariness

The debate over “racial profiling,” which originally focused on blacks and crime, since September 11 has shifted to Arabs and terrorism. Is it fair to treat whole ethnic groups as suspects? It certainly violates liberal etiquette, but what if it’s statistically rational?

Shakespeare offers a brief sermon: “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” That echoes Christ: “Therefore be wise as serpents, harmless as doves.” Be charitable, but not foolish.

Even the highest of virtues, charity, must be qualified by the earthy virtue of prudence. The Christian must be prepared for martyrdom, if necessary, but he must not be a fool about it. Wisdom — even worldly wisdom — is a moral duty.

By contrast, liberalism, often confused with Christianity, insists it’s our duty to be naive. We — we white Americans, that is — are told we must eschew the “racial profiling” of blacks and Arabs, as if it were uncharitable to notice the obvious.

Unless suicide is a duty, this is absurd. We must love others; but we need not always trust them. They may hate us. And this may not even be their fault: we may have given them cause to hate us. Or, at any rate, people who resemble us, acting in our name, may have enraged them to the point where some of them seek to take an indiscriminate revenge.

In that case, a certain wariness is necessary. If our government excites hatred against us among certain people, in this case Arabs, we may have no choice but to be somewhat wary of Arabs whom we don’t know personally.

Liberals are always eager to confuse wariness with “hate,” “bigotry,” “prejudice,” and all that. But these threadbare accusations miss the point. I may not blame Arabs for being angry at what this country has done to them; but without violating the rights of innocent Arabs, I still have to protect myself against those Arabs who may take their anger out on me.

And even the innocent Arab should have no trouble understanding this. He knows perfectly well that after the events of September 11 the average American is going to feel uneasy about boarding an airplane with strangers who look Arabian. Years ago, an Arab face might have reminded us of Omar Sharif; today we can’t help thinking of Osama bin Laden.

The danger of this reaction is not only that it may lead us to excess and wrong-doing, but also that we may deprive ourselves of companions and friendships we might otherwise enjoy. Wariness may be a justified element in our dealings with others, but it should be no more than that. As far as possible, we should also be fair, generous, open, and hospitable — traits I like to think of as typical of Americans (and have often found among foreigners, including Arabs).

Put otherwise, you should be able to entertain a suspicion without losing the rational awareness that it is probably unfounded in individual cases. The odds are that the next Arab you meet will be a perfectly decent fellow. The chance that he works for bin Laden is very remote. In fact, bin Laden would like nothing better than to create unqualified hostility between Americans and Arabs.

So, alas, would some Americans. As the cries for war mount, those who express sympathy for Arabs and regret for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East are apt to have their patriotism impeached. Apparently being a good American now means never having to say you’re sorry; it seems that our government has never hurt an Arab — man, woman, or child — who didn’t have it coming.

Given the passions that are roaring, it’s heartening that the Bush administration is so far acting with caution and trying to avoid a major war. Secretary of State Colin Powell is showing far more tact and wisdom than his blustering, bomb-happy predecessor, Madeleine Albright.

The demands for war are loudest among “conservatives” and “neoconservatives,” who for some reason appear less interested in conserving than destroying. Such people should really be called “destructives.” They don’t even regard war as a regrettable necessity; they have a childish enthusiasm for it, and they think their readiness to slaughter foreigners proves their love of America. These pseudo-patriots, who claim to speak for American virtue, are the people we should really be wary of.

Joseph Sobran