“Escapism” is a Defense of Conscience and Dignity

If someone thoughtfully decides that all the “decision-making” sides of a conflict are evil, corrupt, cynical, hypocritical and lethal, and therefore none of them deserves to be sympathetic, it is not an attitude of “an ostrich burying his head in the sand” or “Pilate cowardly washing his hands,” but only a person who shows consistent respect for the gifts of conscience and dignity, refusing to defile them because of his alleged “Puritanism”, because of their priceless value. Moreover, it is only such an attitude that makes it possible to establish an honest understanding with all those who have suffered as a result of a given conflict, despite its principled refusal to become anyone’s pawns in it.

To quote the classic: “I’m not on anyone’s side because nobody’s on my side.” Contrary to appearances, this is a statement that does not mean haughtiness or apathy, but steadfastness and vigilance. If this is an escapist statement, then only in the sense in which an escapist attitude is taken by a sane person trying to escape from an insane asylum. This, on the other hand, is the only right choice in the face of the increasingly complex scuffles between the various groups making up the establishment.