Posted on March 6th, 2021
MALINDA SENEVIRATNE
‘If you are not with me, I will assume that you are against me,’ is a prudent rule of thumb, but only in certain situations. Not all questions can be answered with either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Complex realities don’t often offer such luxurious indulgences. This is true of people, it is true of nations. It is true whenever there are multiple factors in play. There are costs and there are benefits, always and therefore decisions are based on assessing marginal benefits and marginal costs.
Sometimes, of course, one takes a principled stand, regardless of costs that may have to be incurred. Then there are situations where one determines not to be carried away by the moment but to think ahead. In other words, one wonders about repercussions, one wonders about precedents set.