Taking Sides

"We take this position because we know what dictatorship is. And in the conflict between totalitarian regimes and democracy you must not hesitate to declare which side you are on. Even if a dictatorship is not an ideal typical one, and even if the democratic countries are ruled by people whom you do not like. I think you can be an enemy of Saddam Hussein even if Donald Rumsfield is also an enemy of Saddam Hussein."

Adam Michnik in Dissent.

Besides the actual side Michnik advocates here, I found this statement to be pretty powerful. (This also relates to the political dilemma of passive nihilism discussed below.) Is there a moral imperative to taking sides? Is it merely a form of weakness to opt out, or, as much of the current left has decided, to have it both ways? Is Michnik's postion hopelessly Manichean?

It boils down to making a choice. And as Sartre said, doing nothing is choosing to do nothing. Michnik's statement is a challenge, and a daunting one at that.