When considering the matter of the Gaza war, as the United States (U.S.) is undeniably supporting actions of the Israeli government, I’ve heard a lot about the topic of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Noteworthy, I hesitate to use these terms in a reckless manner.
For full disclose, I stated in a blogpost entitled Genocide, “I don’t like that my nation is supporting what may one day be viewed in retrospect as genocidal actions from the hands of Israel.” Still, some argue that Israel may be committing ethnic cleansing and not genocide.
Apparently, some people maintain that genocide is worse than ethnic cleansing and propose that these terms require differentiation. Being charitable to the claim of a lesser standard, assume that ethnic cleansing applies. According to one source, ethnic cleaning is defined as follows:
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it also includes indirect methods aimed at forced migration by coercing the victim group to flee and preventing its return, such as murder, rape, and property destruction.
The above photo is of me in my youth, working on a class project pertaining to American Indians, when I learned about a historical event within the U.S. that constituted ethnic cleansing. Relatively speaking, this occurrence wasn’t that long ago. According to one source:
The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the “Five Civilized Tribes” between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their enslaved African Americans within that were ethnically cleansed by the United States government.
From a moral and ethical perspective, one could argue that ethnically cleansing the Five Civilized Tribes—who were slaveholders—was a proper action for the U.S. government to have taken. When considering this outlook, it’s important to define terms.
A moral is of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior. An ethic is a set of moral principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. In short, morals describe subjective right and wrong while ethics, which are based on morals, are rules we pledge to live by.
Setting aside the fact that I have ancestors of African descent who were enslaved in the U.S., I can attempt to objectively evaluate actions of the U.S. government regarding the moral and ethical nature pertaining to the Trail of Tears. To do this, I’ll use a syllogism:
Form (constructive dilemma) –
If p, then q; and if r, then s; but either p or r; therefore, either q or s.
Example –
If slavery is morally and ethically wrong while needing to be ignored in the interest of sovereignty, then displacing slaveholders from their land isn’t the morally and ethically right thing to do; and if stopping suffering of the majority group by infringing human rights of the minority group is necessary, then ethnic cleansing is a proper action to stop oppression.
But either slavery is morally and ethically wrong while needing to be ignored in the interest of sovereignty or stopping suffering of the majority group by infringing human rights of the minority group is necessary.
Therefore, either displacing slaveholders from their land isn’t the morally and ethically right thing to do or ethnic cleansing is a proper action to stop oppression.
I can appreciate the propositions outlined in these conflicting logical premises. The conclusion may lead one to reasonably consider that displacement of people from their land is immoral and unethical, though it may also be perceived as the proper step to take for stopping oppression.
When examining morals and ethics regarding complex systems such as sociopolitical actions toward dealing with oppression, matters aren’t always as simple as if-then premises and a conclusion. For instance, consider the following syllogism:
Form (modus ponens) –
If p, then q; p; therefore, q.
Example –
If ethnic cleansing is bad, then ethnic cleansing must never be allowed.
Ethnic cleansing is bad.
Therefore, ethnic cleansing must never be allowed.
Bear in mind that although I lean toward a position that’s adverse toward ethnic cleansing, herein, I’m merely evaluating the logic and reason used to make conflicting arguments from a moral and ethical perspection regarding this matter. Nevertheless, I’m not using a prescription.
Although I’d prefer for ethnic cleansing never to occur, I’m not using demandingness by absolutistically or conditionally declaring what should, shouldn’t, must, mustn’t, ought, or oughtn’t to occur. This is because the morals and ethics I maintain are my own and not absolute.
Understandably, you may have different moral and ethical principles which are antithetical to mine. Even still, there are some people who subscribe to the notion of objective morality. Personally, I see no evidence regarding the latter. Nevertheless, I’m aware of this claim.
From a dialectic perspective, I maintain that the enslavement of African Americans by the Five Civilized Tribes was wrong. Likewise, I argue that displacing American Indians from their ancestral homelands to newly designated Indian Territory was wrong.
These matters aren’t mutually exclusive, as they relate to complex systems. Noteworthy, I maintain that it’s irrational (that which isn’t in accordance with both logic and reason) to argue ideal- versus real-world perspectives in regard to ethnic cleansing.
American Indians could’ve been left alone or they could’ve been displaced. The U.S. government could’ve chosen to try living in one accord with American Indians or the government could’ve attempted genocide by killing off all American Indians.
There were many options available and I’m grateful not to have been in charge of determining what decision would’ve been the most morally and ethically, as well as logical and reasonable, option during the time of the Trail of Tears. Unfortunately, history tends to rhyme.
Photo credit, photographer Dawoud Abu Alkas, Reuters, fair use
The above photo is reportedly of Gaza from January 2025. From the photos and videos I’ve seen, presuming it isn’t artificial intelligence-generated content, the area is largely decimated. For context regarding the current post, one source reported on February 4, 2025:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday [2/4/2025] said the United States “will take over” the Gaza Strip — possibly with the help of American troops — while the Palestinians who live there should leave, a stunning proposal that would dramatically reorient the Middle East and subject a population of more than a million to further displacement.
Herein, I’ve outlined perceivably moral and ethical arguments which some people may use in accordance to what they consider to be logical and reasonable propositions regarding ethic cleaning. For full disclosure, I stated in a blogpost entitled Logically Inconsistent (2/5/2025):
I’ve dissected the logic and reason of the Trump administration to reveal its glaring logical inconsistent propositions. Ultimately, a simple syllogism can be used to sum up the irrational action currently being considered by the Trump administration:
Form (modus ponens) –
If p, then q; p; therefore q.
Example –
If MAGA [Make America Great Again] and America First are primary principles of the U.S., then the U.S. has no legitimate business supporting Israel or a Gaza land grab.
MAGA and America First are primary principles of the U.S.
Therefore, the U.S. has no legitimate business supporting Israel or a Gaza land grab.
This syllogistic proposal is rational. Ergo, any action to the contrary is irrational. Emotional appeals, ad hominem attacks, and theological arguments in opposition are also irrational. Ultimately, history will not judge well the U.S. for ostensibly participating in ethnic cleansing.
While I understand arguments about supporting Israel, which are often made by people who subscribe to a MAGA agenda and America First policy, such action is antithetical to the aforementioned agenda and policy. Nevertheless, one source (2/10/2025) reports:
US President Donald Trump has said the two million Palestinians who would be resettled in neighbouring countries under his plan to take over and rebuild the Gaza Strip would have no right of return.
“No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing,” he told Fox News. “I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”
A clip of the interview was released a day after Trump said he was “committed to buying and owning Gaza”, despite global condemnation of the plan he unveiled last week.
One endeavors to stretch well enough to perform the logical leap necessary to go from a MAGA agenda and America First policy to outright advocating ethnic cleansing. It would appear as though the U.S. is remaining in the business of unveiled colonialism and imperialism.
Even if people argue that the U.S. hasn’t directly committed genocide, as Israel perceivably has overtly taken part in genocidal behavior, there is little logical wiggle room regarding the claim that our nation isn’t moving forward with direct ethnic cleansing. I oppose such action.
Ultimately, one may reject a proposal while not prescribing what must or not be done regarding a matter. Personally, ethnic cleansing of Gaza is wrong. In this real-world scenario, I’d prefer that the U.S. focus on matters at home. Yet, I’m not demanding what we must or mustn’t do.
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References:
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Gritten, D. (2025, February 10). Trump says no right of return for Palestinians under Gaza plan. BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn57neepx4vo
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