Semi-Charmed Life

Black or White

A friend of mine started a poll asking all my Chinese friends what they would do in this hypothetical scenario:

It's World War III and you have to side with either China or America.

If you choose America, the entire Chinese population will be wiped out and there will be no more China.

If you choose China, the United States will similarly be wiped out along with the American way of life.

And by choosing a side, it means to fight on behalf of that country.

I think hypothetical situations like these are absurd. At the very least, more information should be given before one entertains such a scenario. Questions like these are a form of litmus test to show where a person's loyalties lie. How would you be able to blindly just choose a side without further information?

Most of my friends seemed to have clear cut answers. Some were adamant on fighting for the United States and others were adamant on fighting for China due to Chinese pride.

My response was, if I am to fight and possibly die for anybody, whether man or country, I need to know what I'm fighting for.

My friend then asked me what kind of information I'm looking for. He re-iterated the question in the same exact simple scenario, which basically amounted to "Just pick a freaking side will ya?"

I refuse to play that game. His choice was that he would fight for the United States because that is his home country. He is obviously a loyal [Chinese-]American. But what if the United States was the clear aggressor? What if they made ridiculous threats or demands and unjustly imposed their will? Would he knowingly commit GENOCIDE on an entire race simply because of nationalism? The same set of questions apply to those who blindly choose China (and don't even get me started on why an American citizen, enjoying the benefits of America, would blindly choose to side with a foreign nation).

But that's probably considering too many factors. People just like simple, clean scenarios. Blind nationalism is just plain silly in my opinion. Faith, loyalty, nationalism, pride. These things are what blinds people to critical thinking. I was a little disappointed that all my friends were able to choose a side so quickly, especially within the context of the proposed scenario (GENOCIDE).