Imagine you were standing outside your house one day on a sunny day, enjoying the tranquillity of nature around you. Imagine that as you admired the pearly blue sky, suddenly “[e]verything [is] dark and [you can’t] see anything” (McVeigh). “[T]he whole ground [is shaking] and black smoke [rises] up” all around you (McVeigh). Imagine the confusion that pierces you in this moment. Imagine the “poisonous” air filling up your lungs, suffocating you (McVeigh). Imagine the bleak terror. But you can’t. Because the horrors of a drone attack aren’t real to a single one of you.

In our world of escalating violence, drones—formally called unmanned aerial vehicles—are no longer a matter of the future. Only several weeks after his inauguration, President Trump has already authorized at least two drone attacks. And the targeted location of the most recent attack that occurred this Thursday was in a place with which I am very familiar: Pakistan. While it was reported that no civilians were harmed, this is not the first drone attack in Pakistan. In fact, “[t]here have been 424 drone attacks in Pakistan to date,” and not all of these attacks can boast of such low collateral damage as this last one did (hindustantimes). Even though drones do not directly affect us, they affect too many lives to be ignored. However, it would be unfair to say that governments issuing drone attacks are entirely responsible for the bloodshed. There is, of course, also terrorism.

Our generation has seen some of the worst terrorist attacks of history: The Cinema Rex fire in Iran that killed about 422 people; the May 2013 Iraq attacks that claimed 449 lives; the 9/11 attack that killed an estimated 2,993 people, to name just a few. Obviously, this rise in terrorism must be addressed, and some governments have decided that drones are one of the most effective ways to combat terrorism. However, the use of drones raises many ethical questions, and one profound issue is that drone warfare threatens our view of humanity. 

First of all, it is necessary to acknowledge that regardless of the ethical concerns, drones have been extremely beneficial in the war on terrorism. “U.S. drones have killed an estimated 3300 al Qaeda, Taliban, and other jihadist operatives in Pakistan and Yemen,” consequently probably preventing hundreds of terrorist attacks (Byman). It is likely that this positive outcome would not have been possible if drones were not used since drones are more efficient than land operations. Furthermore, figures from “[t]he Obama administration” reveal “that between 64 and 116 civilians have been killed by drone and other U.S. strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Africa since President Obama took office” (pbs). While collateral damage is regrettable, this number is considerably small compared to the number of extremists who were killed by drones. Proponents of drone warfare also contend that hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent lives are ultimately protected by it not only because it effectively kills terrorist group leaders, but it also protects the lives of the military in our countries.

So far, it seems like drone warfare is a necessary evil to combat greater evil. Yet, despite the safety that it gives us, there is a sacrifice. A sacrifice that it is more important than our personal safety. Our humanity. While there are all these benefits to drone warfare, advocates forget one key implication of drone warfare. The dehumanizing of individuals. The positive aspects of drone warfare are also its downfall. Because drones so successfully kill hundreds of people, even if they are extremist leaders, psychologists have determined that drone warfare is taking a toll on the soldiers who pilot the vehicle. 

Moreover, the general public is also indirectly affected through drone warfare. Drone warfare is too easy. All it takes is to push one button, and hundreds of people are blown up to pieces. But this isn’t the detail that the Pentagon and our government officials reveal to us. The lack of loss on the side of those using drones dehumanizes the enemy. While normal warfare also does this to some extent, drones allow us to distant ourselves from the traumatic effects that drone attacks have on bystanders and the recipient country. Even terrorists are humans, but drones have helped us to forget that. Also, the figures of civilian casualties and deaths due to drone attacks that the U.S. government announces are drastically smaller than what many humanist organizations have estimated. In Pakistan alone, drone attacks have caused over 3,000 deaths, with less than a hundred of those killed actual terrorists.

It’s not just a weapon that protects us from terrorism. It’s a weapon that dehumanizes people and allows us to ignore the value of each human being. It’s a bloodthirsty weapon that will continue to ravage this generation and the generations to come if we keep silent. Because “[i]n keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up in a thousand fold in the future” (goodreads). Let us not normalize killing machines that threaten our humanity. As Robert Kennedy once said, “each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope” (goodreads). Let us each be that “tiny ripple of hope” by standing up for humanity and voicing our beliefs. Because many ripples create a tidal wave that can prevent the evil of drone warfare.