Shortly after the tragedy of the 11 September 2001 attacks, I wrote an essay expressing my feelings. In reviewing that essay, I see no reason to change a word I wrote. I maintain that violence is not the solution to violence committed against us. We gain the dubious satisfaction of vengeance, but it can't bring back the lives of those whose lives were lost. It doesn't fill the hole left in the lives of family and friends of those killed in the attack.
I'm not saying that the efforts to root out and eliminate the perpetrators are wrong or misguided. Far from it, in fact. But if one considers the results of our "war on terrorism" - we now have lost more Americans in the name of that war on terror than were killed in the 11 September 2001 attacks. Politicians sent them to do the dirty work and they've died doing their duty. Add to that the horrible, disfiguring, life-changing injuries. And that number of American casualties is dwarfed by the deaths and injuries visited upon innocent civilians in those very wars. We've been involved in unwinnable wars of occupation in foreign lands, just as we were when fighting an ideological war in Vietnam. Our war on terror is a very effective recruiting campaign for terrorists.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have clear origins in religious conflict. The fanatic muslims responsible for terrorism are using religion as a tool for their political goals. Notice how it's not the leaders who are strapping explosives to themselves, or flying themselves into buildings. No, they inflame young, gullible people to do their dirty work without any risk to themselves. These muslim fanatics are the worst kind of "chicken hawk" - someone who supports combat so long as they themselves are exempt from its horrors.
In America today, there are christian fanatics who are, to me, indistinguishable from their muslim brethren. They seek to divide the world along religious lines and lead a holy war, a jihad, against the enemies they see. If we go down that road, a path that is openly in contradiction to the christian doctrine of leaving vengeance to the lord, and turning the other cheek when attacked, then we have become what we claim to despise. If we sacrifice our freedoms for the illusion of security at the behest of power-hungry politicians seeking to benefit from our irrationally exaggerated fear of terrorism, then we have lost something very precious that long has been the most important achievement of the United States of America. We have been a beacon standing for freedom and human rights, despite some setbacks to those freedoms during times of war. If we vote to make our nation a christian theocracy, we will have repudiated one of the crucial things that made America great. We will have let fear drive us to give up all that has made us into a light of hope for oppressed minorities around the world.
In this time of reflection on the events that occurred ten years ago, it seems to me that we would bring the greatest honor to the lives lost on that terrible day if we renewed our commitment to the system that so many Americans have died to preserve. The most effective way to fight terrorism is to preserve the very things in American society that the terrorists most despise and fear: our freedoms and the preservation of the rights of all Americans - especially those with whom we disagree!
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5 comments:
Hello Chuck,
After reading your blog you said something I had not considered prior:
"I'm not saying that the efforts to root out and eliminate the perpetrators are wrong or misguided. Far from it, in fact. But if one considers the results of our "war on terrorism" - we now have lost more Americans in the name of that war on terror than were killed in the NY Trade Center attacks. Politicians sent them to do the dirty work and they've died doing their duty. Add to that the horrible, disfiguring, life-changing injuries. And that number of American casualties is dwarfed by the deaths and injuries visited upon innocent civilians in those very wars."
You raise a profound point and one that I strongly agree with. In the end, war brings more war.
When Hitler was toppled, we entered into a Cold War with Russia. What did we accomplish? Billions of dollars spent on nuclear aresenals which in the end where dismantled. I often wonder how these things all transpire, the futility of it all.
Thanks for sharing thoughts that, well, make us think differently.
Sincerely,
John Serpa
Thanks, John ... nice to know that someone finds my comments thought-provoking. Investments in weaponry cause only destruction if used, and is pretty much without value if not used. I understand the need to be prepared to defend ourselves from attack, but it only makes sense to engage in wars if our interests are truly at risk.
I agree with most of your post about not acting ignorantly and only going after the one deviant sect that caused 9/11, but there are other parts I just can't agree with.
In my opinion we are as close to a Christian theocracy as we were in the strongly deist US back in the 1700s. The notion that we could move toward one just seems completely absurd in my view. In fact most of these pundits, and the unemployment rate, are making the US seem more like Weimar Germany than a religious state.
I am a registered independent, and I think both sides conservative and leftist, have shown a high level of incompetence in all levels of governance. I believe that these times will lead to more free thinking individuals who have a better definition of values than those spit out by Fox News and MSNBC.
Justin Reid
Justin,
With the framers of the Constitution solidly aligned against establishment of a state religion, it was pretty unlikely that we would become a theocracy at the end of the 18th century.
In today's world, where the religious right has chosen to tout a revisionist history that falsely claims we have always been a christian nation (thereby ignoring the true history of the Constitution's framers), it seems that a large segment of the population is supportive of the demolition of the wall between church and state. This is especially so given the quasi-religious nature of the so-called "war on terror" which is maintained by putting islam up as the bogeyman.
Both sides of the aisle have been incompetent, but in very different ways. I see a very real threat from the dominionists of the religious right. If you don't, well ... you're entitled to believe what you wish, of course.
As for Weimar Germany ... consider what that situation turned into when an originally tiny splinter group of fanatics took advantage of an economic collapse to promote their quasi-religious hatred for the jews.
Hello again,
Good points. And I do agree that we're one crazy guy away from a dictatorship in many regards, religiously fanatic or otherwise. Lets hope this doesn't come to pass (like with some of the nutso tea-party people).
Have a nice day,
Justin Reid
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