One of the dangers at a time like this is that discourse can either become
very repetitive, or it can become polarized. Some people who only the day
before the attacks were criticizing the USA will feel they must fall silent,
at least for awhile, even if their criticisms may have been perfectly
justified; while others will use these attacks to spur them on to even
greater criticism. The danger is that very few Americans will be in much of a
mood to listen even to justified criticism for a good while to come, which is
understandable, but may not be the wisest course to take. A lot of people's
first response will be, "track 'em down and bomb 'em into oblivion," while
the Blame America First crowd will be intoning (pace Noel Coward) "Let's not
be beastly to the terrorists" on the grounds that they must have sincere
grievances to drive them to such desperate acts.
In my opinion, no grievance could possibly justify what was done yesterday,
and whoever did it must be punished with every imaginable severity. If it
does turn out to have been terrorists from the Middle East, merely addressing
the subject of their grievances will avail little; this was not perpetrated
for the purpose of providing the Palestinians with a state of their own, and
arranging for an independent Palestine won't end terrorism. The people who
did this are so maddened by their sense of grievance that they simply want to
strike out blindly and in rage, and destroy destroy destroy. Trying to
appease them will only embolden them to further atrocities.
On the other hand, if we learn nothing from this except "Get 'em," we will
have squandered the lives that were lost. America has an unchallenged
position of leadership, and its current leaders seem determined to be the big
bully boys on the block, so fearful that any multilateral arrangement (other
than one in which they talk and the rest of the world obeys) will amount to a
total infringement of absolute American sovereignty that they risk dividing
the world into genuinely Us and Them. That the grievances of the oppressed do
not justify terrorism does not in any way change the fact that there are
oppressed peoples in the world whose plights are not always being addressed.
The USA is big enough and strong enough to use its power for good, something
we don't always do. While licking our wounds and plotting our revenge, we
should begin to redress the problems that, left untouched, fester and produce
murderous fanatics. It is not a sign of weakness to be compassionate and
farsighted; it's a sign of maturity and wisdom. We can go after yesterday's
murderers while also beginning to lead the world towards true peace and
justice.
And that's not a criticism of the USA. I love my country and I grieve for
yesterday's victims and their families and friends. I want my country to be
even better than it is.
Tom Beck
