Dear Mary: Thank you for your comprehensive viewpoint.
Peace.......Sharon "Pitassi, Mary" wrote: > > A few responses to Kakki's response to me. > > First, I wrote, and Kakki responded: > > "> My favorite is probably, "Stay away from the ridiculous claims that > we > > are hated because we respect individual liberties. In the Muslim > world, > > over and over again, we consistently HAVE NOT respected individual > liberties > > but rather supported tin-pot dictators." > > I think that is really debatable. How can we explain the fact that tens > of > millions of people from South America, Central America, Iran, Palestine, > Iraq, Pakistan, Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, Korea and Russia > have > fled to our country. If we were the "great imperialist Satan" who has > help > ruin their countries and interfered with their "democratic" elections, > why > the hell do so many of them want to come here? The facts belie a lot of > the > criticism against the U.S." > > What facts bely the criticism? I'll get to that later. > > But as to notion that the fact that millions of people around the world > have immigrated to the United States somehow weakens the assertion that > the U.S. has engaged in systematic interference and suppression of civil > liberties in other countries: I can't agree. That's comparing apples > and oranges. In fact, my original point was, although the U.S. is, for > most U.S. citizens and residents, a beacon of rights and opportunities, > those who have been on the receiving end of U.S. foreign policy have not > always been so lucky. To me, it's no surprise that some have seen the > lay of the land, and decided that they'd much rather be on the inside of > the fence than the outside. > > OK, that last was a little glib. Let me be more serious. There will > always be individuals of courage and ambition who will see life in the > U.S. as the best way to further their own personal dreams and to care > for their families. My grandfather, Michael Pitassi, was a shining > example of that. A bright, ambitious boy in the tiny village of Ateleta > in the Abruzzi region of south central Italy, he realized early on that > a life spent in his small town held no promise for him. So, at the age > of 16, speaking no English and armed with only a third-grade education > but having already mastered two trades, he shipped off to the United > States, worked as a butcher to pay the relative who had put up the money > for his passage, switched to what would become a lifetime of work as a > stonemason, and rose to become a partner in his own successful business, > which developed a national reputation within its own niche. He lived to > see two of his children and the first of his six grandchildren graduate > from college, and to hear that first grandchild--me--tentatively begin > to speak of becoming a lawyer. Truly, he crafted a life for himself > that would have been utterly impossible in the village in which he was > born. > > But does the fact that Michael Pitassi had the courage and persistence > to take full advantage of an opportunity he saw negate the fact that the > U.S. supported the government of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba before > Castro's revolution in 1959? That U.S. Marines occupied Nicaragua more > or less continuously from 1912-1933, when they were replaced by a > National Guard commanded by Anastasio Somoza, with whom the U.S. enjoyed > quite cordial relations? That the U.S. later overtly and covertly > supported the Contras in that country? That it restored the Shah of > Iran to the Peacock Throne, directly setting in motion the events, and > the reaction to those events, that, in the minds of many, created the > environment in which Islamic fundamentalism would eventually thrive? > > And does it negate the increasing evidence that U.S. involvement in the > overthrow of the democratically-elected Socialist government of Salvador > Allende in the 70's extended to the highest ranks of government, > including Henry Kissinger himself? In fact, an edition of "60 Minutes" > detailing those charges had aired here two days before the attacks on > the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. When I first received notice > on my computer that something vague had occurred involving a crash and a > hijacked plane on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, my first thought > was that some terribly confused or deranged relative of a victim of the > Chilean coup was making a tragic statement. The reason? As one who has > lived and studied in Chile, the date of September 11 was already > indelibly etched on my mind. Allende's government was violently > overthrown on September 11, 1973. > > Some immigrants made their decision to adopt the U.S. as their new and > permanent home before any of these events happened. Some didn't know > about them. Some would have come anyway, for purely personal reasons. > And yes, some, like the particular U.S. Muslims interviewed for a recent > New York Times article (don't recall the date; could probably find it if > I rummaged around at home), are frank in saying that, even though they > disapprove of many, many components of the "American way of life," they > came here and remain here because they are treated better here than they > would be anywhere else. Which, again, doesn't contradict my original > point. > > The U.S. actions described above are FACT. They MUST be considered when > evaluating how we have come to the place in which we find ourselves now. > > And second, Kakki wrote: > > "The situation now, > our current reality, is that we are suddenly at war and in a state of > emergency. There really are more pressing concerns for Americans right > now > than to be ruminating every day about all the mistakes we made to get us > to > this point. I would rather Nightline be telling me about the latest > Anthrax > or other kinds of attacks, and how the war is affecting our world than > being > lectured about all the actions that have brought us to this point right > now." > > But in my view, it is precisely *because* we are in a state of emergency > that it is so crucial that we understand what our role in the world has > been, and how what we actually did has influenced what some terrorist > extremists may believe about us, with varying degrees of accuracy. > Would you want a doctor treating you for Anthrax (and I hope to GOD that > never happens to any of us!!) who understood only imperfectly how > Anthrax works? And without that understanding, how could a vaccine be > developed? > > Understanding the whole context, which *definitely* involves the actions > of other countries but also includes those of our own that we may find > less than savory, need not take the form of "ruminating" without action, > or without devising positive changes. Indeed, it will be most effective > if it occurs in conjunction with these other two. But, in my opinion, > it must occur. > > T.S. Eliot wrote, in quite another context, "in my end is my beginning." > Here, within the solution *must* be found the fullest possible > understanding of the problem, or we will have learned nothing, and > others, within our borders and without, may be tragically victimized > again. > > In respect and friendship, > > Mary P. > Wishing my dear grandfather were here to lend his wisdom and vast > insight to my view of the incredible events of the last month and a > half, but knowing that he would have been heartbroken at the direct > attack on the country that he loved.
