Only when we
look beyond the
self-serving and
diversionary rationale
we have intoxicated and crippled ourselves with
can we actually see the
roots of this current
terrorism. And once we see those roots and address them, the terrorists will go
home and let American
be at home in peace.
This is the only way
victory over this present terrorism is possible.

when a people are oppressed but are willing to die to remove that oppression, and when they have a belief in the rightness of their cause, regardless of the oppressor's might and technology, the people's will to win
will always prevail.

Blind Patriotism: A Disservice to America

Barbara Lee knew when she voted as she did, being the lone no vote among a chorus of yes for war votes, that she would face the strident anger that she is now facing. She knew that harsh reality because Black Americans have always been asked to toe the line with Whites. But such behavior is mindless and does not benefit Black or White America. Blacks have had to deal with this type of group ethos for many years. Yet that pressure is the school yard bully's demand that everyone agrees with him.

The vote for war is not a light decision, and it should not be moved on in a frenzy of blind patriotism or because of some desire for retribution. This is especially true because of the type of war we are entering into--a war that is aimed not at conquering land, destroying troops, or gaining military advantage, but a war that targets civilians for a political or religious reason; a war in which the enemy willingly dies as long as he kills others with him; a war of attrition. This type of war needs more thinking than jingoism or blind patriotism.

Barbara Lee was courageous enough to think this matter through and say no to a rush to war. Her vote was especially important in the light of the leadership in the White House. George W. Bush presents a leadership that is questionable at best and frightening at worst during times like these.

It is notable that Mr. Bush voiced the same questionable rationale for why men would die in a plane to kill Americans and destroy American institutions. He reasoned that the cause for the extreme hatred Americans see against them is because we are a democracy, we are prosperous, and they are not. Such a rationale is self-serving and could not possibly make sense.

No one would kill himself because he hates another who is more prosperous than he. Likewise, no one would kill himself because another people have a form of government he dislikes. This dilettantish reasoning cannot possibly explain what is going on; yet it is repeatedly fed to us when there is a discussion of why terrorists come from around the world, stay in a country they hate for years, adhere to a rigid regime, and willingly give their lives to kill Americans and destroy American assets.

Our leaders offer this reason because it allows us to see ourselves in the best light. But the best light is not necessarily the correct light. If Americans will accept the idea that terrorists come from afar to kill Americans because Americans are doing so much better than the rest of the world, we need to examine ourselves to determine how clearly we are thinking on all other matters as well.

The more reasonable truth that explains the behavior of terrorists can be gleamed from their origins, their beliefs, and how America impacts on their land of origin and their beliefs.

When we examine the land of their origins we see that America is militarily impacting the lives of the people, their religions, and culture adversely, yet there is little that they can do to change that picture in their homelands. So maybe, they have come here to make Americans see what Americans have refused to see--we are oppressing people, their religions, their lives, and cultures around the world.

Social psychologist Franz Fanon indicated years ago that a people respond to oppression in one of two ways: acquiescence or revolt; there is always a period of acquiescence before revolt comes, as a people see if the oppression will leave or if it can be tolerated.

Americans need to see what our government and businesses are doing to people, cultures, and religions around the world in the name of the people of America; we should not accept the mindless patriotism that is now hurled at us. Such a patriotism is, as Samuel Johnson has reportedly said, the last refuge of a scoundrel. And such a patriotism cannot stop terrorists who feel so strongly about what we are doing to them that they are willing to die to stop it. This terrorist's behavior is what Franz Fanon and Martin Luther King have written and said would happen when people are oppressed.

The fearful historical truth is this: when a people are oppressed but are willing to die to remove that oppression, and when they have a belief in the rightness of their cause, regardless of the oppressor's might and technology, the people's will to win will always prevail. The only way America can win is to be right as well as have the might to back that rightness. But we only have military and economic might--our position in the parts of the world from which these terrorists come is not right.

This war has been brought home to America. Maybe now we will honestly assess our global behavior and correct it so that we can live in peace with others.

Only when we look beyond the self-serving and diversionary rationale we have intoxicated and crippled ourselves with can we actually see the roots of this current terrorism. And once we see those roots and address them, the terrorists will go home and let Americans live at home in peace. This is the only way victory over this present terrorism is possible.

It takes courage to stand and oppose the crowd, especially now, and that stand has consequences to it. Even before this September 11 tragedy and the fervor that surrounds it occurred, Gibbs Magazine had received hate mail for the small stands we take weekly on various social positions that show this nation wanting. But Barbara Lee and others, risking their lives, have willingly taken a stand for reasonableness and clarity of thought, as opposed to blind patriotism, which does the nation a disservice. []

FAJones
9/24/01

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