Please read this
With certain exceptions, I have noticed that most of us have been quite silent on the current political situation, make that turmoil, in Iraq. I am specifically referring to the, dare I say it?, torture of Iraqi prisoners. After reading this article in the Times magazine, I am compelled to open up at least a smal public forum for the discussion of ( Read more... )
Well, you're certainly right that we, as a society, should be sharing in some sort of collective guilt for these actions. When I looked yesterday at the articles in the Times, I purposefully decided not to read this one - I just don't usually take anything new away from what is becoming preaching to the converted. Our society is becoming increasingly polarized along political lines. If you're like us, you view American actions overseas as negative and find the country in a moral quandary. If you're on the other side of the fence/aisle/what-have-you, you might view the USA as still having the moral high-ground as we install democracy - hey, embarrassing, even torturing, these guys isn't as bad as them killing our troops. from the article:
Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, before which Secretary Rumsfeld testified, avowed that he was sure he was not the only member of the committee ''more outraged by the outrage'' over the photographs than by what the photographs show. ''These prisoners,'' Senator Inhofe explained, ''you know they're not there for traffic violations. If they're in Cellblock 1-A or 1-B, these prisoners, they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents. Many of them probably have American blood on their hands, and here we're so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.'' It's the fault of ''the media'' which are provoking, and will continue to provoke, further violence against Americans around the world. More Americans will die. Because of these photos.
You state that we, as Americans, have tacitly supported these actions by our forces overseas. I tend to agree (I find myself reticent to agree entirely), but find it necessary to note that this is the way of life in America (and much of the world). Ignorance is bliss. We give our tacit support to so many practices - the actions of our troops overseas, the processes by which our clothing, fuel, homes and food are manufactured, an economic system that wreaks havoc within our own cities and those of our brothers and sisters around the world, etc, etc... "If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem." But what is the solution? Electing John Kerry certainly won't turn us around. Would the military have acted differently if Gore was President? The Democrats and Republicans both have their fair shares of shame and neither will be going away any time soon. The prospects for more massive social change are dim.
I am obviously becoming increasingly cynical about the ability to change the way that this country views its place in the world. American exceptionalism is not, unfortunately, going away any time soon. Part of my mind is seriously considering jumping ship and getting out of this country - I don't think the kinds of changes that I would like to see in many aspects of this society will change within my lifetime.
Still, perhaps these terrible events will leave a positive legacy. Maybe, just maybe, people will react to this knowledge that their government doesn't reflect the values that they believe in. On the other hand, maybe more Americans than we would like have bought into the views of Senator Inhofe. Maybe some day we'll have a real opportunity to find out.
Reply
Leave a comment