The headline on CNN.com today said "Sources: Major Terror Attack Possible This Summer". The story goes on to speculate that an attack could occur on the fourth, before elections, or at any other of the sundry gatherings occurring in America from now ad infinitum. Such is the band-aid that Americans have accepted – the illusion that there will be a return to “normalcy”. I find the assertion that life will (or should) continue on as before dubious at best. Nope. We are nearing a watershed; things are changing and will change further, whether we like it or not.
A more valuable question than "When and where will the next terrorist action occur?" may be, "How are our current activities reinforcing and creating sympathies for terrorists and their causes?" A focus on the former precludes self-examination, a process that is as important to the health of a nation as it is for an individual. The truth of the matter is that we, Americans, do not exist in a vacuum. People have opinions of us, perhaps influenced more by television than actual interaction, but opinions (with corresponding emotions) nonetheless. What people have seen over the last two years has not done much to further the image of Americans as a moral, trustworthy people. This, in the last few weeks, has become increasingly apparent.
Humbleness has been an acknowledged virtue from time immemorial. The value of humbleness is lost only to the detriment of those stubborn individuals who harbor its antonym: pride. So too follows the fate of nations. Humbleness does not mean bowing out in the face of danger, but it does recognize that rights do not spring forth, in any stage of development, from the heads of wrongs. Neither does humbleness need to justify its paths by its results. Neither does it need to go about its business in secret.
Posting notices of possible terrorist attack circumvents the real issues facing us today and glosses over a deeper need. How we conduct ourselves in the world, now as always, will affect how our neighbors choose to interact with us. We seem to have taken a wrong turn - correcting such a mistake is much better option than blindly forging ahead.
A more valuable question than "When and where will the next terrorist action occur?" may be, "How are our current activities reinforcing and creating sympathies for terrorists and their causes?" A focus on the former precludes self-examination, a process that is as important to the health of a nation as it is for an individual. The truth of the matter is that we, Americans, do not exist in a vacuum. People have opinions of us, perhaps influenced more by television than actual interaction, but opinions (with corresponding emotions) nonetheless. What people have seen over the last two years has not done much to further the image of Americans as a moral, trustworthy people. This, in the last few weeks, has become increasingly apparent.
Humbleness has been an acknowledged virtue from time immemorial. The value of humbleness is lost only to the detriment of those stubborn individuals who harbor its antonym: pride. So too follows the fate of nations. Humbleness does not mean bowing out in the face of danger, but it does recognize that rights do not spring forth, in any stage of development, from the heads of wrongs. Neither does humbleness need to justify its paths by its results. Neither does it need to go about its business in secret.
Posting notices of possible terrorist attack circumvents the real issues facing us today and glosses over a deeper need. How we conduct ourselves in the world, now as always, will affect how our neighbors choose to interact with us. We seem to have taken a wrong turn - correcting such a mistake is much better option than blindly forging ahead.
posted by peter at 23:13
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home