Patriotism for the Thinking Person
Viewpoint by Doc Kinne14850 Magazine > September 2001 Issue > Patriotism for the Thinking Person
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The last week has been very difficult for everyone, of course. For friends and families of the victims of this horrible tragedy, it has been the worst.
I dare say, however, that second on the list for whom this week has been difficult has been those who love and defend the very bedrock of this country: our freedom and civil liberties.The rhetoric currently coming out of the Administration, while understandable to a certain degree, ultimately may be as dangerous as the actual terrorist attack itself. Already the Senate has attached riders on a budget bill that would allow greater wiretapping of the Internet and computers.
Perhaps it is because of the shock of this horrible attack that has been perpetrated against us, but we must remember to guard ourselves from reacting in "knee jerk" ways. An example of a "knee jerk" response is the Administration's stance saying that a country's stance on terrorism is the "new standard" for our foreign policy. "Are you for us, or against us, with regard to terrorism?" we will now ask. Unfortunately, it is never that simple, for each country has its own definition of terrorism. "Yes!" says China, "We are with you on your fight against terrorism! If we help you, will you help us with the terrorist separatists in our western-most province?" "Wait," we say, "Those aren't terrorists. Those are people in Tibet fighting to free themselves from your oppressive rule." Indeed, yesterday's terrorists are today's honored statesmen. Ask Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat. In the end, a foreign policy that just has a country's position on terrorism as its litmus test may make a good sound bite but it is simplistic to the point of being childish, and will never stand.
President Bush's rhetoric regarding his "War on Terrorism" also deserves a very critical eye. War is meant to be waged upon a concrete enemy with clear battle plans and clear and attainable objectives. Wars that do not comply with this definition are bound to fail and fail expensively. Indeed, even now, Vice President Dick Cheney is warning the American people that "this is going to be a struggle that the United States is going to be involved in for the forseeable future. There's not going to be an end date when we're going to say, 'There, it's all over with.'" The Vietnam War is, of course, our best example of such an open-ended, politically directed war, and the only war we ever lost.
A "War on Terrorism" is probably not possible as a "War" as such. If it were possible, I would be all for it, as I don't know if we have ever found such a black-and-white issue of morality in our generation as bringing to justice the attackers of 9/11. But it is not possible, and to go forward on a "war footing" to combat it may take this country down the same dead-end road that the disastrous "War on Drugs" has, turning "The Land of the Free" into "The Land of the Incarcerated."
I am totally for finding out definitively who was responsible for this, and destroying them, even if this involves military action. I agree with President Bush's desire that we hold responsible those that did this and those that support them.
We all must also realize that the FBI, CIA and other such organizations did not fail us last Tuesday. We all must realize that an incident like this was going to happen, and that it will happen again. That it has not happened up to this point is due to the utterly fantastic work that has been done by those agencies. I give them all a standing ovation!
That having been said, we must all guard against the possible trend, seemingly advocated by persons such as Trent Lott, that seek to use this horrible tragedy as a means to give us the illusion of safety at the expense of our freedoms and our liberties, the very bedrock of our nation.
And so, among other things, one of the things I did during Friday's Day of Prayer and Remembrance was become a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union. I urge you all to do the same. Indeed to quote Senator Leahy from Vermont, "...maybe what the terrorists have done made us a little less safe. Maybe they have increased Big Brother in this country."
In the end, then, this crisis has called on all of us to do our civic duty. It has called on all of us to give and volunteer in order to alleviate the suffering the attack has caused. I urge everyone to continue doing what they have been doing, and what they can do, in that regard. Blood, while in good supply as I write this, will still be needed in the weeks ahead. Food, supplies, and money will still be needed. However, while we are meeting the needs of the overt attack on our country we must also all do our civic duty and and all make sure that the terrorist attack of September 11th doesn't succeed by making us change ourselves as a country. Remember, if our liberties and freedoms are abridged due to this attack, the terrorists will have won yet again, and the damage they will have done to this country will go far, far, far beyond two towers, the Pentagon, and 5000+ innocent lives. The countless thousands of heroes who responded to this terrorist incident were defending our freedom, and we must honor their efforts and sacrifices by our own diligent defense of liberty and freedom.
