Let us be victims no longer

Two years ago, next Thursday, America was the victim of a well-organized terrorist assault. The fateful day impacted the nation to such an extent that no one old enough to comprehend the images of the Twin Towers crumbling to the ground, fire trucks surrounding a burning Pentagon, and a smoldering heap of metal where Flight 93 came to rest in central Pennsylvania will ever forget where they were when they first received the news that America was under attack. The tragedy that was this single day claimed the lives of nearly 2,800 people in the destruction of the World Trade Center, 184 more in the Pentagon, and the 40 passengers on Flight 93. The entire world mourned for the victims and commiserated with the families who had lost loved ones.

Over the long nights and days that followed, a nation of heroes was born as the police and fire departments of New York City, accompanied by rescue and aid workers from across the country searched the destruction at Ground Zero for any survivors. America rose from the ashes of the deadliest military action on U.S. soil since brother fought brother during the Civil War, a united nation supported by the notion of American brotherhood. Now, nearly two years later, Sept. 11, 2001 remains a day that will live in the heart of our nation, and the victims that died in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC, will not be forgotten.

The media coverage that followed the terrorist attack of 9/11 proclaimed that a new age of American history had begun. Our great nation had entered a period of intense vulnerability, accentuated by the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The fear of further attacks became reminiscent of Cold War era panic. President George W. Bush suddenly found himself at the helm of a fearful and united America. He quickly capitalized on the situation to ensure support of his foreign policy agenda.

Driven in large part by intense grief, as well as blind fear, America fell in line behind the militaristic designs of our commander in chief. We allowed the democratic principles of free speech, the right to assemble, and the right to challenge the government to be trampled under foot as Bush mobilized the American military juggernaut for responsive action against Afghanistan, while at home severely limiting personal liberty in the name of national security and the protection of the aforementioned principles.

The creation of the Department of Homeland Security and new cabinet positions did more damage to America’s freedom than did the actual terrorist attacks of 9/11. Yet, our nation still fell in line behind the so-called strength and resolve of the Bush regime, dedicated to the protection of our nation and resulting in the enslavement of these United States. For we were being enslaved, enslaved in a web of imagined fear and danger. And yet blindly we followed, Bush ever approaching dictatorial status as he sent the War on Terrorism across international borders and into Iraq.

Despite an active minority of antiwar sentiment that included protests in Washington DC as well as other major cities in the United States and internationally, the majority of Americans fell in line behind the militaristic rhetoric of Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. America fell victim to the seductive pull of blind fear inspired by the accusations that Iraq had nuclear and chemical capabilities. The Bush administration painted Iraq as a direct and immediate threat to national security, and as a result received the support of the crisis-blinded American nation. "Dictator Bush" then ignored United Nations mandates to postpone action against Iraq in order to allow weapons inspectors to assess the threat of Saddam Hussein. As thousands of lives and families were shattered in the destruction of Iraq’s political infrastructure, America claimed another victory in the War on Terrorism.

And thus we find ourselves trapped in a nightmarish present, caught in the middle of a war against a fluidly moving enemy, impossible to name and depict in hard terms. We are fighting "evil," or so our dictatorial administration claims. Yet, why has our president all of a sudden gained the power to deem what is or is not evil? Has our nation not progressed beyond the untrusting psyche that characterized the Cold War? We have fought "evil" before. We fought it on a large scale in Korea and Viet Nam, on a smaller scale throughout Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. We prevented "evil" from controlling the world under the guise of Soviet communism. We fought for over four decades, only to find that the "evil" we were fighting was a mirror image of our own international character.

International relations professor, Stephanie Sipe, commented that "We are living in global anarchy." This is not because of the spread of terrorism; terrorism has been in existence for centuries beyond count. The anarchy we suffer is a result of unchecked militarism. It is the result of a powerless United Nations, completely ignored by our American power. It is the result of a polarized world, no longer the West against communism, but America against the world. Our great nation is the direct cause of the anarchy that we claim to fight.

How much longer will we be content to watch a militaristic president attempt to solve the world’s unrest with a bloodied sword? Why must those seeking peace be ashamed to challenge a democratic regime that commands nearly every arena of government and has power of a magnitude that approaches dictatorial levels? Shall peace churches fail in their calling to turn swords into plowshares? Let us begin by supporting political candidates who will not use preemptive military strikes to answer global issues caused by the world’s economic stratification. Let us begin by supporting governmental leadership that chooses to combat hatred, violence, and terrorism with peace, mediation, and international aid. Let us become the voice of compassion that we are called to be and unite in strong resolution to help our troubled world.

Michael can be reached at michael.kniss@emu.edu.