I didn’t set out to write a piece about the tenth anniversary of September 11 this morning when I woke up. It seems everyone is writing their own thoughts and political opinions about that day and how it somehow relates to today. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s what I love about this country so very much. Everyone, even bigots, have the right and freedom to speak and write whatever they so choose, so long as they do not encourage violence against the government or people. Yet this is often difficult to discern appropriately which of these are hate and violence driven remarks until you are about 2/3rds done with the article and realize, this person is a zealot, a bigot, a hate monger, a Radical American Fundamentalist.
We speak often of Radical Islamic factions and organizations across the world. We have been told what they look like, what they sound like, what they believe, what they hate, who they hate and who they want to kill. We have been warned of their unwavering desire to kill Americans, Westerners, Christians, and Jews, anyone who does not believe what they believe and worship in the way they worship.
Much the same way the American people were put on full alert in the 1940’s and 50’s by McCarthyism, which sparked American involvement in Korea and Vietnam, Americans today, and over the last ten years, have been fed a rhetoric of hatred and intolerance for Muslims from the very people who are entrusted and expected to spread love and acceptance, our religious leaders.
The question has been asked over and over this year as we approached this 10 year anniversary, “Is America safer today than it was before 9/11?” My answer to this question would be yes and no! Yes, our military might is stronger than pre 9/11 this is true; however, our interior is weaker and more vulnerable to attack. Attack not from the Radical Muslims we have been trained to fear, but rather from the American citizen sitting next to you on the bus or in traffic who has been brainwashed to hate everything and everyone who is not a “True American.” This man or woman is the American Fundamentalist.
“What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists, is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.” Robert Kennedy
The American Fundamentalist believes that he/she is the only true American and that it is up to them to “Save” America. They believe that only Christians (very particular Christians at that) are to inherit the lands of this country. That through their faith in God and by the direction of their religious leaders they will indeed rid America of all who do not belong. The list of who does not belong is long, it includes at the top Muslims, Gay’s, Jews, non-Christians, Communists, and oftentimes non-whites. These American Fundamentalists are truly the greatest enemy to the American Way.
You might ask why they are the greatest threat. They are the greatest threat, because they are already here! They have the freedom to move about this country with great ease. They have the protection of the Constitution to wrap their hate speech in. They have access to the airwaves and internet to spread their radical ideology to a new younger generation of Americans who have not yet been exposed to this perverse ideology. They have the ability to enlist in our Armed Services where hundreds of thousands of young men and women await their message with naive open arms. They are the biggest threat because we are not being trained to spot these “Homegrown Terrorists.”
So as I said at the beginning of this article, I did not intend to write a piece entirely about the 9/11 anniversary, and I have not. My intent was to write a piece about historical perspective so let’s get to that part now.
Historically America was birthed out of conflict led by revolutionaries whose intent was not war, but rather equal representation. We know this to be true. However, historically, the fertile lands of this nation have been stained with the blood of its own people, and I’m not only talking about white Americans. Native Americans were the first victims of the American Fundamentalists.
For much of this nation’s history every generation has been involved in, or exposed to war and conflict: The French-Indian War (1754-1763), Revolutionary War (1775-1783); The First Barbary War (1801-1805), The War of 1812 (1812-1815), The Mexican War (1846-1848), The Civil War (1861-1865), The Spanish-American War (1898), World War I (1914-1918), World War II (1941-1945), Korea (1950-1953), Vietnam (1959-1975), The Persian Gulf (1990-1991), Afghanistan (2001-Present) and Iraq (2003-Present). There simply is not a single American that has lived that has not been touched by war in some way though out the history of this country.
Gandhi spoke of war and non-violent struggle not as a contradiction but of a mutual acceptance of goals towards justice…
“While war and non-violence do sound contradictory, they are both conflict resolution vehicles. I have said time and again that Satyagraha (non-violent struggle) is not same as making peace. It is still a fight that has to be fought as bravely as a soldier in a war — just the weapon is different. Many people mistake non-violence as compromise or avoidance of conflict. It is not. On the other hand, it is standing up for what is right (truth) and justice. Fighting a violent war is better than accepting injustice. So, really there is no contradiction in fighting a just war, and believing in non-violence. Both are duties to be carried out to preserve justice and truth.”
The key point Gandhi makes in this statement is that of “Justice.” Justice is defined by Webster as: “The quality of being fair and reasonable.” What is “Fair and Reasonable” when a country has been attacked by an enemy who has no nation and no traditional means of waging war?
Is justice represented by invading a sovereign nation such as Iraq, when no evidence existed that they were in any way responsible for the attacks of 9/11? Is justice represented by the drone strikes that have killed hundreds of civilian children in both Iraq and Afghanistan? Is justice represented by sending our own men and women to foreign lands to carry out missions, which seems to produce no “greater good?”
The number of victims of the 9/11 attacks totaled 2977. We forget however, not all of these victims were Americans. Over 90 separate nations were affected by these attacks. There was hardly a nation on Earth not impacted on that day.
What is “Justice” in a country that continues to utilize the death penalty? American justice is still deeply attached to the biblical teachings of “an eye for an eye.” Reason would hold that through this mindset, justice would have been carried out once the total number of terrorist killed equaled that of the losses of 9/11 or at the very least once Osama Bin Laden had been killed. But this is not the case. This begs the question, is America interested in justice of revenge.
Webster defines revenge as: “The action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for a wrong suffered at their hands.” Revenge seems to know no bounds. It has no parameters or goals which to measure success by. It is reckless and vague.
On December 7, 1941 America was attacked by the Empire of Japan. A declaration of war was made and that war continued until the Empire of Japan could no longer or would no longer make war. There was clear a goal. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 presented us with an enemy that does not abide by conventional war tactics. Does this then justify a “revenge” mentality over that of a “justice” mentality?
“Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation.” Martin Luther King Jr.
We Americans are continually exposed to the words of, MLK, RFK, JFK, Gandhi, and Jesus. These great men understood the need for the people of the world to stand up against injustice. To seek justice, not revenge. To find that space in our hearts that speaks of tolerance, love and forgiveness. Yet when an injustice has been committed we respond with a vengeful hand and heart.
On this day, the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. take a moment to think about the world you would like the next generation to be a part of. Do you wish for them continued conflict, or that of peace derived from tolerance, love and the search for true justice, not justice cloaked in the thin veil of revenge?
~Alex Sturman September 11, 2011