Thoughts two days after 9/11

THIS WAS WRITTEN A LONG TIME AGO, NOTABLY SEPTEMBER 13, 2001 -- TWO DAYS AFTER "9/11".

"Grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, COURAGE to change the things I can, and the WISDOM to know the difference."

I. Wisdom

[Reference to a 1973 editorial in a Canadian paper by a Mr Sinclair]. ... The FUSN list also got a request today to fly American flags tomorrow to show we are united. These messages make me nervous. Why are they being sent now? One thing I haven't heard in the last couple days is any significant sentiment from any nation that America is a no-good country. There is no pro-terrorism faction in American politics. On the contrary, everyone in this country and abroad is expressing their outrage at the killings and sympathy with our people. My fear is that these messages are meant as a show of support, before thef act, for whatever our President decides to do next. It is a natural human response when we feel that "our people" have been attacked to rally around our team and our leader and strike back, to see enemy blood flow in rivers. This urge should be accepted as natural, then resisted in the name of wisdom. US military power is unequalled in the history of humanity, and one thing the US can do easily is make enemy blood flow in rivers -- and most of what will look like enemy blood to anger-crazed eyes will turn out to be innocent blood.

The Vietnam war for the US took off in earnest after the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. After reports of North Vietnamese attacks on US ships, Congress in 1964 voted to give President Johnson broad power to make war on Vietnam, a decision many later regretted. News reports this evening are that President Bush is asking for a broad appropriation for purposes to be named later. This should be resisted. Nothing that can be done very quickly requires that kind of money. This could be used as an excuse to fund vaguely related projects that Bush allies and supporters want. Let's wait for a more specific plan.

Many wise steps are already in motion: law enforcement activities here to find and punish others involved in the attacks, diplomatic initiatives to do the same abroad, increased security measures to protect ourselves.

II. Courage

People over and over call for the "punishment of those responsible". They somehow overlook that those immediately responsible already killed themselves as part of their terrorist act. Unless we have the theological power to enter the divine realm as they imagined it and snatch them from the side of their God, punishing them is not possible.

One thing President Bush said Tuesday night that struck me as especially dangerous and naive was "America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world". While we are such a beacon, it is far from the truth to say we were targeted for that reason. ... I would summarize my view by saying the US is a "Pretty Good Country For a Great Power". Without going into too many specifics, there are ulterior motives for many of the acts of generosity which Mr Sinclair lists. Rebuilding the economies of Germany, Japan, and Italy after WW II was largely done to prevent their joining our erstwhile ally the USSR in communism, as part of Cold War strategy. It was also done to create a market for our corporations and prevent the Great Depression from recurring. The US doesn't generally accept help for our tornado victims because we are too proud to be seen getting help from others. On the other side the US has done many, many cynical and evil things relating to destabilizing foreign democracies and smoothing the way for American business to make handsome profits. On the other hand, all Great Power nations have always done these things (nations in general adhere to a standard of morality that is far below what we expect and get from individuals). Where we might be different is that most of our educated citizens don't realize this.

Courage comes in understanding how our adversaries view us, why that view is often negative, what legitimate complaints they have, and what (if anything) we want to do about it.

III. Serenity

FUSN's own Anne Bancroft suggested to our children Tuesday night that there are some dangers we cannot protect them from. Adults should accept this as well. After we take prudent measures to cut down on the chances of future terrorism, we should realize that it will still occur. Only with the most draconian police state could we hope to eliminate terrorism, and living with a police state would far outweigh the benefit.

IV. Miscellaneous Thoughts

I have always been displeased with George Bush as president, but I speculate that we might have had even more to fear from Al Gore in this crisis. I heard once that there is no bird in American politics as dangerous as a frightened dove, and though I never saw Gore as much of a dove, since others perceived him that way he might be feeling much more intense pressure about now to take ill-considered military action.

Amid all the news commentating, I heard someone say that this was as bad as a nuclear attack. It isn't. Bad as these attacks have been, we must never forget that. A single unsophisticated nuclear bomb set off in New York could kill millions, not thousands, and render the area uninhabitable for years. I was trying to think what grain of truth this person could possibly have been capturing. My best guess finally is that the TV news coverage would be no more dense, the headline in the papers in no bigger type, because the maximum has already been reached. But to think literally, instead of as a rhetorical device, that there could be no worse act of terrorism is a grave mistake.

V. Compassion

I am so very very sorry for all those people who have died and their families. It breaks my heart.