Unique No More

opinion by Donald Torrence, contributor

The September 11 tragedy shattered the myth of an invincible America,sheltered by two oceans and possessed of unequaled military might. TheChilean writer, Ariel Dorfman, noted that the United States is “uniqueno more” and as the sound of an aircraft overhead struck fear into thehearts of Vietnam villagers and Nicaraguan peasants, that same soundis now heard with a sense of trepidation by US citizens.

It is essential to US security managers that the American public doesnot connect the dots between the Vietnam villagers, the Nicaraguanpeasants, and themselves. American military equipment, training andmanpower were instrumental in supplying and bring to fruition thecarnage and destruction in all three cases. A general consciousnessthat could connect the dots might also raise questions about warprofits, the military-industrial complex and the benefits accrued toinfluential elites who orchestrate US foreign and domesticpolicies.

The War on Terrorism is being used, as was the anti-communist crusadeof the 1950s, to obscure the real intent of the power brokers toenthrone corporate capitalism throughout the world. Also, the War onTerrorism gives the powerbrokers a tool to bludgeon into silence thosewho see our shattered myths of uniqueness and innocence as anopportunity to reassess US foreign policy and domestic priorities.Critical minds are stilled by the incessant rankings of the mediatalking heads, who dutifully parrot the Bush dichotomy of good vs.evil. They create a nationalist fervor, which in turn induces rage ina populace that is ignorant of its own history and is indoctrinated bythe ethos of the governing elites. The populace falls prey to theenticements of revenge and to the bonding rituals of a righteouscrusade. This explains why recent polls show president Bush at suchhigh approval ratings, as he and his cohorts shred theconstitution.

We must transcend these simplistic dichotomies of good vs. evil andnot allow the terrible tragedy of September 11 to be used as aninstrument to institutionalize fascist policies and to keep us tied tothe same old, tired swan song of free markets and corporatebeneficence. Vaclav Havel warns us that “Without a global revolutionin the sphere of human consciousness, nothing will change for thebetter and the catastrophe toward which this world is headed, whetherit is ecological, social, demographic or a general breakdown ofcivilization, will be unavoidable.” We must take up Havel’s challengeand bring about a change in consciousness that will promote peace,justice, cooperation and that will denounce life for profit as asocial pathology. We must seize this historical moment in theaftermath of September 11 to dedicate ourselves to the creation of ajust and humane world.