What is remembrance without reflection? And what is reflection without honesty?
Today was a day to remember, but what are we remembering? I am asked to mourn the victims of 9/11, and I do, but what about the victims of 9/13, 9/14, 9/15…and onward. What about the thousands upon thousands of innocents killed as they slept in their homes in the deserts of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan? Do we remember them?
And how do we remember? Do we remember that crazy men flew planes into buildings belonging to a peaceful country? Is that what we remember? Do you have the courage to ask yourself this question: What could possibly drive you to fly a plane into a building? Answer honestly. What could possibly drive you to blow yourself up on a roadside to kill a few people?
We are taught that there are people who are simply evil in the world, and that helps us sleep at night. If there are just evil crazy people, then we do not have to actually consider why they act the way that they do, because the answer is self-evident: they are evil and they are crazy. This is a myth that has been employed by governments and militaries throughout all of history to gather armies and drive them into battle against their enemies.
The fact, however, is that people are not just crazy and evil…people are people, and their actions are responses to other actions and events.
Those who choose to see 9/11 as an unprovoked attack have chosen to be ignorant of all the history that led up to that day. Ignorance is always a choice, and it is a choice that stands in direct opposition to honesty and truth.
If my government was overthrown by a foreign military, if my people were bombed and my family killed by strange soldiers from strange lands, if my country was forced into poverty by multinational corporations backed by mercenaries…I may well consider sacrificing my life for some idea of freedom from those people, no matter how insane that sacrifice may seem. I mourn the loss of life and the negation of basic rights to people all over the world. Do I mourn the loss of American lives more than those of Iraq? Absolutely not. Life is life, and to kill one person, as is said in the Quran, “Is to kill all of humanity.” I mourn and I lament the oppression of people throughout history, and I acknowledge that oppression across all social, cultural, class, and racial lines.
Do I support the attacks of 9/11? Obviously not, but I do understand them. Besides, I do not see the attacks of 9/11 as attacks on America, I see them as attacks by the poor and oppressed against those who are seen as their oppressors. I see them as acts of desperation, not insanity. Osama Bin Laden was far from poor, but his everyday soldiers and martyrs were always, and will always be, like the everyday soldiers and martyrs in most places in the world—the poor and oppressed. Since 1945, American and European based corporations, backed by the U.S. military, have gone unchecked throughout the world, sacking governments and basically enslaving people to create markets, and provide cheap sources of labor and natural resources to feed the ever expanding consumer demands here in the U.S. This is not a conspiracy theory, this is fact. The U.S., in this way, is no different from any empire throughout history. We are no worse (though perhaps more efficient in our conquest), but we should leave our notions of innocence and righteousness at the door.
These are the things I remember, these are the things I think of, and if we do not change ourselves, if we do not reflect honestly, there will be more dates to “remember” and the corpses will continue to pile from the suburban streets of Clovis, CA to the deep jungles of the Congo, to the rugged mountains of Central Asia.
If this sounds angry, it is not. If this sounds crazy, it is not. If this sounds desperate, it is. This is a desperate plea from someone who deeply loves humanity and is tired of watching humans continue telling the same lies, dying for the same “causes”, over and over again. This is a desperate call to courage and truth.
Peace and Love. Salaam Waleykum.
Honestly... This post sounds misguided to me. Evil does exist in the world and people have the free will to choose it over good. Evil acts can never be justified. Poor desperate people don’t have any more right to kill another person than rich desperate people do. Those that carried out the attacks on 9/11 most certainly saw them as attacks on America. The 3,000 or so people that died on 9/11 where not oppressing the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. To mourn their deaths is not to say, “They were perfect human beings,” but simply, “many lives were lost due to the actions of a few individuals and it is a tragedy.” "May God have mercy on their souls." I am sorry to hear that you don't see it that way.
ReplyDeleteI do not disagree that they saw it as an attack on America. I just said I do not see it that way. Most people do not have a solid perspective on themselves and their role in history as it is playing out.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that it sounds misguided to you, that's why I prefaced it the way I did. Evil does exist, there is no denying that, but what is evil, and what is good? I never said that evil did not exist in the world, I suggest that you read over it again. I said that people are not just evil. We all have good and evil, living and breathing within us...or do you have misgivings about this? It's true, we make decisions to do good or evil, but what drives those decisions? Understanding is wisdom, labeling is cheap.
The 3,000 people who died on 9/11 were not directly oppressing the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, ok, but many of the hundreds of thousands killed or injured in those countries were not oppressing us either. You can say, "Well, those people are casualties of war." And I would say, "So are the people of the World Trade Center." This should not cause you to get angry with me, this should cause you to look at the power structure in the world and wish to change it.
But I ask this: Who is innocent? Really, who has their hands clean? I demand oil for my car, for my plastic, for everything I do, every day, and so I am as much to blame as anyone else. My desires, fuel the waging of these wars. And so do yours. And that's a hard pill to swallow.
Well said, Serg (both blog & comment). I, too, found myself reflecting on this day with mixed emotions - one of which was a guilt of some sorts for being un-American & not jumping on the flag-waving bandwagon. You're preaching to the choir, but even if u and I r the only members (which, thank goodness, we're not) hopefully our voices ring loud, clear & harmonious. I love you, friend, for all that u r & all u r still to become.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, man!! I COMPLETELY AGREE with all of your article!!
ReplyDeletei really liked this and am going to share...sharing is caring
ReplyDeleteexcellent read, i know its not a popular stance to take but i give you credit for writing it anyway....its so easy for people to take what you wrote as justifying what happened, rather as what it so obviously is, an observation and explanation of why it happened. cant blame em' tho', after 10 years of propaganda and spin people are gonna be quick to get offended. I'm just glad you didn't go full on '911-conspircy-loose change' with it! bravo homie, good work
ReplyDeleteReflection is always good, do it daily, not just after 9/11...it's good for the soul, as are your exchange of respectful thoughts and feelings. We don't need the tragedy to continue, we need it to heal...and this is part of the healing...and forgiveness brings about peace... Vayan Con Dios, thanks for this...Jorge M.
ReplyDelete