U.S. should preserve liberty, aid needy

Fessler is an assistant professor in the anthropology
department.

By Daniel Fessler

Via the unblinking eye of television, we have all witnessed the
most horrific act of terrorism ever committed. And even as we shed
tears for the families torn asunder, we ask ourselves these
questions: Will it happen again? Could it happen here?

Public officials from the highest to the lowest have sought to
reassure us, clenching their jaws and declaring war. But the
reality is that a free country which values civil liberties can
never be fully protected against the aggression of disaffected
individuals, particularly if they are willing to give their lives
to inflict pain and suffering on others.

Just as the “war on drugs” has not ended the crime
and decay that drug smuggling has brought to our shores, so too is
it likely that spending billions of dollars to
“neutralize” terrorists will eliminate some actors in
the drama, but it will not solve the problem.

What, then, are we to do?

We must guard against the inclination to create or hold
demonizing stereotypes

I offer the following ideas not as definitive recommendations
from an expert (I am not), but rather as humble suggestions from a
simple observer.

Our society’s greatest virtue is it’s respect for
individuality. At the national level, this takes the form of
fundamental rights and liberties, including the right to hold and
express diverse opinions both in public and behind closed doors,
away from the prying eyes and suspicious ears of others.

We should think long and hard before we compromise those
liberties in the name of greater security. In an era where an
omniscient state is a technical possibility rather than simply a
nightmarish fantasy, opening the Pandora’s box of extensive
domestic surveillance may entail costs that we can only dimly
imagine at the present time.

Respect for individuality is a hollow principle if it is
enshrined in law, yet not enacted in person. At the personal level,
we must guard against the inclination to create or hold demonizing
stereotypes.

Anger, perhaps even hatred, against those who kill innocents is
justified. Directing such feelings at individuals, however, who
merely share the same ethnicity, language or religious tradition as
the perpetrators is stupid, hypocritical and unpatriotic.

It is stupid because it is misdirected ““ neither
ethnicity, language nor religious affiliation is a determinant of
the particular ideologies that motivate terrorists, so the anger
misses the mark.

It is hypocritical because the cry that innocents have been
unjustly made to suffer has little meaning if the crier then
proceeds to inflict suffering on other innocents.

And it is unpatriotic because intolerance and prejudice are
antithetical to the principles of freedom on which our nation is
founded. Hence, those who act in this fashion undermine our
society.

Moreover, it is not enough for oneself to merely refrain from
acting in this fashion. By contributing to the decay of our
society’s respect for individual differences, turning a blind
eye to intolerance undermines our nation as surely as any
terrorist’s knife or bomb.

The intolerant, like other members of our society, are free to
hold and express their opinions, but it is the responsibility of
those of us who adhere to our nation’s basic principles to
make it clear to all present that we do not approve, and we will
not allow the intolerant to harm the innocent.

Even though some may believe that these domestic measures may
preserve civility and freedom in our land, they still will not
reduce the threat of terrorism. If a “war on terrorism”
is likely to be only partially successful at best, what else is to
be done?

To begin with, we must ask what makes people hate us so
much.

Our leaders have declared that we are targeted because we are
the beacon of liberty and freedom in the world. I know of no
evidence supporting this assertion. There are many groups of
fanatics who wish to harm our society, and their motives are
diverse. To the best of my understanding, however, their hatred
begins with experiences near at hand.

The seeds of terrorism grow well in the fertile soil of poverty,
oppression and social inequality. Access to food, education and a
reasonable measure of health and security are things that we take
for granted, yet they are luxuries for much of this planet’s
population.

Our nation has committed two actions which, while possibly
constituting sins, certainly constitute strategic errors.

The first is isolationism.

Husbanding our wealth at home, we have repeatedly refused to
generously apply our resources, knowledge or power to improve the
existence of that majority of the world’s population that
lives in developing nations. This is a recipe for discontent. Even
if people know little else about our nation, they know that we are
rich and that we could help them if we chose to do so.

We must remember that whenever we ignore wars, famines or the
more mundane disasters of poverty on the pretext that
“it’s not our problem,” there will be countless
eyes watching us lead our lives of isolated splendor while the
world around them struggles.

Our second error is self-interested interventionism.

Consider the recent history of U.S. involvement in the Middle
East: in order to ensure access to oil, we propped up an oppressive
and undemocratic regime in Iran. Revolutionaries overthrew that
regime and held American citizens hostage. In order to again ensure
access to oil and avenge ourselves, we then propped up an
oppressive and undemocratic regime in a nation at war with Iran,
namely Iraq. Iraq then invaded Kuwait and threatened Saudi Arabia.
In order to ensure access to oil, we responded with force, thereby
propping up oppressive and undemocratic regimes in these
nations.

Whenever we ally ourselves with oppressors we become a target of
the hatred of the oppressed, and whenever we do so out of obvious
self-interest, we earn their scorn as well.

Fostering both economic development and political reform thus
constitutes one of those wonderful rare circumstances, an
opportunity to help others while also helping ourselves.

Why, then, have we not acted to the fullest in this regard? The
answer is simple ““ it costs billions of dollars.

Remember this the next time you hear our leaders describe the
costs of the coming war on terrorism. We may kill or capture some
terrorists but until we also declare war on poverty and injustice,
there will be plenty more terrorists where they came from.