Lessons learned ... or not
As I write this it is Sept. 12, I am reminded of another September when things were very different. The politics of hatred and division have always plagued this country (we all remember the Centennial Park bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing, and of course the Civil War and of course, the Trail of Tears), but on Sept.12, 2001, there seemed to be some hope. The hope found in unity.
The nation was in shock, of course. We did not know what was going to happen next, but we did know we would face it together, as a unified people.
In the Native American community, the pow wow scene dried up almost overnight as young Indians, men and women both, volunteered in droves for the military and emergency services. Old dancers, men and women who had not left their armchairs in years, dusted off their regalia and returned to the circle so the festivals could go on.
We prayed for our brothers and sisters in harm’s way, we welcomed those who returned, we honored those who did not. It was a very sad time but there was hope, the hope found in unity.
Now its twenty years later and we seem to hate ourselves more then the terrorists ever could. We followed an apostle of Barabbas into an assault on our own Capital as politicians fight over slogans and agitate their constituents into a state of heavily armed paranoia while a virulent virus decimates the workforce that made the United States into an economic superpower. And our enemies laugh.
Today there are very few Native Americans of a certain age who do not have at least one military campaign medal. Pow wow circles from the Shinnecock Reservation to the Yaqui lands are packed for the Dance of the Warriors, men and women with the thousand-yard stare and a determination borne of hardship endured on distant battlefields return to a society tearing itself apart, agitated by draft dodgers and con artists who have never served any cause other than their own greed. And our enemies laugh.
We argue that a business should not have to serve a gay couple, but that same business cannot mandate a mask to protect themselves and other customers. Hypocrisy. We restrict sex education and birth control but then condemn a mother because she needs food stamps to feed the babies we made her have. Of all the “pro life” militants I have ever met, not a single one has ever signed up to be a foster parent, but they are quite willing to make sure gays couples and other “undesirables” are prevented by law from doing what they are not willing to do. Hypocrisy.
It has been twenty years since terrorists, motivated by religious
fanaticism attacked this great experiment in liberal democracy, and instead of learning from that, learning the dangers of fanaticism, both religious and political, we retreat into our own petty ideologies and fanaticism endangering our common birthright through our own arrogant insecurity. Instead of electing leaders who are capable of reasoned debate and sound policy, we elect screaming idiots whose sole talent seems to be the ability to agitate a lynch mob. Instead of holding politicians to account, otherwise reasonable people will travel across the country to participate in lawless mayhem thinly disguised as protest. Right wing or left wing, north wing or south wing, it is all the same. And our enemies laugh even more.
The fact is fanaticism is dangerous. Whether it is based on religion or on something else, fanaticism is corrosive to civilized society, and a mortal threat to liberty. The real truth is that the future of our nation is in our hands, and whatever happens will be our responsibility. If our grandchildren inherit a stronger and more unified country, it will be to our credit. If they do not, it will be our fault.
It is not the fault of our politicians that they are rabble-rousing idiots, it is our fault for electing them. It is not the preacher’s fault that he teaches a false gospel, it is our fault for paying him to do so. It is not the fault of dark money brokers and backroom power players for agitating our baser instincts, it is our fault for being stupid enough to permit it. We have the ability to vote, and we have (hopefully) the ability to think, so if we want to know who is responsible, the answer is as close as the nearest mirror.
In the aftermath of 9/11 we found some unity, some commonality of purpose, maybe we can find that again. Or maybe there is some truth to the old proverb “Human beings are living proof that God makes mistakes,” I guess only time will tell.