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Time To Stand Up Against Bullying War Talk
Jan 19, 2003
We don't know what Bush really knows about Iraq's military capabilities, but his relentless pursuit of a pre-emptive strike on Iraq suggests that he is confident that Iraq can't do much damage to the U.S., to our armed forces, or to our comfortable, secure lifestyle.
And it is evident that even Bush knows we dare not attack North Korea. Unlike Iraq, North Korea is capable of doing serious damage to us and to the world.
Bush is the classic playground bully, swaggering around and terrorizing smaller, more vulnerable kids to win his classmates' fear or admiration (and their candy and lunch-money), but suddenly cooperative and conciliatory when faced with a bigger bully, or with someone genuinely strong and respected -- the big brother of one of the little kids, or a good teacher.
The difference between the playground and the real world today is that we don't have true brothers looking after us, just some bigger bullies: Big Money, Big Media, and Big John Ashcroft. And we need good teachers to help us understand and reason together democratically to end violence, racism and war on the only playground we have, Planet Earth.
Thirty-five years ago we lost two teachers who spoke out eloquently against violence, racism and war. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by an act of terrorism; Thomas Merton was struck down by a freak accident.
Both men taught that violence, racism and war are forms of tyranny -- we call it terrorism today -- that are nourished by fear of strangers, fear of personal loss, and fear of evil.
Both men understood that violence, racism and war make people feel angry, frustrated and powerless, and tempt them to strike back with equal violence.
King recognized that in American society violence, racism and war are driven by a reckless striving after material goods and power that objectifies people, commodifies things and reduces human relationships to manipulation and exploitation.
Merton wrote on the hopelessness of the war mentality during the heat of the Vietnam War. He predicted the rise of terrorism, not out of Islam, but out of the kind of "doubletalk" we use to fool ourselves and others about what we do and why.
In his essay, "Auschwitz: A Family Camp" Merton observed that Nazi doubletalk defined reality the way a doughnut defines its hole. Phrases like "disinfectant" and "ovaltine substitute" were used to refer to the gas Zyklon B used in the "Final Solution". "We need," Merton said "no more than one lesson, and we gain the intuition which identifies the hole, the void of death, in the heart of the expression."
So we see, today, with the hell-fires of racism and violence still smoldering under phrases like "axis of evil", "collateral damage" and "pre-emptive strike." This new"doubletalk" prevents us from engaging with reality and reasoning carefully and honestly with another. It is now not only conceivable to initiate a war on a people despised for any reason, it is patriotic.
Merton feared that an Auschwitz or a whole terrorist apparatus of genocide could be "set up tomorrow anywhere and made to work ... because there is no dearth of people who .... will instinctively welcome and submit to an ideology ... which turns them loose against their fellow man to destroy him cruelly and without compunction, as long as he belongs to another race, or believes in a different set of semi-meaningless political slogans."
"It is enough", Merton added, "to affirm one basic principle: anyone belonging to class x or nation y or race z is to be regarded as subhuman and worthless, and consequently has no right to exist. All the rest will follow without difficulty."
Our best hope of ending violence, racism and war on our playground is democracy. Even Bush-- or at least Karl Rove -- knows that unless he can win either admiration or fear from his classmates -- we the people -- we won't give him our lunch money, candy or votes in the next election.
We can't let Bush bully us into war with Iraq, or continue to terrorize us and the world with violence and racism. We still have a little time to heed our wise teachers, to use reason and democracy to deal justly and mercifully with one another.
Many Americans have been in Washington this weekend, standing up against a bullying action against Iraq. The rest of us can stand up, too.
President Bush has said that he wants to know what the American people are thinking. Let him know by way of the White House Opinion Line -- 202-456-1111. It's not toll-free, and it's only open 9-5 Eastern Time on business days Monday thru Friday.
It's easy, though you may have to redial several times before you get an open line. Your call will first be picked up by a machine that will ask if you have touch-tone phone and if you want to express an opinion. Then after a brief wait, you will speak with a real person who will ask you what state you are from and what your opinion is. Your opinion will be tallied in the appropriate column.
We don't know what Bush knows. But most of us appreciate that terrorizing other kids on the playground is not the way to conduct the world's affairs. Democracy means that everyone participates and no-one is terrorized by violence, racism or war.
We must make that meaning plain.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Caroline Arnold
Caroline Arnold retired in 1997 after 12 years on the staff of US Senator John Glenn. She previously served three terms on the Kent (Ohio) Board of Education. In retirement, she was active with the Kent Environmental Council and sat on the board of Family & Community Services of Portage County. Her Letters From Washington was been published as an e-Book by the Knowledge Bank of the Ohio State University Library. Caroline passed away from cancer at age 83 in 2014.
We don't know what Bush really knows about Iraq's military capabilities, but his relentless pursuit of a pre-emptive strike on Iraq suggests that he is confident that Iraq can't do much damage to the U.S., to our armed forces, or to our comfortable, secure lifestyle.
And it is evident that even Bush knows we dare not attack North Korea. Unlike Iraq, North Korea is capable of doing serious damage to us and to the world.
Bush is the classic playground bully, swaggering around and terrorizing smaller, more vulnerable kids to win his classmates' fear or admiration (and their candy and lunch-money), but suddenly cooperative and conciliatory when faced with a bigger bully, or with someone genuinely strong and respected -- the big brother of one of the little kids, or a good teacher.
The difference between the playground and the real world today is that we don't have true brothers looking after us, just some bigger bullies: Big Money, Big Media, and Big John Ashcroft. And we need good teachers to help us understand and reason together democratically to end violence, racism and war on the only playground we have, Planet Earth.
Thirty-five years ago we lost two teachers who spoke out eloquently against violence, racism and war. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by an act of terrorism; Thomas Merton was struck down by a freak accident.
Both men taught that violence, racism and war are forms of tyranny -- we call it terrorism today -- that are nourished by fear of strangers, fear of personal loss, and fear of evil.
Both men understood that violence, racism and war make people feel angry, frustrated and powerless, and tempt them to strike back with equal violence.
King recognized that in American society violence, racism and war are driven by a reckless striving after material goods and power that objectifies people, commodifies things and reduces human relationships to manipulation and exploitation.
Merton wrote on the hopelessness of the war mentality during the heat of the Vietnam War. He predicted the rise of terrorism, not out of Islam, but out of the kind of "doubletalk" we use to fool ourselves and others about what we do and why.
In his essay, "Auschwitz: A Family Camp" Merton observed that Nazi doubletalk defined reality the way a doughnut defines its hole. Phrases like "disinfectant" and "ovaltine substitute" were used to refer to the gas Zyklon B used in the "Final Solution". "We need," Merton said "no more than one lesson, and we gain the intuition which identifies the hole, the void of death, in the heart of the expression."
So we see, today, with the hell-fires of racism and violence still smoldering under phrases like "axis of evil", "collateral damage" and "pre-emptive strike." This new"doubletalk" prevents us from engaging with reality and reasoning carefully and honestly with another. It is now not only conceivable to initiate a war on a people despised for any reason, it is patriotic.
Merton feared that an Auschwitz or a whole terrorist apparatus of genocide could be "set up tomorrow anywhere and made to work ... because there is no dearth of people who .... will instinctively welcome and submit to an ideology ... which turns them loose against their fellow man to destroy him cruelly and without compunction, as long as he belongs to another race, or believes in a different set of semi-meaningless political slogans."
"It is enough", Merton added, "to affirm one basic principle: anyone belonging to class x or nation y or race z is to be regarded as subhuman and worthless, and consequently has no right to exist. All the rest will follow without difficulty."
Our best hope of ending violence, racism and war on our playground is democracy. Even Bush-- or at least Karl Rove -- knows that unless he can win either admiration or fear from his classmates -- we the people -- we won't give him our lunch money, candy or votes in the next election.
We can't let Bush bully us into war with Iraq, or continue to terrorize us and the world with violence and racism. We still have a little time to heed our wise teachers, to use reason and democracy to deal justly and mercifully with one another.
Many Americans have been in Washington this weekend, standing up against a bullying action against Iraq. The rest of us can stand up, too.
President Bush has said that he wants to know what the American people are thinking. Let him know by way of the White House Opinion Line -- 202-456-1111. It's not toll-free, and it's only open 9-5 Eastern Time on business days Monday thru Friday.
It's easy, though you may have to redial several times before you get an open line. Your call will first be picked up by a machine that will ask if you have touch-tone phone and if you want to express an opinion. Then after a brief wait, you will speak with a real person who will ask you what state you are from and what your opinion is. Your opinion will be tallied in the appropriate column.
We don't know what Bush knows. But most of us appreciate that terrorizing other kids on the playground is not the way to conduct the world's affairs. Democracy means that everyone participates and no-one is terrorized by violence, racism or war.
We must make that meaning plain.
Caroline Arnold
Caroline Arnold retired in 1997 after 12 years on the staff of US Senator John Glenn. She previously served three terms on the Kent (Ohio) Board of Education. In retirement, she was active with the Kent Environmental Council and sat on the board of Family & Community Services of Portage County. Her Letters From Washington was been published as an e-Book by the Knowledge Bank of the Ohio State University Library. Caroline passed away from cancer at age 83 in 2014.
We don't know what Bush really knows about Iraq's military capabilities, but his relentless pursuit of a pre-emptive strike on Iraq suggests that he is confident that Iraq can't do much damage to the U.S., to our armed forces, or to our comfortable, secure lifestyle.
And it is evident that even Bush knows we dare not attack North Korea. Unlike Iraq, North Korea is capable of doing serious damage to us and to the world.
Bush is the classic playground bully, swaggering around and terrorizing smaller, more vulnerable kids to win his classmates' fear or admiration (and their candy and lunch-money), but suddenly cooperative and conciliatory when faced with a bigger bully, or with someone genuinely strong and respected -- the big brother of one of the little kids, or a good teacher.
The difference between the playground and the real world today is that we don't have true brothers looking after us, just some bigger bullies: Big Money, Big Media, and Big John Ashcroft. And we need good teachers to help us understand and reason together democratically to end violence, racism and war on the only playground we have, Planet Earth.
Thirty-five years ago we lost two teachers who spoke out eloquently against violence, racism and war. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by an act of terrorism; Thomas Merton was struck down by a freak accident.
Both men taught that violence, racism and war are forms of tyranny -- we call it terrorism today -- that are nourished by fear of strangers, fear of personal loss, and fear of evil.
Both men understood that violence, racism and war make people feel angry, frustrated and powerless, and tempt them to strike back with equal violence.
King recognized that in American society violence, racism and war are driven by a reckless striving after material goods and power that objectifies people, commodifies things and reduces human relationships to manipulation and exploitation.
Merton wrote on the hopelessness of the war mentality during the heat of the Vietnam War. He predicted the rise of terrorism, not out of Islam, but out of the kind of "doubletalk" we use to fool ourselves and others about what we do and why.
In his essay, "Auschwitz: A Family Camp" Merton observed that Nazi doubletalk defined reality the way a doughnut defines its hole. Phrases like "disinfectant" and "ovaltine substitute" were used to refer to the gas Zyklon B used in the "Final Solution". "We need," Merton said "no more than one lesson, and we gain the intuition which identifies the hole, the void of death, in the heart of the expression."
So we see, today, with the hell-fires of racism and violence still smoldering under phrases like "axis of evil", "collateral damage" and "pre-emptive strike." This new"doubletalk" prevents us from engaging with reality and reasoning carefully and honestly with another. It is now not only conceivable to initiate a war on a people despised for any reason, it is patriotic.
Merton feared that an Auschwitz or a whole terrorist apparatus of genocide could be "set up tomorrow anywhere and made to work ... because there is no dearth of people who .... will instinctively welcome and submit to an ideology ... which turns them loose against their fellow man to destroy him cruelly and without compunction, as long as he belongs to another race, or believes in a different set of semi-meaningless political slogans."
"It is enough", Merton added, "to affirm one basic principle: anyone belonging to class x or nation y or race z is to be regarded as subhuman and worthless, and consequently has no right to exist. All the rest will follow without difficulty."
Our best hope of ending violence, racism and war on our playground is democracy. Even Bush-- or at least Karl Rove -- knows that unless he can win either admiration or fear from his classmates -- we the people -- we won't give him our lunch money, candy or votes in the next election.
We can't let Bush bully us into war with Iraq, or continue to terrorize us and the world with violence and racism. We still have a little time to heed our wise teachers, to use reason and democracy to deal justly and mercifully with one another.
Many Americans have been in Washington this weekend, standing up against a bullying action against Iraq. The rest of us can stand up, too.
President Bush has said that he wants to know what the American people are thinking. Let him know by way of the White House Opinion Line -- 202-456-1111. It's not toll-free, and it's only open 9-5 Eastern Time on business days Monday thru Friday.
It's easy, though you may have to redial several times before you get an open line. Your call will first be picked up by a machine that will ask if you have touch-tone phone and if you want to express an opinion. Then after a brief wait, you will speak with a real person who will ask you what state you are from and what your opinion is. Your opinion will be tallied in the appropriate column.
We don't know what Bush knows. But most of us appreciate that terrorizing other kids on the playground is not the way to conduct the world's affairs. Democracy means that everyone participates and no-one is terrorized by violence, racism or war.
We must make that meaning plain.
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