councilor.org
| Source | Cecilia Granados |
| Date | 01/09/25/01:47 |
| Someone sent me this:
Last Tuesday morning, I watched, horrified, as events unfolded. By noon, I was speechless and numb at the horror of the events. And then I had to go teach class. What do you say to a room full of young adults in a situation like this? It sure isn't a normal class day. Given that this horror is inexcusable, is there any- thing from the past that has influenced the course of events? So I told my classes some things I know that they don't, because most Americans don't know. I told them how the United States CIA overthrew a democratically elected president in Iran because he had nationalized the British-owned oil fields, threat- ening the oil supply of the West. In his place, we in- stalled a military dictatorship that lasted for three decades. The shah of Iran served as our puppet, using a corrupt and evil secret service every bit as brutal as the Gestapo to imprison, torture, kill and make his enemies disappear. The shah became the symbol of U.S. Imperialism for an entire generation of Islamic Iranians, who overthrew the shah in the late 1970s and created the first modern Islamic nation in his place. The Islamic leaders of that nation then defined the United States as the Great Satan. I mentioned that the United States is the principal, although certainly not only, proponent of Israel in the Middle East, providing that country with arms and various types of funding. That support has meant in the eyes of many Islamic fundamentalists that Israel is more or less an extension of the United States. I mentioned that the United States is seen as the main promoter of a western culture they define as decadent and immoral, exporting to their youths ideas of open sexuality, equality for women, rock 'n' roll, drugs, a secular state and the belief that consumerism rather than religion defines quality of life. That many of them perceive U.S. attempts to open markets ev- erywhere as a way of thrusting what they perceive as an immoral culture upon everyone else, like it or not. I mentioned that the United States tends to support Middle Eastern elites that are relatively westernized and relatively authoritarian. Many of these more western elites are seen by Islamic ftmdamentalists as immoral enemies of the "true faith" of Islam, and some of them have been the target of terrorist acts by Islamic fundamentalist groups. And then I asked whether the overthrow of demo- cratically elected governments, the wholehearted support of Israel and its occupation of Palestinian ar- eas, the promotion of market societies that replace religious systems with consumerism and the support of more westernized leaders who tend to dislike fun- damentalism, might — just might — have had any- thing to do with creating a dislike of the United States by some fundamentalists. I think we pretty much all agreed that the act of terrorism was not a valid way to solve this conflict. We had some disagreement over short- and long-term strategies to deal with the disastrous realities our own behaviors have helped to create. Bomb some Arab country? Find and assassinate some terrorists (pref- erably the ones who masterminded this act)? Reach out and seem weak? Blast the hell out of someone and seem strong? But our ultimate goal seems clear: We want to find ways to conduct ourselves and influence others in the future that reduce the possibility of this happening again, to find ways we can deal with others that reduce their hatred for us. If that is the goal, is it worth understanding how our own behavior has influenced this event? Perhaps it is time that we begin to learn how the history of U.S. involvement in the region's politics and governments has created a host of ill will toward this country. Or should we continue on as we have, promising to bomb the hell out of anyone remotely associated with this act? Kill some innocent civilians ourselves in retribution? Which approach do we think will lead to our actual goal, our own pure self interest: the safety and security of our own people? |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho