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“Whoa people, look around you. The signs are everywhere.
You’ve left it for somebody other than you to be the ones’ to care!”.
Jackson Browne sings this in ROCK ME ON THE WATER. I named my son after him. And that is just what I thought of on September 11th. How could something like this, that terrible, happen in and to AMERICA? The fact is it did and for me, I was enduring my own personal sadness as well. What I was experiencing personally was devastating enough, but for a national/world wide event seemingly only comparable to JFK’s assassination or the Challenger shuttle loss to coincide with it, well it was almost too much to deal with. I’ve often joked that had I read the brochure on this planet before I dropped in, I probably would have passed it by. On 9/11, I really did feel like moving on. I mean I felt the kind of irony and despair one should not have to feel. Thankfully, spontaneous recovery was still available and I survive to rationalize (give hope?) all that has transpired. Now… I relate my personal loss of that day/week with Robert W. Service’ DANGEROUS DAN MACGREW saying “ You felt that your life had been looted clean of all that it once held dear…..that your guts were gone and the best for you was to crawl away and die!”. On a national scale, I likened it to John Prine singing, “Christ I’m so mixed up and lonely, I can’t even make friends with my brain. I’m too young to be where I’m going and too old to go back again”.
Our new national DAY OF INFAMY was a terrorist attack in country. Something we were warned of, yet simultaneously told would not happen. This is in light of at least three separate Congressional studies that have warned of specific danger here at home. Terrorism is the only means available to those who believe they are completely shut out of the process. Any and all. Terrorism has historically had some outrageous roots and with strange bedfellows. In our very own American Revolution, our Minutemen sniped to death thousands of men Britain sent to preserve her Colonies! Israel had a military unit called the Irgun before it was politically expedient to be supported and recognized as a state. Northern Ireland has the IRA. Ironically, all had issue with Britain. Non-the-less how does one compare and contrast these groups as more acceptable than say Osama Bin Laden and the like? Get me right on this. American I am and grateful to be, by birth. I support Israel as a state and a unified “troubles” free Ireland. And I denounce violence (as opposed to force) at every level. (And these days brother, with road rage and those who speed up to the next red light, that’s not an easy proposition!) In the United States, our Founding Fathers (remember them? Those were the guys who lived the creed, “Our lives, Our fortunes and Our sacred honor” were smart enough to include a provision in the Constitution about freedom of speech, assembly etc…so that when our system excluded one or more unjustly, they would have an avenue of redress of grievance called PROTEST. Not that all Americans live within these parameters, but the rest of the world does not have the guarantee.
I grew up in a time that great hope fought the good fight against big despair. As a child I played in the same snow that JFK gave his Inaugural speech in. Remember “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike…” and “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!”. As kids, when we skipped school, we went downtown (Washington D.C., my birth place also. Thank you.) and looked at the monuments and I can’t tell how many times I stood in front of THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and THE CONSTITUTION and read them. I can tell you that I signed a copy once or twice when it was passed around in class!
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Hey! It will happen if it can. Anyway, I took this democratic heritage seriously (for granted?) and was proud and I thought, patriotic. As in, my freedom ends where your safety (not comfort) begins and “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to my death, your right to say it!”. Protest does not exclude whatever zealotry (either antagonistic or patriotic) might bellow. The Supreme Court defines the limiting concept as a “clear and present danger” and likened it to yelling fire in a movie theater. It does exclude urging and supporting violence. On June 10th 1963, JFK gave a televised address at American University on the first missile Test Ban Treaty. In it he said, “We all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s futures’ and …we are all mortal!”. Maturing in this era gave us a first hand experience of the heritage of our continual struggle toward a more perfect democracy. Not only did we survive the Cuban Missile Crisis, but we prevailed for the better part, in other areas like Civil Rights (remember the Freedom Riders?) and gender rights etc…
I trust you see what I am getting at. Many of us bought into the great concept of freedom as a right and not a privilege. Most of us did not understand it should be a participatory democracy, not just representative and that the concept of relentless vigilance should accompany our views and efforts to preserve and protect it from erosion. That same view often equates patriotism with citizenship. In my world, patriotism is an earned badge of honor. Citizenship is a responsibility and an obligation. If all of this sounds kind of high falootin’, it shouldn’t. It’s really a combination of 9th grade Civics, 10th grade Literature and 12th grade English Composition. The only reason I write on it is because I don’t hear or read anywhere else these basic tenets of which our society is built upon. Why not?
Hell, I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even have all of the questions! Last night President Bush spoke in Atlanta and said something to the effect that the other countries of the world perceive Americans to be self indulgent, consumption minded, acquisition oriented and short on attention to details of their government. He then said that is not true. Well, you be the judge. But when is the last time you heard an American President tell you what you needed to hear rather than what you wanted to hear? I would have preferred to hear him say that America is the world’s truest test of democracy yet and it is pass or fail at that. More so, that our success is so important to our planet that the future of freedom and liberty hang in its balance. Furthermore, I would say we should have been told that on September 11th, our government institutions once again failed us and that we are all responsible. Ultimately, if we are to prevent anymore or worse, of the cruel and terrible realities of that day from re-occurring, it will take a united national consciousness. That’s what I would like to hear from those in so important a position.
Just what happened to a generation of people who were inspired by things like, “We go to the moon, we go the moon in this decade and we do the other things’! Not because they are easy, but because they are hard!”. Weren’t we sure back in the late sixties, we’ be on Mars by 2001 with a lunar base and World peace to boot? Hunger would be gone, the population explosion halted, fatal disease eliminated, equality in human rights and on and on and….Surely we are capable of such simplistic matters and concerns? Aren’t we? Capable, yes. Committed, no. The great hope was countered by the big despair- one of political assassinations, Vietnam, Watergate and Cold War. Tell ME that if JFK’s assassination had been investigated like Watergate, with open Senate hearings, our nation wouldn’t have been told the truth and we wouldn’t all be the better for it? Tell me if people understood Vietnam was a French colony exporting opium and the liberated France
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had asked us to help them regain their colony in the name of defeating communism we would have fought a war there?! Tell me about why a second coming of Richard Nixon was allowed with his “secret plan” to end the war in Vietnam? Revisionism isn’t. Reality is and it comes out only slowly and in bits and pieces. You might consider that what is suppose to be recorded history is not always the reality of the event(s) but more often the politically expedient crafted version of that period. Yeah, I know. If only we didn’t know now what we didn’t know then! How about one more that’s like? Free trade with China but none with Cuba! Who really is the big threat or is it…who has a legion of re-criminative exiles as constituents? Oh, does that sting or what? A lot of us recognize some of this and some of us know a lot of the above, but most all of us are not sure how to avoid more of the same, only worse. As a nation, our people have been side tracked by and inculcated in, the Big Lie and the requirement/desire/necessity (?) to acquire and consume. We have been finessed, cajoled, placated, seduced, bribed, appeased, manipulated, mollified…you name it…just to divert our attention from those things really important. Add drugs and booze then finagle and confuse! The consequences of our collective abdication from responsible vigilance are becoming an increasingly unpleasant and imminently dangerous legacy. Just understand that those who are dedicated to wrong have no compunction when it comes to full filling their agenda(s). Does the term helplessness come to mind? The arrogance of power and the ignorance of automation (what happened to HUMAN plan B?) are gradually eroding our individual confidence and making each and everyone of us feel less and less significant. Even though I dwell in the “land of the free and the home of the brave” and “all men (and women) are created equal!”, I sometimes have to remind myself as a U.S. citizen, I still am as important as the next person.
“If a nation thinks it can be both ignorant and free,
It never was and certainly never will be!” (Unk. maybe T.J.)
Of all of what I am discussing (my opinion), I am reminded of what an esteemed U.S. History professor at my alma mater, TESTUDO U. once told me back in the 70’s. He said that in his opinion, it was too late, at that juncture, to turn things around so we could guarantee the human race could succeed itself! Hey! I’m not Chicken Little but….this most advanced effort democracy has evolved to is being stulted. For those of you in the dumb down generation, it means we’re stalled and we can not afford to stall because that is precipitating the harbinger of complete failure!
This failure as I perceive it, is as fundamental as Frank Capra’s original anti-hero John Doe. Frank Capra made a number of fine films years ago, dealing with government, society and the human spirit. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and MEET JOHN DOE were among his credits. JOHN DOE was the ole pegaroo as he was created in a last article by a laid off newspaper woman (Barbara Stanwyck). She claimed she received a letter signed John Doe, who was tired of civilizations’ inhumanity toward his fellow man. Consequently, he was going to protest the condition of society by jumping off the state building at midnight Christmas Eve! The reaction to the article was so favorable that it saved her job because the newspaper had to come up with a real John Doe to give speeches (save face?). Gary Cooper gives a high noon performance in gradually becoming the real McCoy. Well, the way I see it there are a lot of Americans who feel the same way. I mean if jumping off a building or a bridge were the simple answer to making things right, there would be long lines…because I still believe when it comes down to it, we really do love our country and cherish our freedom and our special place in the history of the world (herstory? Well whosever story it is…) and we would just like to know how to
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continue making it more of a success and preserve it for our posterity! We know enunciating this desire by singing the National Anthem or partying on Memorial Day or the 4th of July makes us feel good. But it just doesn’t achieve what we know is necessary. We still like the rattle of the saber, the sensation of the cavalry charge and the ubiquitous satisfaction of raising the Stars and Stripes. Because deep down inside, we remember our nation is suppose to be about peace and truth and justice and charity for all and this American experiment is the hope of the world. But it appears we are not only failing them, but ourselves as well. Miserably.
Does it have to be this way? Is it really inevitable? What can we do to turn it around? My answer is a return to the fundamentals of the foundation upon which our society is based. It has been said that in a democracy people generally get the kind of government they deserve. Suppose…Let’s just say what if?; What if we had laws about truth in advertising? What if we had federally limited and supplied campaign funds for all representation? What if we did not allow lobbyists to give any type of political contributions at all, accompanied with stiff penalty? What if we demanded more truth from our government? What if education was our main funding priority to every American and the Criminal Justice System was revamped to vastly eliminate recidivism and increase re-habilitation? And what if we established by mutual interest, the true test of patriotism as influencing people to view and review the actions of their representation in such ways as to make the like of such as directly responsible to these stated needs and desires as humanly possible? What if we established space exploration on a world wide scale of participation and recognized the economic benefits from such a collective venture? JOBS. What if,…..this is where you, if you are still reading, insert your own idea that would be of a positive national consequence. Yeah what if? Suppose vigilance and participation increased to the point where it was possible/plausible for God to bless America again? Dreams, right? Just what this country was built on!
“Tell me not in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead who slumbers and things are not as they seem!” LONGFELLOW
Quick quiz here: How many of you caught that I left out the PLO in the beginning? MmmHmmm!
Well, I also believe the Palestinians have a right to a homeland. But I can’t put down everything I think. This is, after all, about terrorism and what we all should perhaps think- or at least consider in the overall scheme of things. Obviously, terrorism and violence must be met with force and dispatched quickly. But as history has taught, when you create a vacuum or void, you must be careful to fill it or that which the effort you are trying to rid, will reappear in aberration and worse. The world community must consider the why’s and needs of the issue that manifested the original monster and find acceptable resolution for all concerned. I raised my kids on the concept that if one looks long enough you can find at least one acceptable solution to any and all problems. Patience, diligence, persistence, knowledge of the issue and genuine concern are temporal ingredients necessary in this formula; but they do work. Anything less than a shared responsibility that leads to inclusion in the process which precipitated the violence, will fall short.
My expounding on what I term fundamental civic virtues must end but I am going to address three different levels for closing. The first influence would be for those who would be in government. I quote from H. Frank Wright from his book entitled LIBERTY IN THE BALANCE; “The exercise of liberty does not require that all of the participants be gentlemen. It does however, require that
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each participant recognize his adversary as a man. Liberty entitles one to hold a position firmly and feverently in the face of prevailing opinion. It does not entitle one to become a political gladiator. Liberty cannot survive in an arena of hate. It can only survive where the actions of man are broadened by the horizons of humanity.”
The second level would be an appeal to our national consciousness, individually as well as a whole and addressing adversity in the same sentence as social responsibility. The quote is purposefully left un-credited. “To be courageous…requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place and circumstance. It is an opportunity sooner or later that is presented to us all…In whatever arena of life one may meet the challenge of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces, if he follows his conscience-the loss of friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men-each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. Stories of past courage can define the ingredient…but they cannot supply courage (read heart) itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.”
The third level is on a more personal note. At the end of MEET JOHN DOE, John Doe has been exposed for the true fake he is. By now, he has come to embrace the concerns initially attributed to him and finds himself on the building top Christmas Eve. It turns out that his genuineness has been convincing enough for the bad guys and some of the good people to still believe he will be there anyway! Stopping him at the very last is the female protagonist (in a convoluted way). She tells him she loves him and that he has come to embody all of what she wrote and then pleads with him that, “If its worth dying for, then it’s worth living for!”. I think this concept goes right to the heart of the matter here and with all. If it is worth dying-suicide, terrorism or martyrdom etc.-then why can’t it be worth living for? Life is a struggle. “Photographs, show the laughs recorded in between the bad times, happy sailors dancing on a sinking ship…” More John Prine. We’ve come too far and spent so much of the human blood and flesh and spirit to surrender at a point where we can see success possible. Think how many of our ancestors toiled and struggled, not to mention fought and suffered and were tortured and died for us, their children, grandchildren, great grand….ad infinitum. Not to mention the fact most probably never traveled five miles further than their birth place, never drank Coca-cola, never had a Big Mac, or had indoor plumbing or air conditioning or drove their own (a) car or smoked or had a cold beer, or, or… any of the luxuries or common materials that are part of our daily life, which we take for granted. Who are we that we could feel comfortable in abdicating from the responsibility to guarantee the continuation of which all who have come before have us bequeathed to us, with their last full and final measure? Myself? I cannot imagine humankind, especially we Americans, presiding over this dreaded decline/demise and remain quiet and inactive. I believe it is time for the dedicated right to influence the needed effort. Can we afford to go quietly… considering the alternative? Yeah, you answer me that one or if you can’t or you won’t, maybe I should say, “See you at the bridge!”. For now though…
“Let us now be up and doing,
with a heart for any fate.
Still achieving, still pursuing,
learn to labor and to wait.” LONGFELLOW
I remain just another brother,
JOHN DOE
PROPRIO VIGORE QUIDAM
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