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The Oblivious Citizen "Exactly what is it that I, especially, find intolerable; that I am unable to cope with; that asphyxiates me? A bad smell. The smell of failure, of a soul that has gone stale." -- Friedrich Nietzsche, The Genealogy of Morals
American bombs continue to fall with great celerity on Afghan mothers and their children, on neighbors and neighborhoods, buildings and hospitals, villages and local markets --- just about everywhere the masterminds of the 9/11 horror can't be found. "It's a shame, but these things happen," reasons the oblivious citizen. "Besides, we have to get the bastards. No other response to homeland terror is appropriate other than the military one. I have every faith in my government to act well in my name." Actions taken in the name of U.S. "national security interests" over the years have been murderous and bleak. The U.S. assisted in the overthrow of the democractically elected Mossadegh in Iran in 1953; his demise led to the ruthless reign of the Shah, who received vast sums of American money and aid. In the early 1960s the U.S. tried to assassinate the Iraqi leader Abdul Karim Qassim. In 1967 it blocked enforcement of U.N. Resolution 242 calling for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 war. In 1972 the U.S. obstructed Anwar Sadat's efforts to reach peace with the Israelis, and in 1982 fully supported Israel when it invaded Lebanon and killed over 17,000 civilians. The U.S. supported Saddam Hussein against the Iranians in the 1980s (even when he used mustard gas) and blithely stood by when he gassed his own Kurdish population; the U.S. has supported fanatical Islamists in their fight against the Soviets, has supported despotic regimes in Saudia Arabia and Kuwait, and has earned a reputation for siding with tyrants. And this is just its record in the Middle East.* (See "The United States And Middle East: Why Do 'They' Hate Us?") "I don't know about any of this," says the oblivious citizen. "We fought a Cold War with the Russians, so maybe it was necessary to support the lesser of two evils in these countries. And Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel is our only true friend." If you "don't know about these things," why not crack a book or two or briefly explore recent history? Why not discharge the first responsibility of citizenship and become informed about world affairs? The September tragedy has already led to a staggeringly expensive contract with Lockheed Martin ($200 billion), and will most assuredly lead to fattened military budgets (and thus to more taxation or more borrowing), and may well lead to the curtailment of liberties Americans are famous for taking for granted. Expanded wiretapping authority among intelligence agencies, random searches of "suspected" individuals, computer espionage, longer lines and routes at airports --- these are just the preliminary measures that the government will take in the name of combatting "terrorism." "I'll gladly siphon off a few of my liberties for more security and protection," says the oblivious citizen. "The world is just too unsafe anymore." Is there no obligation to defend liberty from its many foes in government, and to become more engaged in political life? "Well, yeah, I guess," says the oblivious citizen, "but I'm only one person. I can't change the system, and neither can you." *Some works to explore: William Blum, Killing Hope: U.S. Military And CIA Interventions Since World War II (Common Courage Press, 1995); Walter LaFeber, America, Russia, And The Cold War: 1945-1984 (Alfred Knopf, 1985); Richard Barnet, Intervention And Revolution (World Publishing Company, 1968).
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