2001-09-17 - 11:07 p.m.

On the Side of the Monsters (2)

You see, it's a very slippery slope. What acts of "government terrorism" qualify to put you out of the umbrella of decent behavior? How many thousands (or millions) of people do you have to kill to deserve the full terrorist treatment? Who decides how much is too much?

Here's another question: is there a statute of limitations? For example, the Vietnam war ended over 25 years ago. Probably the majority of the people killed in the terrorist attacks weren't of voting age when the war was an ongoing concern. Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened more than 55 years ago. Anyone who remembers them is probably retired now.

And it should also be pointed out that neither of these historical incidents is as cut-and-dried as a terrorist bombing. The Vietnam War was a war in all but name and plenty of Americans died there, too. We were asked to come in by the government of South Vietnam, and it turned into a horrible, drawn out nightmare. The scars of the Vietnam war, and the opposition to it, are still evident in American Policy today. Nobody wants "another Vietnam" in Afghanistan.

We were at war with Japan when we nuked their cities. It was a horrible thing to do, but it was done to shorten the war and save American lives. Japan was preparing for an allied invasion and was swelling the ranks of its army with more than 27 million volunteers to defend its homeland. I can't imagine how costly an actual invasion of Japan would have been in terms of human life.

Now this is a historical point that can be debated, but the plain fact was that we were at war with Japan, and they started it. Remember Pearl Harbor?

Be that as it may, both these wars are long over and both Japan and Vietnam are currently trying to beat each other out in competition for the Yankee dollar. They may not have forgotten, but they seem to have forgiven.

Serbia, which Entropia mentions, is a whole 'nother can of worms. While she seems to be blaming the U.S. all by itself, even though I recollect that we were there as part of an international peace-keeping force. First everyone was screaming for us to get involved, then they were screaming at us to get out. Make up your minds, people!

And also I remember that we were there for a reason, and it was not merely to hassle the poor innocent Serbians. I remember reports of mass graves and rape camps and other delightful things the Serbians were doing. But I suppose that we should have minded our own business: after all, the people being killed were mainly Bosnian Muslims.

So all of our supposed "crimes" are not really as clear as all that.

Years ago I remember having a conversation with a guy from Holland, and I was surprised at how much he knew about American politics. I asked him why he took such an interest and he said: "Your president is our president too." This was 20 years ago.

The fact is that the United States is a world power (in fact we seem to be the ONLY superpower left), and has to make decisions on a daily basis that affect lives outside our borders. We try to be virtuous, but sometimes we screw up. We protect our interests, and people die.

Entropia points out that the same can't be said of Greece, and a quick survey of the last 500 years definitely shows that. Greece was under the thumb of the Ottoman Turks until 1821, but it took another 100 years until the modern state of Greece was put together. During World War II the Germans conquered them, and installed a puppet government whose primary aim seemed to be to bleed Greece dry to feed the Axis war machine. After World War II there was a civil war that lasted until 1950. Greece has been trying to patch itself up ever since.

Here is an interesting little fact I found: between 1895 and 1921 over 350,000 people emigrated from Greece, which was about 1/5 of its population at the time, and the majority of these immigrants went to the U.S.

So, on an international scale, comparing Greece and the U.S. is like comparing apples and oranges. Greece seldom has troops outside her own borders.

However, my choice of Alexander the Great was deliberate. First, because at the time (330 BC) Greece controlled most of the Western world, and was therefore a "superpower" and second, I consider using Vietnam and Hiroshima as excuses for what happened on Sept. 11 as absurd as bringing up something that happened 2300 years ago.

Still, I find her attitude puzzling. Greece has never been known for getting along with its Muslim neighbors, Turkey and Albania. Support for the action of Islamic fundamentalists seems a little out of character for a Christian nation in the Balkans. I guess it's probably "hip" to be anti-American in Greece, as it is in a lot of places. However, when your desire to be trendy puts you on the side of a bunch of insane murderers, perhaps it is time to re-think your politics.

I mentioned that what happened on Sept. 11 was a crime against humanity and a crime against civilization. Entropia seems to disagree. Let me put this crassly: as a crime against civilization, it is also a crime against the world economy, of which Greece is definitely a member. There are fears that this terrorist attack may be the thing that pushes the American economy into a recession. Today (Sept. 17) the U.S. stock market lost over 6% of its value. There was also a news story that said that the U.S. airlines were planning on laying off thousands of people.

And the anti-Americans in the crowd are clapping their hands in glee. But before you celebrate, consider. The United States has the biggest national economy in the world, and what happens to us affects others as well. For example, with millions of Americans now afraid to fly, either due to terrorism or lack of money, tourism will suffer. Isn't tourism one of Greece's primary sources of income?

What goes around comes around, indeed.

What is ironic is that Entropia sees this terrorist attack as some sort of a "judgement" on America, but we have no idea how the terrorists themselves view it. So far, nobody has claimed responsibility, or given a reason for what happened. No demands were made to change U.S. policies or free any political prisoners. It's plain that the only desire of these terrorists was to see Americans bleed and die. I bet these guys would be just as happy to see a bunch of Greeks die, too. They're not about justice, they are about making people suffer.

You know there has been a lot said that the Earth is now a "global village." What I've seen this week has made me think that the world is, in fact, not much more than a global "small town."

Imagine that all the countries of the world are just houses in this small town. Well, last Tuesday the largest house in this small town had a major fire, set on purpose, and some people died. While many in the small town expressed sympathy, others snickered behind their hands, saying things like: "They got what they deserved!" "God punished them for being so high and mighty!" "That'll take them down a peg or two!"

Of course, all these unkind things were said in spite of all the charity work the people in the big house had done, and in spite of the fact that the people in the big house owned a mill in which a lot of the townspeople worked. Oh well, it's just human nature for people to be envious and petty. It's just not anything terribly admirable.

I'm going to end this rambling essay on international relations now. Let me just repeat a couple of my main points:

The terrorist attack launched Sept. 11 on America was not just an attack on a country, but an attack on civilization. The bad effects of this terrible act are going to be felt not just in America, but all over the world. The people who organized and carried out this plot are bloodthirsty maniacs who like to see people die - no morality can be associated with anything they do.

The question is: whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the people who died, people who work for the same jobs you do, people whose ancestors came from the country you live in, people whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or are you on the side of the murderers, the destroyers, the terrorists?

I don't think this question is an unfair one. You brought the subject up.

If you don't like the United States, fine. You can just pass over the subject. We are not expecting sympathy cards from everyone on the planet. But in our hour of grieving, please show us just a little respect.

Diaryland, this community of diary-keepers and diary-readers, is international, but it is heavily centered in North America. When you start saying things like "what goes around comes around" and "I can't forgive you" in effect what you are saying is: "I think some of you out there reading this deserve to die."

Is that really what you want us to think? For the love of God, I hope not.