The debate as a whole was amusing; rarely are so many clowns in one place. However, the debate did have a few moments that were nothing less than scary.
The lowest point of the low points was when Ron Paul was booed for saying something that didn't mesh with the American exceptionalism narrative. Please note that I am not a fan of Ron Paul, but he is right about at least this one thing: We were not attacked on 9/11 because terrorists hate us for who we are. That is a conservative myth. In conservative mythos, we are good and others are bad. It is an us/them mentality and that is required for a belief in American exceptionalism. It is also required for religion, but that's another subject. In any case, it is wrong and harmful.
10 years ago, we had to kick ass and take names; it would have been a mistake not to. But 10 years hence, having kicked serious ass (unfortunately, much of that ass had nothing to do with 9-1-1, but some did), and having taken out Bin Laden in particular, now is the perfect time for Americans to analyze why much of the world hates us.
Sadly, most cling to the childish notion articulated by GW that they hate us for our freedom. This was echoed by Santorum at the debate to much cheering by the audience. But it is patently untrue.
We are hated for the actions we take in their part of the world. We think we are different, but if a superpower was pushing us around in our backyard, we would hate just as surely as they do. We are not different than them, we are merely in different circumstances.
The lesson of 9/11 is not 'us good, them bad'. The lesson is two fold:
1. Religion is evil (this act was justified in their minds because it was faith driven).
2. Doing things throughout the world that cause people to have a legitimate reason to hate you has consequences.
This admission, that our actions caused others to hate us need not be seen as being soft on terrorists. We must always respond forcefully to attacks. The way to peace and prosperity is to proactively be better world citizens. I have no illusion that this would create a perfect world, for there will always be crazies and haters, but it would certainly lead to a less imperfect world.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
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