archive2003

17 April 2003

In the two weeks since the last dispatch I spent the time looking for sources of inspiration. After all Passover is upon us and Easter is fast approaching. If this is not a season for inspiration, what other time would be better? But even in times such as this, inspiration is hard to come by. Inspiration does not generate ambivalence. Rather it allows for clarity, if not certainty. Yet so much that has happened in these last two weeks is the source of layer upon layer of ambivalence sandwiched between moments of deep sadness.

How would it be possible to grieve at the passing of Saddam’s regime? After all, the fact that the Iraqi people are no longer nailed to that cross of tyranny is a good thing, isn’t it? The short answer is yes. The longer answer, like many longer answers, is that the devil is still in the details. And how can anyone not feel deep empathy, not only for the families of the civilians who have died or have been injured, but also for the pain and suffering endured by the Iraqi conscripts trapped as they were between two forces that cared little for their welfare? The short answer here is that it is not possible to feel so and still have even a shred of humanity left.

“The War” such as it was, is now over. And the oil fields are secure. And the museums are gone. And the hospitals have been looted. And the enemy has been routed. And the victors have their spoils. And now what?

How does a country recreate itself when its history is erased? How can American leaders say that they came to “liberate” a people, and yet stand by and watch a culture become chained to a legacy of loss, of broken pots, of illustrated catalogues that can now only mark what was, of what used to be in this glass case or on that top shelf? We in America have a cultural legacy that can be measured seemingly in minutes compared with the thousand upon thousands of years that comprise the birthplace of civilization. Yet now many of the markers of that past, a past that we all share to one extent or another, have been shattered by a sledgehammer of pent-up Iraqi rage slamming down upon them as they lay on an anvil of American indifference.

What disturbs me most is the lack of accountability that exists with all this. This Bush regime, in its harsh and bitter renunciation of moral relativism, prides itself on being “responsible”, and morally certain. Prides itself on being good, holy and righteous. It is a regime that goes to great lengths to make sure that the young mother on welfare takes responsibility for her choices. It is hell bent on holding teachers “accountable” as they try in vain to “leave no child behind”. This regime is equally committed to sending checks to the wealthiest at the expense of some of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. Their monosyllabic clichés are mind numbing. Their hypocrisy is disturbing. Their rationalizations, evasions and arrogant deceptions are alarming.

They will speak of “the fog of war” to avoid responsibility for the civilian casualties. They will speak of the tremendous lengths they went to avoid such casualties. Yet they rushed into this war in great haste. And it turns out that this haste may have been partially the reason for leaving so many of Iraq’s treasures vulnerable to thieves and plunderers. The military leaders in the field to be sure bear some of the responsibility for this tragedy. But ultimately the responsibility leads to the Oval Office, and the outermost ring of the Pentagon. They were warned repeatedly of the likelihood of the looting, and they did nothing to prevent it, and then nothing to stop it.

My artist friends (and I daresay I am blessed to have many) will be quick to correct me if I am wrong, but I believe it was Picasso who said that, if one were to come upon a room that was on fire and that room contained one of his paintings and a cat, and if one were forced to make a choice, he advised, “Save the cat.” If the loss of all the artifacts in the museums, and all the ancient Islamic manuscripts in the libraries would have saved the life of a single Iraqi child, then I would have heeded Picasso’s advice and say, Let the manuscript burn. Save the child. Instead, just as so many manuscripts went up in flames, many Iraqi children and adults were not spared either. Those that were spared are now orphans, their heritage in ashes, their connections to the deepest source of who they are as a people now severed.

“The War” such as it was, is now over. And the oil fields are secure. And the museums are gone. And the hospitals have been looted. And the enemy has been routed. And the victors have their spoils.

And now what?

Be careful out there.

Edd

PS If you feel so inclined, please feel free to forward this to friends and colleagues. But once you have received a forwarded HigherPortal and you would like to receive future dispatches, please contact me via e-mail (address below). I’d like to have some idea as to who is receiving these. Thanks.

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© Edd Conboy 2003
econboy@earthlink.net

Links:

Why the war
Al-Ahram, Egypt | Tony Blair
Prime Minister Blair makes his case for war in the Egyptian press.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/633/op10.htm
Who will history favour?
Al-Ahram, Egypt | Ibrahim Nafie
The Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram responds.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/print/2003/633/op11.htm

Tales of the Tyrant
The Atlantic Monthly | Mark Bowden
This is now a somewhat dated piece on Saddam (May 2002). I missed it on the first go round, but it is still a good read. Among other things, Mark is the author of Black Hawk Down. His most notable achievement, though, is that he is a fellow graduate of Loyola College in Maryland.
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/05/bowden.htm
Depression - And Its Activism Antidote
Scoop, New Zealand | Bernard Weiner
When worlds collide – in those case the worlds of personal, political and economic depression.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0304/S00058.htm

Baghdad: the day after
The Independent, UK | Robert Fisk
Commentary on the “liberation” of Iraq.
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=396051

When Democracy Failed: The Warnings of History
CommonDreams.org | Thom Hartmann
Some eerie parallels between now and Germany in the early thirties.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0316-08.htm

Proposed legislation by Congressman Serrano (D-NY)
“The twenty-second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.” A Democrat wants to repeal the amendment limiting the president to two terms in office. Go figure.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.J.RES.11.IH:

Terrorism Task Force Detains an American Without Charges
The New York Times | Timothy Egan
Here we go again: “Maher Hawash, American citizen born in West Bank and brought up in Kuwait, has been held in federal prison on Portland, Ore, for last two weeks, though he has not been charged with crime or brought before judge…”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20915FE3C5C0C778CDDAD0894DB404482

No Quiz this time… spring break