On the linked topics of 9/11, of the triumph of rants over discourse, and of polarized extremes over moderate compromise: In the years since 9/11, the arena of American political discussion has become all too reminiscent of the unconscious social catharsis and tribal reaffirmation of todays rabid sports fans. Shirts and skins. Partly, the same tribal recidivism is at play in our broader culturescape. But then lets add this to the mix: when things become more complex, they make less sense, so there is reassurance in following trends. When communities are no longer physical/proximal, but loose networks held together by the strands of social media, collectivism reassures the social mammal impulse. And if one lacks sufficient understanding of the totalized culturescape and so does not know what to move toward, to build toward, the easier reflex is thusto identify what ones gut instincts identify as strange, different, dangerous--and to set about destroying, or at least expelling, it. We are seeing a gathered watershed of all those effects geysering up in this post 9/11 era, I fear. And it is not a pretty sight. This is not a partisan post. Look to right and left (and other points of the compass, too). You will see different flags, different brass idols, different styles of gathering the power of intolerance through irresistible numbers...but you will see the same social dynamic played out, again and again. Hope. Independent reasoning. Self education. Aspiration to build something that surpasses what we were given. Firm in resolve but just in action. Commitment not merely to ourselves and our children, but to all of posterity. These are the values that make nations great, will propel the globe into a bright and enduring future. These I believe in, and these I work for, in every sentence I write. That is both a professional explanation and a personal promise. On this day, our greatest revenge upon the perpetrators of 9/11 would be to ensure that the strength and vitality of our vision for a better world will consign their efforts and nihilistic beliefs to the dustbin of history, to turn them into an almost forgotten footnote that later generations only point to when they wish to remind their progeny how low we may sink, how embarassing and vulgar we humans may become. Because the greatest revenge upon barbarians is to ensure that their deeds erase their own existence from the annals of civilization, which we pass on as exemplars to our children. When the barbarians voices are stilled, and their actions are forgotten, they are not merely slain--they pass into dust and vanish into the breeze, carried wholly out of existence.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 19:23:55 +0000
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