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Jewish World Review July 29, 2005 / 22 Tammuz, 5765 Life in post-identity America By Diana West
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Will the American identity — the save-the-world American, the quiet
American, the ugly American, the generous American, the can-do
American — disappear during the long war on Islamic terror? In the
following three quotations of the week — random, but not
unconnected — you can see it slipping away, the victim of a
debilitating cultural amnesia. Which may be pretty tough stuff for
the middle of the summer, but that's the way 2005 goes.
The first quotation is a headline: "Poll Shows Americans, for First
Time, Divided on Use of A-Bombs in 1945." According to this
Associated Press poll, commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of
the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a "historical switch"
has taken place. The strong majorities that always supported the use
of "the bomb" to end World War II in the Pacific have, for the first
time, dwindled to an almost even split, with 48 percent of Americans
"strongly" or "somewhat" approving, and 47 percent "strongly" or
"somewhat" disapproving.
Whether this shift is inspired by plain ignorance or a
civilizational death wish, it hardly reflects a robust culture bent
on military triumph, let alone survival. In their disapproval of the
Truman decision that spared a million American casualties (the
projected cost of an invasion of mainland Japan), 47 percent of
Americans reveal a lack of will, even in historical terms, not only
to prize American lives, but also to support the hard decisions to
save them. If not defeatism exactly, such national torpor, stemming
from an unrequited empathy with the enemy, tends to make any victory
ambiguous. Remember Iraq, where, upon liberation, the American flag
draping Saddam's toppled statue had to be whisked away in deference
to similar, politically correct tendencies. And that was just the
beginning.
We muddle through, but the terrible tendencies remain — as revealed
in a stunning installment of In the Red Zone, a blog from Iraq by
journalist Steven Vincent. Mr. Vincent reports from Basra, where he
says crooks and corruption are the problem, not terrorism. There, a
Gary Cooper-esque U.S. Air Force captain is in charge of awarding
contracting jobs of up to $1 million. Mr. Vincent's Iraqi friend
Layla has her doubts about the bidders: How does the captain know,
she asks, that he isn't funneling money to extremists or religious
parties that have put a woman's name on their letterhead to win a
bid?
And here goes quotation No. 2: "I certainly hope none of these
contracts are going to the wrong people," he replies, continuing:
"But should we really get involved in choosing one political group
over another? ... I mean, I've always believed that we shouldn't
project American values onto other cultures — that we should let
them be. Who is to say we are right and they are wrong?"
Et tu, Captain America? It's one thing to get this mindless mantra
from a Montgomery County public school teacher with rings on his
toes and multiculturalism on his agenda. Maybe projecting American
values onto certain cultures is a stupid idea, but clearly that's
their loss. Meanwhile, there we are, doling out the dollars. Just
listen to Layla: "These religious parties are wrong! Look at them,
their corruption ... the way they treat women! How can you say you
cannot judge them? Why shouldn't you apply your own cultural
values?"
Or, rather, especially informing Security, The Process, at home.
Consider quotation No. 3, from a New York Times editorial on
commuter safety measures, which — post 9/11, 3/11, 7/7 and 7/21 —
are a brave new way of life. The topic is pretending to search for
bombs, which is what we do in post-identity America. "The police
officers must be careful not to give the impression that every rider
who looks Arab or South Asian is automatically a subject of
suspicion. ... Those who are selected simply because they are
carrying packages should be chosen in a way that does not raise
fears of racial profiling — by, for example, searching every fifth
or 12th person, with the exact sequence chosen at random."
Anything to avoid "fears of racial profiling" — even death by
murder-bomber. As the captain said, who's to say? In the Exact
Sequence Chosen at Random We Trust. If we deny their identity long
enough, our own will cease to matter.
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JWR contributor Diana West is a columnist and editorial writer for the Washington Times. Comment by clicking here. © 2005, Diana West |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
