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"WW III? No thanks...!" On-Line Library

What is an appropropriate response?
Political and philosophical considerations after the attack on the Word Trade Center

OUR WAR WITH "THE OTHER"
Sharif M. Abdullah


Prayers for the Departed; Compassion for the Injured:

First, I think all of us should take a break from the television and radio
broadcasts, light a candle and say a few prayers:

First, for our friends, families, loved ones, business associates, travel 
companions and others who have departed in these attacks - our prayers on 
the rest of their journey.

Next, those of us who have been injured - physically, mentally, 
emotionally and spiritually - our compassion and prayers for healing.

For the rest of us - hope that our compassion and understanding exceeds 
our fear, our anger and our desire for revenge.


Chickens Coming Home to Roost:

There are some very, very angry people out there in the world.  Part of 
their anger is in not being heard.  People who do not feel heard will do 
ANYTHING to get one's attention.

Some of those angry people live here in the US; some are in other parts of
the world.  Some look and act just like you.

In general, Americans have no idea that such anger exists.  It's not that 
people aren't screaming at you, its that you're programmed not to see or 
hear them.  Or, if you do hear them, you think they are saying something 
other than "I am angry at you".

Or, you hear the anger yet ignore it - these people can't possibly hurt 
you in your middle-class, gated community, your gated lives.   "We" feel
"protected" by our "security".

The US government has ignored these angry people, calling ANY attack 
against the US or its interests "unprovoked".

The United States, directly and indirectly, supports violence throughout 
the world. Denying it won't make this truth go away.  We seem unable to 
understand the anger of someone who had their village leveled by American 
cruise missiles, or whose family was killed by a US-backed government.  
Believe me, they are angry and they feel powerless.  Anger and 
powerlessness are the root of violence.


Culture and Consciousness:

Like the Oklahoma City bombing, the first (and predominant) thought is 
that the perpetrators are Islamic fundamentalists, America's favorite
"Other".  We are programmed to not hear or understand them.  Americans were
in "shock" when the "foreign terrorist" turned out to be blue-eyed Timothy 
McVeigh.

Let's not rush to see "the Other" as in any way different from yourself.  
The people who steered those planes aren't "crazy, cowardly fanatics".  
They are people whose spiritual emptiness and frustration led them to 
commit these acts.  Let's not think that their emptiness is any different 
than our own.


Forgiveness and Weakness:

We may find it difficult to forgive, because many of us equate forgiveness
with weakness.  In the face of attack, we want to attack back. We want to 
find the perpetrators and make them hurt, the way that we are hurting.   
We believe it's the only way we can relieve our pain.

We have to find another way.

Many of us have been talking about a change of consciousness.  Many of us 
think that it is THE OTHER who must change; it is THE OTHER who must 
change their consciousness.  They point to their favorite "Other"; people 
of different ethnicity, class or power status.

It's not "the Other" who must change first - it's "us".


Beefing Security and Preventing Terrorism:

There is no way to stop a coordinated suicide attack.  I repeat: there is 
NO WAY to stop a suicide attack.  The suicide attackers in Sri Lanka, in 
the Middle East, and now in the US have a way of making their point, with 
ever increasing accuracy and deadliness.

The ONLY way to prevent such an attack occurring in the future is to 
de-fuse the attacker before the attack begins.  We must work to remove the
ROOT CAUSES that drives the suicide attacker.  Our intelligence must be 
geared toward identification, understanding and transformation, not 
technology and retribution.  We clearly have the capacity to punish: so 
far, that punishment has given us ever-escalating rounds of violence and 
terror.  We must generate a much greater capacity to transform "the Other".

We cannot do this without the capacity to transform ourselves.

Reference:
http://www.commonway.org