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Twisted Iron, Twisted Irony

Content Created: October 9, 2001 / Updated: October 9, 2001

Well, the day has come; we're bombing Afghanistan. This seemed fated since the attack last month on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. While it seems like it is necessary to stop terrorism, it still is hard to swallow that attacking another nation is necessary. I pray that it turns out for the best.

Let me write down some thoughts that have been spinning through my head in the last month.

First of all, the terrorists (and it now seems that it was Osama bin Laden's organization) never made an attack on our freedoms. They cannot.

You see, our freedoms and rights are granted us by our government. (Actually, myself and many others, including the writers of the Declaration of Independence, consider them "inalienable", meaning they cannot be removed. They were granted to us by our Creator. Our opinions on who that is may vary.) Unless the government changes those rights, or the government itself changes, those freedoms and rights won't - and can't - change.

Unfortunately, what the attacks have made us do is flinch - and talk of reducing those freedoms. (Which is, of course, part of the goal of terrorism.) I fully understand the reasons, and I agree that we need to stamp out terrorism. But taking away those freedoms is not the answer.

You see, wiser heads than mine have pointed out why bin Laden and his ilk attack us. They hate us, for our freedoms, for our economic success. For not restraining women from using their voice and abilities. For our protection of the minority, our ability as a nation to hold many differing points of view, and deal with those differences in a mature fashion. The United States is the greatest nation in the world because of these reasons, and I would still hold that position were we not the last remaining superpower.

We must be a beacon of light and hope to the world, and lead others to the kind of pluralism that honors and respects differences in the human race. We must enlighten and lead the world not by conquest, but by example. If we remove the very things that make us great, what sort of example are we? Has not then our enemy won?

The irony is, of course, that many people say, "Oh, we must protect our freedoms! Terrorists are trying to take them away". And then, almost with the next breath, say, "We need to be safe. Give the police more powers. I don't mind the government tapping my phone and reading all my email." This is what sends chills up my spine. Not that I might die from a plane crash or a anthrax outbreak. That we might so lightly trade away our freedoms to protect against a threat that may never materialize. Do we deserve liberty? I sure hope so. Let's not squander it.

Lest we think that wiretapping and banning of strong cryptography is not a freedom issue, take a look at the Fourth Amendment. (Cryptography is essentially a way to lock (scramble) computer information up so that it can only be unlocked (unscrambled) using the key. Email is quite insecure, but using cryptography, you can make it so that only the recipient can read it.) Cryptography has been defined as a munition by Congress in the past, and strong versions of it are still illegal in the US. (See the Electronic Frontier Foundation for more information.) And, of course, it is being attacked again by people including Attorney General Ashcroft. Never mind that the terrorists that hijacked the planes last month apparently used unencrypted email. It's not necessarily an issue of unencrypting messages of suspected terrorists, it's translating them into English.

I sincerely hope that we don't go overboard passing laws to combat terrorism that (A) aren't very effective and/or (B) are damaging to our rights.

(Fortunately, Congress isn't giving Ashcroft all he wants. I'm proud of my representation, for at least one time in my life.)

Now, I'm pragmatic and realize that some things will have to tighten. I'm quite annoyed that I won't be able to carry my Swiss Army knife into sports events or onto planes for a while. I realize that that is a minor inconvenience, and am willing to put up with some of them. However, there is a slippery slope, and there are people that would love to take the US down the road to a police state. So, let's be vigilant.

(This new "Office of Homeland Security" is, of course, on that slippery slope, and one that bears close watching.)

Warning: dealing with religious issues ahead...

I used to think that televangelists were harmless, even though I found them rather self-important and not necessarily following God's will. Unfortunately, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson managed to paint themselves as enemies to everything this nation stands for. (Essentially, they blamed pagans, abortionists, feminists, homosexuals, the ACLU and the People for the American Way for "secularizing America" and causing God to remove his shield of protection. So, the attacks could happen.) I don't know what god they're following, but it's not the (Christian, specifically Roman Catholic) one that I follow. He preached love and understanding.

To be honest, they did retract it later. Sort of.

But still... blaming it on feminists? (My favorite from the list for sheer ludicrousness. Maybe I don't understand the feminist movement, but I understand it to be essentially for equal rights for women. And the problem here is?) What sort of absurdity is on the 700 Club? And who watches it?

[ I know some pagans and homosexuals, and they're decent folks. I don't specifically know anyone who labels themself as a feminist, but I can't imagine that Jesus would be against gender equality. I do believe abortion to be morally wrong, but they hardly attracted a terrorist attack. As for the ACLU, while I do think that they go too far sometimes, they are an important organization to have around to protect our liberties. I'm unfamiliar with the People for the American Way, but their web site describes their charter thusly: "People For the American Way organizes and mobilizes Americans to fight for fairness, justice, civil rights and the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution." I'm not sure how anyone can reasonably be against fairness, justice and civil rights. Of course, they do go on and mention that they monitor the Religious Right, which is why Robertson and Falwell are against them. ]

More religion...

I am very unfamiliar with Islam, but it is worthwhile to note that it stems from the same source as Christianity and Judaism. I am told that Islam teaches peace and understanding like Christianity does (and I imagine Judaism, although again, I'm not as familiar with it).

Osama bin Laden and his ilk are the aberration. They take a religion and twist it, making it a reason for their own need for carnage. Don't blame Muslims for the actions of a few, any more you blame all Christians for the actions of the Robertsons and Falwells of the world. Don't turn this into a "United States vs. Islam" fight, because it's not. [ One of the most blindingly stupid suggestions I heard was on the radio a couple days after the attacks... a woman suggested that since Muslims attacked us, it was a good idea to start bombing Mecca in retaliation. If we really want a literal war, this would be one way to start it... ] One wise suggestion has been that bin Laden wants to start such a war. Islam would probably eventually lose, but it would be a horrible war that would quite possibly topple the United States from superpower status. In general, we need fewer wars. We don't need to start any.

The Taliban, with their particularly distasteful brand of Islam, has been in power in Afghanistan for several years. It now looks like our goal is to topple it through military force. The moral and legal right to do so is questionable at best, but there is some moral imperative to stop terrorism and to rescue the Afghani people from the oppression. So, while I want the ringleaders of the attacks to be brought to justice, I'm not especially excited for the military attacks on another soverign nation.

By the way, we're not at war, technically. Congress has not declared war. We haven't technically been at war since, I think, WWII. The Gulf War wasn't declared as such, the Vietnam War wasn't declared, and I'm not sure about Korea. Congress probably won't declare war, either.

Oh yeah, and my opinion on flag burning still stands unchanged. I would rather have a thousand US flags burned than a single person killed. I love the flag (as a symbol) and the United States, and have flown the flag well before September. I'll still be doing it long after most everyone takes theirs down. But if you want to burn one that you legally have possession of, go right ahead. It doesn't diminish the United States at all.

Here are some links to significant web pages:

• Leonard Pitts, one of my favorite columnists, has written a lot about the attacks. The first couple are my favorite. (September 12, September 13)
• HeroicStories is a mailing list I have belonged to since its inception; it tells stories about about everyday heroes. There has been some discussion of the attacks, and they can be found here.
• Special issues
• Letters
• More letters
• Tom Smith is one of my favorite filkers (filk is a special brand of music with a science fiction bent - the commercial artist that is closest to a filker is "Weird Al" Yankovic) has had some stuff to say about the attacks, especially the Falwell/Robertson comments
• The Onion, of course, has some things to say. I especially like "Hijackers Surprised to Find Selves in Hell" and "God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule" and "Freedoms Curtailed in Defense of Liberty" (hmmm...), but many articles from the last few issues deal with the tragedy in a poignant yet humorous manner. (The Onion is a satire newspaper, in case you didn't know.)
• About's Urban Legends page talks about some of the hoaxes circulating in the last month, like the Nostradamus prophecy and the photograph from the top of the Trade Center.
• The new site Silly Girl also deals with the hoax picture.
• Dave Barry also has some things to say.

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