Thrill Ride
by digby
Glenn Greenwald points to this op-ed in today’s NY Times which points out something that many of us have been hammering for years, namely that Islamic fundamentatlist terrorism is not an existential threat. (That’s not to say that violent fundamentalism isn’t threatening, but the problem cannot be solved with warfare — sadly, it’s much more complicated than that.)
The oceans never protected us. I guess our president with his degree in history from Yale, doesn’t know that the British live across the oceans and sailed over to burn down the White House in 1812. Or that we have lived under the nuclear unbrella for more than 50 years. All those drills when I was a kid were for the exercise.
And this is not a “different kinda war” or “World War IV” or any other type of war. And allowing it to be called a “war” is a grave mistake that we probably can’t go back and undo. And unfortunately, we now know that mere unleashing of the word “war” can kick in a whole bunch of executive powers that nobody ever knew existed.
I have thought about what it is that 9/11 really evokes in people. It is assumed that it is fear, and I think that most people probably interpret it that way. Glenn attributes it, in part, to the success of bin Laden’s terrorist tactics:
The cause of this irrationality, this inability to view the terrorism threat with any perspective, is not a mystery. Terrorists like Al Qaeda deliberately stage attacks which are designed to instill fear in the population far beyond what is warranted by the actual threat-level posed by the terrorists. That’s the defining tactic and objective of terrorists. Fortunately for the terrorists, in the United States, Al Qaeda has a powerful ally in this goal: the Bush Administration, which for four years has, along with Al Qeada, worked ceaselessly to instill in Americans an overarching and excessive fear of terrorism.
That may be true, but I don’t see a society that is truly fearful. I’ve been to countries that were at war. And life always goes on to some extent. But this country does not feature the psychological traits of a country that is really at war or one that really fears terrorism in any palpable way. It features the psychological traits of a country watching a horror movie, which is not the same thing at all. You certainly see this in the fevered one-handed war blogging and the endless evocations of pre-9/11 and post 9/11 thinking reminds me of nothing so much as people who are hooked on a stimulating drug.
Of course we all felt real fear in the early days, none so much as those who lived in New York and DC. It was almost unbelievable to see those scenes. But there was a sense of spectacle and drama about it that was literally unreal to those of us who watched it on television. This was fear put to music, with dramatic title treatments and a soaring voice-over. Because of that, on some level, 9/11 was a thrill for many people, even some Democrats. It was sad and horrifying, of course, but it was also stimulating, exciting and memorable because of the way it was presented on television. (When we were talking about this, Jane described it as if “the whole country was watching porn together every time the rerun of the towers falling was broadcast.”) And we subsequently fetishized the “war on terrorism” to the point where some people become inexplicably excited whenever it is mentioned. They want that big group grope again, that sense of shared sensation. That is the “fear” that people say they have. And it’s why they want to vote for the guy who keeps pumping it into the body politic.
It’s why the “war on terrorism” still has some potency for the Republicans that the very ugly, very real war in Iraq does not. We can’t lose the “war on terrorism” because it isn’t a real war. Unfortunately, because we have allowed those words to be used, we have opened the door for authoritarian Republicans to assume the powers of a dictator under its auspices.
Greenwald and Ellis both argue very persuasively that islamic fundamentalist terrorism does not present an existential threat to our country. I think that idea is beginning to get some traction in the national security debates. I don’t know how long it might take to break this country out of its shared fetish for the “war on terrorism” but perhaps it’s time to start addressing that as well. Until we finally admit that we aren’t “at war” by any real definition of that term, we are going to be hamstrung in addressing the very real national security challenges we do face.
I haven’t the vaguest idea how to do it, though. This nation is on the “war on terrorism” thrill ride and is enjoying it so much they’ve bought a season pass. And like most thrill rides these days, after the first little while I start to feel nauseated.
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