Wade wrote:
"Do we let a few thousand starve every year in Iraq or hundreds
of thousands die in a chemical attack? These are real factors
our leaders
weigh every day."
Our society, rife with consumerism deserves destruction.
Al
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wade Riddick" <riddick@MAIL.LA.UTEXAS.EDU>
To: <PERCY-L@listserv.lsu.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2001 1:28 AM
Subject: Joseph Conrad and the anarchist bomber
> This is indeed a horrible day. My condolences go out to the
thousands of
> families of the dead.
>
> Though the pain caused by the degenerating nerves in my arms
does not
> compare with that felt by our nation tonight, sadly it does
prevent me from
> responding to this tragedy with the depth it deserves. I do
wish to make a
> few remarks with what stamina I have.
>
> This gets worse from here, not better.
>
> I bring up the name of Joseph Conrad because he is part of the
"modern"
> era. I am continually surprised at just how relevant European
writers of
> the 19th and early 20th century continue to be in their
critique of our
> secularized history, whether it is Mary Shelly writing the
first science
> fiction work or Baudelaire warning about addiction.
>
> Conrad realized early on that the invention of TNT - and
progress of
> science in general - had transformed radical, hateful, suicidal
individuals
> into modern supermen with massive amounts of power to affect
thousands of
> lives in one brief moment but with none of the moral
responsibility that
> accompanies it. I made this observation here on the list after
the Seattle
> world trade meetings in 1999 and I stand by it. It's getting
easier and
> easier for individual crazies to harm us and we seem less
engaged and less
> concerned than ever about it. Our impulse is to flee from
conflict into
> our comfortable suburban existences instead of confronting it.
>
> I cannot reiterate the arguments I have made earlier on this
list about
> Federalists #10&14 and Madison's solutions to manage "faction."
I could
> quote the by now cliched remarks on Yeats about the center not
holding.
> However you put it, our individual interests are dividing us
and preventing
> us from coming together to manage our differences in a
reasonable,
> responsible, collective way. Rhonda is right to point to the
attacks on
> the "other" - whether waged by chauvinists Bin Laden with jet
bombs or Joe
> Sixpack with a K-mart rifle aimed at a New Jersey mosque.
>
> We pay less attention to politics than ever before. Our
institutions are
> increasingly unable to manage our disagreements in a
responsible manner.
>
> The remarks I often hear from members of this list about the
> "inappropriateness" of bringing politics up are exactly the
problem. If
> not here then where? We should discuss our differences all the
time. We
> should discuss politics all the time and do it with a sense of
humility and
> self-deprecation. Failing to do this, failing to have a
dialogue leads to
> callousness - the creeping bureaucratic death of science and
specialization
> - tools of the horizontal search or whatever you want to call
it.
>
> The country's constitutional mechanisms for managing conflict
are
> increasingly frayed; have been for 30 years. Institutions rely
on an
> infusion of popular legitimacy. When they don't receive it,
they fall into
> conflict with one another. Look for this generation to get
even more
> cynical and more disengaged from politics and the parties to
whine even
> louder as they struggle to cling to power. The radicals will
fight more
> often and more loudly with one another and fewer people will
care enough to
> pay attention. (Perhaps this moderates with the aging of the
population;
> perhaps not.) These radicals, like Tim McVeigh, can be as
dangerous as the
> foreigners. We tend to leave them alone to convene in their
own corners of
> the internet. This is a mistake.
>
> We need to invest in man - the fallen man, that corrupted
creation, the
> smelly guy on the back of the bus.
>
> I guess I wish to see a return to a more muscular Christianity,
something
> more engaged - if it weren't that those Christians I do see
getting up on
> stage with the most verve are exactly the ones denouncing their
brethren
> with whom they disagree as blatantly "evil." It's a tough
problem
> rendering unto Caesar, I suppose. Whatever it is, it's exactly
the wrong
> kind of religious fervor we need. In fact, it's the sort of
fervor behind
> all these bombings. The idea that you're right no matter what.
>
> The problems we face are not chiefly from other nations but
from interest
> groups below that level which span several borders and require
coordinated
> international support to combat. Some attacks, like those of
drug dealers,
> don't hit us all at once but take just as large a toll in human
life.
> (People are not always motivated by economic factors and
today's attack is
> one instance.)
>
> Today is not a recurrence of Pearl Harbor. Like the
impeachment of Bill
> Clinton, this is a cruel farce as far as historical parallels.
Civilians
> were attacked, not soldiers. This is not a prelude to open
hostilities, an
> epic struggle over territory. Indeed, we do not know who
launched the
> attack - though the moment I heard it, of course, I thought of
Bin Lauden.
> How will we counterstrike? If the nation comes together, who
will it come
> together against? Can you see the congress declaring war?
Against what
> country?
>
> You see the ironies in comparing the two?
>
> An official secrets act will now likely pass in the Congress
allowing the
> government to jail anyone who leaks information labeled
"secret" - even if
> they get it from foreign sources where it is widely available.
Ashcroft
> has already jailed one journalist and subpoenaed the phone
records of
> another. I think our freedoms will be dramatically curtailed
in the wake.
> Dissent about the election (read Souter's remarks yet?),
defense and
> economic policy will probably be quashed. Among the curtailed
freedoms, we
> may well see the installation across the US of face-identifying
cameras in
> all public spaces. Are we sure we wish to trust government
with that sort
> of omnipresence - especially when a third of the country still
does not
> think that government is legitimately constituted (this segment
will
> probably become a fixture of the American landscape, however
the president
> is elected and whoever it is).
>
> It's a shame. Competition of ideas is what makes us stronger,
not weaker.
> With the end of the Cold War, we have seen a decline in
international
> competitive which have compelled American elites to behave with
a sense of
> justice - like your mother saying, "Sit up straight. Tuck in
your shirt."
> The election mess is an excellent example of this. Why sweat
little things
> like civil rights if you're not worried about what foreigners
think?
> (International pressure played a far wider role in '60s civil
rights than
> many will admit.)
>
> I hope you understand now just how insanely stupid it is to
waste billions
> in a missile defense scam. The buildings in New York did not
go up in a
> mushroom cloud. If anything, it was a reverse mushroom cloud.
It troubles
> me most that Bush wants to kill funding to buy up surplus
Russian plutonium
> so he can build an unworkable space shield. It's more
important to do the
> former than the later.
>
> The economy will get much worse. I'm sure some of you are
wondering how I
> can make such a callous remark at this time. The fact is,
people not only
> live more miserable lives when the economy is bad, but more
people die and
> are driven into poverty. More radicals are created. Unless
the tax cuts
> are repealed, Bush will likely mismanage the economy into a
hole the size
> of which only Japan has seen in the last 10 years.
>
> The era of big skyscrapers is ending. They are simply too big
a target.
> This will further erode our sense of community and public
space. I think
> America continues its retreat into secluded, gated communities.
The public
> square continues to get narrowed and privatized. We could
attack these
> impulses at the educational level by grabbing kids at an early
age and
> filling them with values their parents refuse to (e.g. reading
the paper
> every morning) but instead we continue to underfund our schools
and
> disparage the common idea of a universal education. We deal
with issues
> like sex, drugs and crime not among troubled youth where the
investment
> will be minimal but rather long after the chance of making an
easy dent is
> gone. We need more focus on prevention and not incarceration
or
> containment. It's like saying you prefer to sell AZT instead
of passing
> out a few condoms years earlier. I'd rather have a live sinner
who still
> has a chance to repent than a dead one.
>
> This applies internationally as well as locally. Making peace
between
> nations is a long, tough process which requires tremendous
investment.
> It's one thing to note the horror of the ongoing intifada but
what do we do
> concrete about it? This may mean some very difficult choices
for
> Christians to make. For instance, had we not had sanctions on
Iraq for the
> last ten years, we might well have suffered an even more
catastrophic
> biological attack today. The Iraqis continue to culture
anthrax, for
> instance. Do we let a few thousand starve every year in Iraq
or hundreds
> of thousands die in a chemical attack? These are real factors
our leaders
> weigh every day.
>
> We must pay for peace-keepers and peace-makers, the same way we
must pay
> for better teachers and smaller classrooms - to say nothing of
more FAA
> security guards.
>
> Security will be tightened so much in Washington, I fear
someday a troubled
> airliner will be shot down.
>
> While I saw something like this coming, its precision and scope
surprises
> and frightens even me. I fear the reaction of the current
administration -
> already overly ideological - will be severe and radical because
they lost
> loved ones themselves. I fear a new McCarthyism of some sort.
>
> I read an interesting quotation from an _Economist_ article on
brand
> loyalty: "Consumers are like roaches... We spray them with
marketing, and
> for a time it works. Then, inevitably, they develop an
immunity, a
> resistance."
>
> Life is filled with repetitions and rotations - many quite
necessary. We
> draw breath every minute of the day. When we cease, it means
our physical
> existence has come to an end. Life is also filled with those
occasional
> moments where the record gets broken and we are able to stick
our heads up
> and see there is something more. We are shaken from our
mundane routines
> and see a truth which has always been out there waiting for us.
I hope
> today will end up being such a day for America. I hope we
react with the
> best that's in us and not the worst.
>
> The murder rate for the year has doubled in a single day. I
have taught
> students whose parents worked in the Pentagon; I used to pick
up a bus
> there myself every day. I have worked with reporters at the
WSJ who were
> hq'd in the trade center. I cannot communicate the pain I feel
for my
> country tonight.
>
> I suppose I should have waited a few days to offer these
criticisms in
> light of the tragedy but I have serious doubts tonight about
how much more
> typing there is in my future. Better to say it now and
incompletely than
> not at all.
>
> I encourage everyone to go out and give blood.
>
> Wade Riddick
> 911-01
>
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