Hey folks.
I think most Americans have had some deep thoughts today. I haven't talked to anyone that didn't have something to say today about September 11th.
My normal reaction to almost any anniversary is a show of grattitude for friends, family and the good that is done all around me. I sent out an e-mail to a group that I work with that expressed those feelings. The e-mail was heartfelt and sincere, but it didn't fully express what I felt. Until this afternoon, I didn't have a grip on what I felt.
It is easy to Monday Morning Quarterback the Clinton and Bush administration for things that they should and shouldn't have done. That's been beaten to death and someday I'll get to the point where I stop doing that in my head.
What is hard for me at this point is the circle of violence that has resulted from September 11th. This is a gross over simplification of the situation, but it is good enough for my blog. The US is attacked and 3000 people die. The US invades Afghanistan and Iraq to fight a war on terrorism against al-Qaeda. The deaths and violence in that war inspire insurgents to take up the terrorist fight against the US. It keeps going and going.
Ghandi may have said it best when he said, "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind."
I firmly believe that is true. That isn't a solution though.
Oddly enough, it was the Chinese Government's statement in regards to the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks that ring true: "Only when the root cause of terrorism is stopped and not just the symptoms, will the war on terrorism be won."
They said it better than I could.
How do we destroy the root cause? How do we change the perception of America around the world? I have no idea. Obviously the "kill them all and let god sort them out" isn't working.
I might know something that could take the first step. We can't stop fighting the war on terrorism. Pulling out isn't the answer at this point. We can't keep going at it alone though... not when every military action we take causes two problems that we've got to solve down the road.
What we need is something that will generate a little bit of good will. We need to do something in our foreign policy that has a positive and selfless affect. We need to do something that will let people know that we're not the imperialistic, self centered, egotistical country that we appear to be.
What is that thing? I don't know for sure, but I've got some good ideas. The countries of Sub-Saharan Africa could benefit immeasurably by a significant development effort on the part of the US. I'm not talking about dumping a bunch of food out of airplanes and dropping it all over Africa. I'm talking about a sincere effort to help the people help themselves. Work with international organizations or help fund the organizations to do the work that they are to help people stop the spread of the AIDS virus, solve problems that prevent these people from helping themselves. Give them the step up that they need to make the next step on their own.
It isn't easy. It is darn cheap to do that when you compare the amount of effort and money to what is spent on the war on terror and on Iraq.
I'm not saying that we take funds away from the defense department. If we have to spend a few tens of millions of dollars to help out in Africa, it would be money well spent. It would start winning the hearts and minds of the people of the world.
My Africa idea is an example. Obviously there are details that need to be worked out. It wouldn't instantly solve our problems, but it would be a first step towards doing something good in the world. The US needs to do something good in the world. If it isn't Africa, then maybe it is somewhere else in the world that has people in need. Heck, feeding our homeless people or truly helping those recovering from hurricane Katrina wouldn't be a bad thing either. We need to do SOMETHING good... something more than we're doing now.
Sorry to rant.
My thoughts are with you.
Pete
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