More often than not, we, lesser mortals, cannot say what we would like to let the world know, for fear of recrimination and retaliation. We justify our inaction with the adage: 'discretion is the better part of valor'. I was offered Deepak Chopra's The Deeper Wound to read and digest, and I find myself in resonance with the sentiments expressed; and this prompted me to express my views. Like most of my acquaintances, I too have been seriously touched and 'wounded' by the WTC disaster.

I continue to think a lot about the tragedy, and I grieve for the many lives lost — innocent ordinary persons whose only sin was that they were at a place where they were eking out a living. I have silently ruminated on the circumstances, and thought about the significance and resultant aftermath, should America take the wrong turn. Now, I believe that America's incursion into Afghanistan in bombing raids is a wrong turn. Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and author of Anger said, "By punishing Afghanistan–and we are not even sure we would be punishing the right people–we will make more suffering. They will suffer and they will always hit back and we will suffer also. Military power cannot buy peace. Only sincerity and humanity can do this." Howard Zinn, author of The People's History of the United States puts it this way, "Don't bomb the neighborhood, but clean it up with food, jobs, good housing, and health care, in order to get at the root of terrorism and eliminate the pool of desperation from which terrorists are recruited."

In her lengthy article The algebra of infinite justice, Arundhati Roy points out, "…the US government has, in a rush of publicity and embarrassing rhetoric, cobbled together an "international coalition against terror", mobilised its army, its air force, its navy and its media, and committed them to battle. Once war begins, it will develop a momentum, a logic and a justification of its own, and we'll lose sight of why it's being fought in the first place."

All of us — lesser mortals, kings and presidents — should contemplate the WTC incident seriously. America as a whole (the power ensemble) needs to examine in a holistic manner its relationship with the outer world: its foreign policy, its big brother role, its so-called humanitarian posture, its "aid" programs, its protection of "democracy" and human rights, and I dare say its super power politics and arrogance. Thus Noam Chomsky, linguistics professor, MIT observed: "When the U.S. launched a murderous terrorist war against Nicaragua, Nicaragua did not set off bombs in Washington but took the matter to the World Court, which ordered the U.S. to cease its "unlawful use of force" and to pay substantial reparations. The U.S. responded by escalating the terrorist attack. Nicaragua approached the Security Council, which called on all states to observe international law (vetoed by the U.S.), and then went to the General Assembly, which passed a similar resolution (again vetoed by the U.S.). No one will stop the U.S. if it follows the procedures that it blocked in the case of Nicaragua."

Similarly, Rabbi Robert J. Marx, president of National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice noted, "How can we declare to the nations of the world that they are either for us or against us, while we demonstrate our contempt for the world by greedily devouring its resources, by refusing to join the Kyoto Environmental Pact, by rejecting the 1972 ban on biological weapons, and by refusing to join the world court. Above all, we need to begin to feel that we are part of the world; until now we have been spared its pain."

I have no intention to minimize the destruction and human suffering in this colossal tragedy. Almost every world leader has condemned the gross extreme violence, and has extended sympathies to America, the departed and their relatives. None of us can truly feel the pain of those who perished and the thousands who lost their loved ones. Those of us who have experienced similar loss can empathize; still, it is so very personal; it is so heart rending; it is emotional trauma and pain unimaginable to people like me who see only images on the TV. My heart and my sympathy go out to these families who are suffering, and those who still grappling with their emotional turmoil in trying to put closure to their ordeal. In addition, more than 215,000 jobs have been lost in New York City, and the domino effect is still to be fully realized.

I have researched some of the issues surrounding "terrorism", and read quite a deal about "terrorism", but do not know enough about the "roots of the rage". Worse still, I know less about Afghanistan and its people — what make them tick, what they do on a daily basis, how they laugh or smile, or cry, or hunger, and how they suffer and die — the many who for decades were/are the targets of international power conflicts. For over 20 years, Afghanistan became the target of the mighty Russian military assault. Its infrastructure was reduced to a rubble. The population fled in large numbers and became perpetual refugees, wandering in border villages of Pakistan, in order to avoid starvation, disease and sure death. The country has been variously described, but most aptly as a throwback to the stone age.

After the ignominious departure of the Russians, Islamic religious fundamentalism found a niche in the society — the Taliban — which censored women, and outlawed other religious faiths. The wanton destruction of the age-old Buddha monuments is but one of the meanest fanatical action of the Taliban. In their modus operandi however the Taliban is presumably seeking to correct injustices according to their belief system. The West, which had once been their supreme ally against the Russians, soon became the devil incarnate because their role in Palestine, Iraq and Kosovo was perceived to be against the Muslims of the regions. Fanaticism and jihad bred easily, being constantly nurtured by Islamic zealots. Muslim men especially, of all ages, were quite willing to die for the cause of Islam — and die they did in many suicide daring assaults.

The attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon was the most unexpected act to envisage in a modern civilization. The mere thought of the massive destruction and the potential to kill over 50,000 innocent individuals in a single onslaught blow the mind, and suggest that such an action is unthinkable for any human being to contemplate. None of us is amused by the fact that it did happen! The question is not how? (Because it must have taken years of expert planning to execute the plan with such remarkable precision, like the movies.) The question is why? President Bush called the enemies of America "enemies of freedom". "Americans are asking, 'Why do they hate us?' " he said. "They hate our freedoms — our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other." To which Arundhati Roy rejoined obsequiously, "Could it be that the stygian anger that led to the attacks has its taproot not in American freedom and democracy, but in the US government's record of commitment and support to exactly the opposite things — to military and economic terrorism, insurgency, military dictatorship, religious bigotry and unimaginable genocide (outside America)? It must be hard for ordinary Americans, so recently bereaved, to look up at the world with their eyes full of tears and encounter what might appear to them to be indifference. It isn't indifference. It's just augury. An absence of surprise. The tired wisdom of knowing that what goes around eventually comes around. American people ought to know that it is not them but their government's policies that are so hated."

Deepak Chopra posed some questions for us to contemplate: "Everything has a cause, so we have to ask, what was the root cause of this evil? We must find out not superficially but the deepest level. There is no doubt that such evil is alive all around the world and is even celebrated. Does this evil grow from the suffering and anguish felt by people we don't know and therefore ignore? Have they lived in this condition for a longtime? One assumes that whoever did this attack feels implacable hatred for America. Why were we selected to be the focus of suffering around the world? All this hatred and anguish seems to have religion at its basis. Isn't something terribly wrong when jihads and wars develop in the name of God? Isn't God invoked with hatred in Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, and even among the intolerant sects of America? Can any military response make the slightest difference in the underlying cause? Is there not a deep wound at the heart of humanity? If there is a deep wound, doesn't it affect everyone? When generations of suffering respond with bombs, suicidal attacks, and biological warfare, who first developed these weapons? Who sells them? Who gave birth to the satanic technologies now being turned against us? If all of us are wounded, will revenge work? Will punishment in any form toward anyone solve the wound or aggravate it? Will an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and limb for a limb, leave us all blind, toothless and crippled?"

The operational paradigm, by which most western heads of businesses, corporations, and governments overtly view the world, is through lenses that others feel are distorted and miasmatic. Many see the free trade agreements, market force and like economic jargon as the quintessential epitome of the rich and powerful. They see the G8 club boys and their touting of globalization as neo-imperialism and capitalist excessiveness. They do not see a bright future in the current economic and political global relationship because the playing field is not level, and is always skewed against them. This is nothing new. The contradictions in the social and economic relationship are deepening. And from the ranks of the subjugated surface leaders who challenge the status quo in the name of justice, freedom and fair play. They become self-proclaimed or are proclaimed heroes and icons for bread and justice. Sometimes, but not often, they develop grandiose feelings, thinking that they are above the ordinary — kings or demigods maybe. Probably, Osama bin Laden is one such leader.

Therefore, according to Ellen Willis, director of NYU's cultural journalism, "We need to find the political will to address the economic misery and theocratic tyranny that produce fundamentalist violence."

We, who are ordinary citizens, need to examine our world in a holistic and global sense. We need to do so for our own sanity, and also to tell our leaders where and when they are going the wrong way. We need not to gullibly accept the partial explanation of our government, but also to objectively examine the whole picture from the perspective of friendly and unfriendly nations alike. (American spin is always slick and superb.)

Those of us who are safe and comfy in our little marked out niches, who eat well, dress and entertain, drive around in our fancy cars, flaunt our nouveau riche pretensions, and verbalize ephemerally in arcane discourses, need only experience this (WTC) great lesson of human tragedy, to understand what life is really about. We ought to think deeply about our western civilization in particular. Are we getting "over civilized"? Are we missing the trees for the forest? Are we hearing only the wind and not the total musical cacophony of the wind, rain, and the rustle of the leaves? Do we need more advanced technologies, more Nobel Prize Winners in Economics, Science, Medicine and other esoteric disciplines, when we are failing badly in the simple everyday process of really talking to one another? Human communication and relations have reached an extreme low point. Why should an advanced civilization be plagued with violence, killings, torture and war? This is not a rhetorical question. There is obviously an incongruity. Is this the way of the future, or is this the making of our ultimate demise?

I believe that capitalism (the dominant economic model) must develop a heart. I believe that wherever injustice is practiced or perceived to occur, there will be social upheaval that will play out in violence of one type or another, if the dis-affectation is intractable and met with no foreseeable and reasonable solution. It seems to me therefore that all of us, individually and collectively, must take a position to speak out against injustice, not only in our own backyard, but also throughout the world. For example: Where were our voices (America's voices) when the massacres were/are taking place in Rwanda/Burundi, in Eritrea, Sudan, East Timor, Bosnia, Chechnya, in Afghanistan in past decades, etc., etc.? Where are our voices when we know of the millions who are dying of HIV/AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa? We would certainly have to re-define "terrorism"! Are our sensibilities immune, and have we become callous because we are not in the immediate setting and/or because we don't see the disturbing images flashing repeatedly on the TV screen? Is it only when "American interests" are affected that we take up the emotional gauntlet? Are the big pharmaceutical companies guilty of terrorism when they refuse to lower cost of essential anti AIDS medicines? Is America guilty of terrorism when its so-called "monetary aid" to poor Third World countries become burdensome, when the debt servicing of the 'aid' is higher that the GNP of the recipient nation? These questions do not exhaust the gamut of pernicious economic and political obstinacy that plague the poor, but are also meant to draw attention to our troubling times. Big rich governments and small poor governments need to come to equitable arrangements that are mutually beneficial.

Suheir Hammad, poet, suggests, "Before any military action is ever taken anywhere, all citizens of the world will recite the pledge below:

Me, I pledge my allegiance
to the love of all of humanity
and to the aspirations we all share
one species
one blood
one love
one destiny
one love
one destiny
under all manifestations of God
indivisible
with liberty and
medicine and shelter and
food and self-determination and
freedom of religion and freedom of expression and freedom of movement and love and justice
for all."

After the dust is settled, the G8 nations, and America in particular, should consider it mandatory to re-assess their foreign policies. America should abandon its role of the global police, and take on that of compassionate big brother. The "war against terror, so freedom can prevail over fear" would be meaningless if the conditions are not right. Bombing Afghanistan into smithereens will not stop "terrorism"; for if bin Laden is obliterated, there will be others to take his place. Vandana Shiva, author of The Stolen Harvest Military says that "[America's] response to terrorism aggravates the conditions that give rise to terrorism. It will trigger a chain reaction of violence. The alternative to the military response is the creation of peace and democracy in every sphere of life and every level of society. Fighting for economic democracy and the creation of people's security is at the heart of finding peaceful responses to terrorism."

Saying all of this is not being unpatriotic or un-American; it is a reality that has been borne out by many past experiences. Recall that yesterday's "terrorist" is today's hero.

When Sunera Thobani said, "From Chile to El Salvador to Nicaragua to Iraq, the path of U.S. foreign policy is soaked in blood," she was not just literal; rather, it was an awareness of the ambivalence and duplicity in foreign policy which she equated with another form of terrorism. Arundhati Roy puts it this way, "The equivocating distinction between civilisation and savagery, between the "massacre of innocent people" or, if you like, "a clash of civilisations" and "collateral damage". The sophistry and fastidious algebra of infinite justice." David Corn in his article "Ideas, Not Missiles?" began by noting that "The threat of terrorism cannot be effectively countered unless the United States changes its arrogant, me-first global ways and faces up to the fact that many people in other lands are — rightly or wrongly — damn angry at it." In the same article, H. Allen Holmes, a former assistant secretary at both the Defense Department and the Department of State, is quoted: "We must provide assistance and listen to other states, including states heretofore regarded as rogue states," he said, adding that "there is a strong belief [in the Middle East] that great powers manipulate the governments of the region, and the United States is seen by many as the big manipulator and has become identified with governments unpopular in the region." Again, Theodore W. Kheel, one of America's most eminent lawyers and mediators, and the author of numerous articles and books on labor law and conflict resolution, recommends "that there should be a multilateral approach by an international coalition against terrorism, poverty, racism and pollution," because "the perpetrators prosper principally in countries with marginalized inhabitants." Byron Kennard quoted from Jessica Stern, author of The Ultimate Terrorists, which observes: "Force is not nearly enough. We need to drain the swamps where these young men thrive. We need to devote a much higher priority to health, education, and economic development or new Osamas will continue to arise." Arundhati Roy further opined, "Operation Enduring Freedom is ostensibly being fought to uphold the American Way of Life. It'll probably end up undermining it completely. It will spawn more anger and more terror across the world. For ordinary people in America, it will mean lives lived in a climate of sickening uncertainty: will my child be safe in school? Will there be nerve gas in the subway? A bomb in the cinema hall? Will my love come home tonight? There have been warnings about the possibility of biological warfare — smallpox, bubonic plague, anthrax — the deadly payload of innocuous crop-duster aircraft."

How will America's children grow up when they are constantly bombarded with images of war (albeit clinical, almost like a computer game) that seem so matter-of-fact and benign to their psyche? When human targets and casualties are snidely described as "soft casualties" or "collateral damages"? One shudders to think about the callous detachment when such young people are constantly and repetitively confronted with crime, violence, murders and war!

To reiterate, an essential question would be: what can cause an individual(s) to commit such a heinous act? I think that we should all be gravely informed by this. We should all recognize the importance of conflict resolution. We should examine the disparity in the treatment of peoples in a global fashion. Bread and justice must be watchwords.

Most people in the world are simple folks. "Roti, kapra aur machan" (food, clothes and shelter) are the basic essentials that they seek. When we take away these elemental essentials, we are diminishing their sense of worth. We are killing their humanity. We are killing their children. We are also diminishing our own sense of decency as human beings. The ensuing dis-equilibrium is a sure prescription for stratification into the "have-s" and the "have-nots", and for the development of conflicts. Instead, David Barsamian, author of Decline and Fall of Public Broadcasting suggests, "The U.S. can pursue what it did in the Balkans, when it acted through the International Court at the Hague. These criminals–Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians–were apprehended at almost no additional cost to human life. It seems there's a double-standard for "Islamic terrorists" who are being tried in public by a cowboy administration."

I ask: Wither our civilization? In America, the name of God is probably uttered and seen more than in any other country. "In God We Trust" and "God Bless America" are as common as peanut butter and jelly. Surely, your God and my God watch over us at the same time; and being a just God, He/She would not want to see injustice meted out to those who are less endowed.

I am truly sorry… if any one is hurt by any seeming insensitivity.

One cannot disagree with Pope John Paul II who said, "With all my heart, I beg God to keep the world in peace. We must not let what has happened lead to a deepening of divisions. Religion must never be used as a reason for conflict." The Dalai Lama offered "deepest condolence and solidarity with the American people during this painful time... to the many who have lost their lives, those who have been injured and the many more who have been traumatized by this senseless act of violence. [W]e need to think seriously whether a violent action is the right thing to do and in the greater interest of the nation and people in the long run. I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence."

Imagine… John Lenon's new world where there is:

No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one...

Vedic Monk Bri. Maya Tiwari tells us that "in time of devastation, we must remember to do what has to be done. Your prayer is the most powerful act to be done at this time. It will make a difference." Her recommended Santipatha chant is meant for peace and healing:

PEACE INVOCATION
(From the Kathopanishad)

Om Saha navavatu
Saha nau bhunaktu
Saha viryam karavavahai
Tejasvinavadhi tamastu
Ma vidvishavahai
Om Shantih Shantih Shantih

May He protect us both
May He nourish us
May we acquire the capacity
(to study, understand each other)
May our thoughts and learning be brilliant
May we not cavil at each other
Om Peace. Peace. Peace.

Gary Girdhari PhD, a Guyanese-American, has experienced the negative aspects of American foreign policy in his native country, Guyana, during the 1960’s. He seeks to learn more about conflict resolution.

Further Reading

Arundhati Roy: The algebra of infinite justice. Guardian. September 29, 2001.
Patrick Smith: 'Manifest Duplicity'. Nation. August 7/14, 2000.
Bernard Lewis: Why so many Muslims deeply resent the West, and why their bitterness will not easily be mollified.
Samantha Power: Bystanders to Genocide. Atlantic Monthly. l September 2001.
David Corn: Ideas, Not Missiles? Counter Methods for Countering Terrorism. Nation.
Coming to Grips With Jihad. Atlantic Monthly. September 12, 2001.
Richard Lacayo: Terrorizing Ourselves. From now on, tighter security is the rule. But how much of our freedom will we sacrifice?
Naomi Klein: Game Over.
Lisa Beyer: Roots of Rage. TIME. October 1, 2001, Vol.158 No.15.
Rachel Neumann: The Empire Strikes Back. War vs. Peace: Novelists and Essayists Tell The Voice Where They Stand. Village Voice. October 3 - 9, 2001.
Byron Kennard: Powering Out of Terror.
Peter O'Neil: Feminist's anti-U.S. speech causes uproar. Vancouver Sun. Tuesday, October 02, 2001. http://www.canada.com/search/site/story.asp?id=CDE733D8-9F7F-4D77-9F89-96504B1B7F50
Pranay Gupte: Theodore W. Kheel: 'Needed: A new international coalition against terrorism, poverty, racism and pollution'. Earth Times.
Jerome Karabel: America's war strategy flawed. The Baltimore Sun. September 25, 2001.
Clive Crook: Globalisation and its critics. The Economist. Sep 27th 2001.
John Schaar: What is Patriotism? The Nation.
Vijay Prashad: War Against the Planet. Earth Times.
Rahul Mahajan and Robert Jensen: Unlimited War?
Joel Rogers: The End of Innocence.
Arun Gandhi: Terrorism and Nonviolence.
James Ron: Self-critical foreign policies could enhance our security. The Baltimore Sun. September 24, 2001.