The war of words between President Obama and Dick Cheney has exposed a rancorous divide over national security. Mr. Cheney states flatly that there is no middle ground on the issue. There is no such thing as being half-safe, he declares. On the face of it, his statement is nonsensical. Unless he has a way of screening the thoughts and intentions of every potential enemy in the world, we will always be half safe. But is that the real issue? Aren’t we talking about our right not to be afraid as much as our right to defend ourselves? Better be safe than sorry is common sense. Better be afraid all the time is toxic politics at its worst. When the Senate voted overwhelmingly to deny funds for closing Guantanamo, they acted out of toxic motives. President Obama accused them of being irrational, and he was absolutely right.
The issue of national security was a Republican gold mine for eight years, during which time not enough objection was raised over waterboarding, domestic surveillance, and holding detainees indefinitely without bringing them to trial. The tide turned with the new President, but the underlying dilemma remains with us.
Can we be secure without resorting to fear?
The Bush administration profited from fear to a huge extent; therefore, they couldn’t resist the temptation to wield it. As if the 9/11 attacks were not terrifying enough, they created bogeymen with no justification. The primary one was Saddam Hussein, who posed no threat to the U.S., had no weapons of mass destruction, and made no alliance with Al-Qaeda. But the detainees being held without trial at Guantanamo were also a bogeyman. We still have no idea who among them was or is a danger to this country, but in a massive refusal to be fair, adult, and rational, we allowed all of them to be lumped together and treated as imminent threats.
Cheney’s round defense of torture is morally bankrupt, but the right wing knows — as it knew in the McCarthy era — that scapegoating an unpopular minority works. Fifty years ago it was Communists; now it is Muslims of any stripe, including the most harmless. We have been detaining harmless Muslims at Guantanamo for years without due process; we have also been imprisoning dangerous Muslims and others who fall between the extremes. The only way to sort them out is with fair trials, adequate evidence, and rational consideration of potential threats.
Or you can just play the fear card.
In his ongoing efforts to treat the American public as they have rarely been treated — that is, as adults — Obama pointed out several rational things:
– Our supermax prisons are safe. No one has ever escaped from them.
– America stands for constitutional principles.
– No one’s fate should be decided by one man, even if he is President.
– The issue of releasing potential terrorists is difficult and troubling.
– America stands for constitutional principles.
– No one’s fate should be decided by one man, even if he is President.
– The issue of releasing potential terrorists is difficult and troubling.
Notice the one thing he left out: fear. That’s the difference between him and Cheney. If he didn’t play the fear card over and over, Cheney’s vision of national security would fall apart, just as McCarthy’s argument about Communists infiltrating the federal government fell apart when he couldn’t find any. The show of smoke, mirrors, and fear collapsed. In a decent moral scheme, Obama would have pointed out the cruel injustice of holding anyone in prison without charges or the chance to defend themselves. How would any of us like to be in such a position, knowing that we were innocent? It doesn’t matter if the accused happens to look like a bogeyman. He’s a human being and should be treated like one.
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle
That all my spiritual indiosincrasy supports with grace your article dear friend Deepak.
Ezequiel
A happy chanting candyman.
GRACIAS MIL!
I completely agree with the idea that, "It doesn
The whole concept of "preemptive war" flies in the face of all that we, as a nation, claim to stand for. The term, "collateral damage," when referring to the unintentional loss of human life is an attempt to sanitize the real term, unintentional murder.
War, to me, represents the ultimate failure of society to resolve their differences. There is nothing glorious or glamorous about war. We teach our children not to hit each other. In fact, we punish our children when they fight to resolve their differences. Why, then, is it right for nations to "hit each other?"
I agree with what you are saying regarding the fear concept. That concept destroys all chance of intelligent and rational examination of the facts and evidence before reaching a conclusion.
I'd like to share a couple of poems with you.
I See You
A. Kroeger
The more I get to know someone,
the less I SEE of them,
and the more I see of
how I FEEL about them.
This seems right. I no longer see
a person's face, color, shape or size.
Instead, I see the things I feel,
when seen with my heart's eyes.
It's a blindness I wish the world could have
and spread like the common cold.
Harmonic Voices
A. Kroeger
I may not know the song that you sing,
or be moved by the melody.
But, since every voice has a right to be heard,
I'll try to sing harmony.
Or, if you prefer to sing solo, my friend,
I'll just listen quietly.
Chronicles of the Battle
A. Kroeger
Ugliness persists.
Beauty persists.
The poet insists
on writing of both.
Ugliness seems to prevail
for a time.
Beauty seems to prevail
for a time.
The poet will chronicle
the presence of each,
and its fleeting victory,
or the vanquished foe.
owa
Hello Deepak and thank you for proving me the opportunity to share. Yes! Their can be a win win of this. To create a win win both parties need to be willing to set the ego aside. That will be the real victory!!! The so called fear is the excuse to not be willing to make the needed changes, someone one loose control or just maybe see the other person point a view!! That's the effect that fear can have on a person. Just a reminder fear shows up when your not trusting. Have the courage to trust the process that what each person is bring to the table is for the greater good of all and remove all the other stuff in the gap! May it be the president, a hospital staff person, a school teacher or a bus driver. If people are not willing or have respect for one another point of view(which they may have or not) we will find ourselves going around in circle's as we have been with no answers and not able to move forward because someone must have it their way!!! It comes a time we all have to grow(up like it or not) and start making choices that don't just benefit I and start thinking about we!!! Human Beings can we move forward and get the show on the road???
Stay Blesed,
Ms. Allen
Let There be Peace
Among All Beings of the Universe.
Let There be Peace.
Let There be Peace.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti
Amen!
An excellent post. What I started to wonder is (and you may have already answered to this in one of your books but human mind needs repetition in order to learn) how would you help someone who is afraid to understand that you are not being naive but realistically optimistic when you choose not to be afraid and treat "threatening" people in a fair way? By treating them like they are adults and reasoning with them? However, if people were "adult" about their fears, would they not fear in the first place? In other words, how would you encourage the child inside the adults to grow up in order to avoid the conditioned fear? How would you help people to understand their fears without them feeling that you are patronizing them? I think that the main task of the leaders should be, however, to prepare people to face the fulfillment of their worst fear. Therefore, how would you suggest a politician should do this? Or is this the task of a priest, teacher or an individual him/herself?
Hello Deepak and thank you for proving me the opportunity to share. Yes! Their can be a win win of this. To create a win win both parties need to be willing to set the ego aside. That will be the real victory!!! The so called fear is the excuse to not be willing to make the needed changes, someone one loose control or just maybe see the other person point a view!! That's the effect that fear can have on a person. Just a reminder fear shows up when your not trusting. Have the courage to trust the process that what each person is bring to the table is for the greater good of all and remove all the other stuff in the gap! May it be the president, a hospital staff person, a school teacher or a bus driver. If people are not willing or have respect for one another point of view(which they may have or not) we will find ourselves going around in circle's as we have been with no answers and not able to move forward because someone must have it their way!!! It comes a time we all have to grow(up like it or not) and start making choices that don't just benefit I and start thinking about we!!! Human Beings can we move forward and get the show on the road??? Stay Blesed, Ms. Allen
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