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America Together
Posted
10-9-2001
Why is it that it takes events like those on September 11th to bring
our political leaders together? For the past twenty years, Washington has
been wrought with partisanship that has left us a bitter, divided nation.
The profound tragedy that occurred September 11th seems to have
caused the leaders of our two major parties to set aside the partisanship
and speak as Americans. The question is, for how long will the united front
last? The challenge of squashing international terrorism is not like the
Gulf War, a four-day, tidy exercise. This action could be protracted over a
generation. It is a challenge that will require large financial resources, a
much stronger relationship with other nations, and a fundamental
re-evaluation of our preoccupation with the acquisition of military
hardware. So ultimately, it must dramatically change the political landscape
in Washington.
Looking back over the past
twenty years, we saw a new breed of conservative come to Washington that
really turned up the level of vitriolic communication. In the eighties, the
likes of Lee Atwater, Newt Gingrich, and Dick Armey helped dismantle the
Democrats lock on Congress by creating an impression that somehow liberals
were evil and un-American. They did it effectively, and, though it took a
few years, ultimately, the Republicans gained control of Congress. They also
painted Democrats as somehow not being strong in our international dealings.
In the nineties, Bill Clinton
worked very hard to bring about peace in places like Northern Ireland, the
Korean Peninsula, the Middle East, and the Balkans. While there were varying
degrees of success, and some progress hasn't been sustained, Clinton's
efforts were not a sign of American weakness. They were an effort to
redefine our role as the world's only remaining super power. Unfortunately,
Bill Clinton's efforts were carried out with very little support from
Republicans. Too many of them wanted to continue the bellicose attitude of
the Cold War. They were very slow to appreciate strategies of the past, even
the eighties, weren't applicable in the nineties and today.
Those very same terrorists we
are after today were bombing embassies a few years ago, and when Bill
Clinton responded, Republicans said he was just trying to take attention
away from his own troubles at home. Now, the story is different. There is
recognition that consequences can be felt at home for what happens on the
other side of the world. I doubt Democrats will give George W. Bush the same
treatment Republicans gave Bill Clinton.
The circumstances have
changed since September 11th, but clearly, if Congressional Republicans had
acknowledged the seriousness of the threat during the nineties, instead of
lashing out at Clinton for partisan reasons, we may have been better
prepared to deal with the challenge we now face.
The Middle East peace process
must take on a new degree of importance to the United States. We must demand
Israel and the Palestinians work out an arrangement that guarantees a
Palestinian homeland and sovereignty and that the Islamic world respect
Israel's right to exist. The spillover effect of this long-standing dispute
is a piece of the problem that has bred contempt for the United States in
the Islamic world.
The term "new world order"
that was bastardized by conspiracy theorists in this country for so long now
does take on a real meaning. If we have no real order, we inevitably have
disorder. With weapons of mass destruction too available, and crazies out
there like the terrorists, it is a matter of survival that we shape a new
world order. It is not one of lost sovereignty for the United States, but
one where we become engaged leaders of the world. It is one where we are no
longer simply economic exploiters, but standard bearers for world peace and
cooperation. The isolationist crew should give up. Isolation is not an
option.
The effort to build a safer
world must be lead by Washington. It will take sustained cooperation and
much more open-minuends from our political leaders. It will also take an
American public that starts opening its eyes and ears to the rest of the
world. We must learn about the geopolitical circumstances that shape our
world and why other peoples perceive us as they do. There is so much good
about our culture and our country. We need to better educate the rest of the
world about the true America too. It is not the America they see on
television shows. And, there is simply no more room for the self-absorbed
partisan squabbles of the nineties. Shame on the media for feeding us a
steady diet of such nonsense, and shame on us for devouring it. We are world
citizens in very serious times, and we can't shirk our real responsibilities
to leave a better world for our children. |
