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What is to be done?



In response to this terrible tragedy, the citizens of the United States must not give in to the jingoistic nationalism offered by the media and many on this list.  Rather than strike out with more violence and death, the citizens of the United States must reach out for calm and reflection.  We must take stock of who we are and understand the consequences of our own terrible actions in the world.

We must confront the fact that we, and I emphasize WE, must accept a share of the responsibility for this horrendous act.  Look, folks - the United States has historically provided support and training for many of these terrorists groups in the name of "national security;" we have maintained (and continue to maintain) terribly oppressive and violent dictatorships in the interest of corporate profit and greed; we support and cuddle the criminal regime in Israel that perpetuates genocide; we provide arms and money to right-wing death squads in Latin America that massacre indigenous peoples who stand up to multi-national corporations destroying their lands; we actively support efforts by multi-national corporations and their client states in crushing labor movements that attempt to ameliorate the worst aspects of industrial capitalism; and we arrogantly abrogate international treaties that attempt to save our environment, end nuclear proliferation, and bring international criminals to justice. 

Is it any wonder that much of the rest of the world hates us?  Surprise! We are not the shining beacon of "freedom and democracy" that our propaganda and myth makers want us to believe.  Real justice and peace will only come if we as a people take honest stock of ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for our actions.

We must honor the memory of our fallen comrades and rise above this terrible evil.  If we are as strong a people as President Bush's handlers claim we are, then no greater time has come for an honest introspection that can change ourselves and the world.
 
 
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Marcus C. Robyns, CA            
To be and not do is not to be at all
Assistant Professor / University Archivist
Northern Michigan University                    mrobyns@nmu.edu
1401 Presque Isle                                       (906) 227-1225
Marquette, MI 49855                             (906) 227-1333 (fax)

First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then you win.
---Gandhi

Visit the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives at:
http://www.nmu.edu/archives/archives.htm

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