Letters to the Editor
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@ Christopher
You wrote ...
"Leaving out the "unforgivable sin" rhetoric, damn straight. Am I to understand we did bring 9-11 on ourselves? Is that what Salon in claiming? When did they take up the line of Jerry Falwell? Who in America is responsible? The gays? The hedonists? The capitalists? "
You made excellent points later in your post regarding the fundamentalist preachers who influence the republican candidates. I agree with you 100% that those jerks should be subject to the same scrutiny as Rev. Wright.
However, I think that you're completely missing the main point of Kamiya's editorial. I apologize if someone else has already said what I'm about to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway. There's a HUGE difference between saying that some actions of the American goverment - specifically in the field of foreign policy - contributed to some of the anger that culminated in 9/11, and in saying that we deserved it and brought it on ourselves. If you see a transcript of Rev. Wright's speech, it seems like the former was the point he was trying to make. Obviously, the terrorists who hijacked the airplanes are entirely responsible for their actions, which were horrible and inexcusible acts of brutality - that's not in dispute. That type of violence is never acceptable. However, anyone who totally denies that American foreign policy has contributed to some folks not liking us very much is burying his or her head in the proverbial sand.
Rev. Wright may have chosen his words a bit more carefully; the "chickens coming home to roost" analogy might not have been the best possible wording to convey his point. However, the point is at least worthy of consideration: while the US has done (and still does) an enormous amount of good in the world, there are some not-entirely-kooky reasons for people to be a bit unhappy with us. In fact, the link between American foreign policy and violence directed toward us is not in dispute. More than one of the perpetrators of said violence has specifically cited American foreign policy as a contributing factor. It's not unreasonable to examine these connections and allegations of (real or perceived) injustices.
Ok - no longer directed at Christopher....
It's infuriating that so may folks equate criticism of the government with being unpatriotic or not appreciating one's country. I love my country, as do most of these other posters. I just happen to think that our government has made some awful decisions, and that those decisions are now causing many people in other parts of the world to see us a big bully. It's precisely because I love my country that I want to see us get our act together and get back on the right track.
Criticism of our government does not make one unpatriotic. And in this same vein, criticism of the US's unwavering support for Israel (a huge complaint of some of the people who want to do us harm) does NOT make someone anti-Semitic. We have to figure out how to discuss these issues in a sane and rational manner without someone crying 'foul!' 'Racist!' 'Anti-Semite!', which is exactly what happens anytime someone powerful is at risk of appearing less-than-saintly.
Supporting bad governance and bad decisions out of blind patriotism is just plain stupid. That's the point.