Summer 2002
Global Citizen or Rogue* State?
Rather than leading the forces of good against evil, as he describes it, President Bush has put the US on the wrong side of a different set of opposing worldviews – interconnectedness and separation. There are those who see all life as interconnected, spiritually and physically, and work in partnership with nature and other people, understanding that what happens to one affects all. On the other hand, there are those who see themselves and others as separate and disconnected. Living in fear with a them-or-us mentality, they see their survival tied only to their narrow self-interest and tend to horde wealth, compete rather than cooperate, see war as inevitable, and seek to dominate nature and other people.
Though the terrorists Bush opposes, who show little value for life, surely operate from a perspective of separation, so too does the Bush administration, whose actions epitomize the fear-based kill-or-be-killed worldview. With no understanding of our need to partner in an interconnected world, the administration has dismissed years of global cooperation and appalled the world community by breaking or obstructing international agreements on such important issues as global warming, biological weapons, land mines, arms trade, nuclear testing, and human rights. By calling countries evil and pitting people against each other, both at home and abroad, they have increased a sense of separation and fear, which can only increase violent behavior. In response to the tragic deaths on 9/11, the US has killed as many as 5,000 innocent Afghani citizens with little thought to our connection with these lives and the tragedy of their loss.
What a different world we would be creating if the US had taken Afghanistan’s offer to turn Osama Bin Ladin over to a third country. Then, rather than opposing the International Criminal Court and withdrawing from the treaty creating it, the US could have brought Bin Laden to trial and helped to model a global judicial system based on adherence to international law, rather than the downward spiral of revenge, violence, and lawlessness, which has only encouraged the same behavior in the Middle East, and undoubtedly elsewhere.
Despite universal opposition by other countries, the administration is now planning, or perhaps has carried out, a first-strike attack against Iraq, a violation of international law, which would take thousands of Iraqi and American lives. Simply discussing the attack of another country that has not attacked us creates a more dangerous world. Unproven accusations of Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, challenged by our own weapons inspector, is a thin veil over the President’s political ambitions, and our desire for Iraq’s oil.
I remember the exact moment of realization that my country was not the caring global citizen I had admired since childhood. I was on my way home from a trip to Nicaragua in 1987, where I had witnessed the devastating effects of US foreign policy to overthrow the Sandinista government by organizing and arming the Contras. News had just broken that the Reagan administration had violated our Constitution by ignoring Congress and continuing to secretly arm the Contras - largely former troops of Somoza, the despised US-friendly dictator toppled by the Sandinistas. Worse yet, the US was illegally selling weapons to Iran to fund these covert operations, and had been convicted of breaking international law by mining the Nicaraguan harbor.
Sitting alone in the Miami Airport waiting for my return flight, I was surprised to find myself sobbing uncontrollably. Why was I so overcome with emotion? Was I sad for the Nicaraguan people I had met? The woman whose nine-year-old son had just been killed when a US-supplied bomb came through the roof of the schoolhouse? Or the mother whose 20-year-old daughter was kidnapped by Contra soldiers? Yes, but there was something even more personal, as though someone in my own family had been killed. I finally answered my own question - I was crying for the loss of the country I had loved all my life - the generous and just America who helps people and brings peace to the world.
Despite our history, this is an America still possible. By working together, as informed and involved citizens, we can create a country that exemplifies our understanding of an interconnected world, bringing peace and justice, and harmony with nature. Perhaps we will then recapture and fulfill the youthful idealism of being part of a country that truly works for the good of all.
* Rogue - “A vicious and solitary animal, especially an elephant that has separated itself from its herd.” (American Heritage® Dictionary)
