What’s Worth Fighting For?
Winter/Spring 2002
While rafting down the Colorado River for two weeks in
September, our group of travelers developed a sense of interdependence as we pulled each other from the water and up rocky trails, and worked together to set-up camp each night, loading and unloading rafts, and preparing meals. We shared whatever we had - a helping hand, a song, or a pair of dry socks.
One evening we camped at a sharp bend in the river where the towering cliffs of the Grand Canyon encircled us on all sides. During the night, I awoke to see that the bright moonlight had turned the campsite and landscape to a whitish-gray color, as through everything were covered in ash. It was only a few weeks after the 9/11 disaster, and I imagined Ground Zero. In awe, I ran my fingers through the soft, ashen sand, and gazing up at the night sky from inside the canyon, I felt as though I were looking though the hole where the twin towers had been. Around me in the gray light, I could make out the sleeping figures of my fellow travelers and thought of those working at Ground Zero - rescue teams tolling through the night, volunteer chefs feeding workers, volunteer veterinarians tending rescue dogs, neighbors helping neighbors, and from around the country, people sending contributions to help the families of those so tragically killed. Like our group, citizens were pulling together for the common good, and as I looked up at the moon, I thought how community life - living together on planet earth - was about sharing and cooperation - and, when needed, sacrificing for the good of all.
Surely, we are living in a defining moment in history when Americans are eager to unite around a common purpose. With the attention and support of the whole nation, our political leaders have the opportunity to lead us into a new era of cooperation and goodwill. President Bush declared that 9/11 was an attack on our way of life, which we must fight to protect. But what exactly is the American way of life? What is precious and must be safeguarded with our very lives? And what, in this pivotal time, should we reflect on as a nation and seek to improve?
For me, the American way is first about the freedom and equality of our democracy. Our constitution grants us one vote for every citizen, by which we elect representatives to serve in the best interests of all citizens. In the aftermath of 9/11, there was no spirit of sharing and sacrifice in the President’s economic stimulus package passed by the House, when representatives who owe their jobs to billionaires approved tax breaks for the very wealthy, bailouts and sweetheart deals for corporations, and even retroactive corporate tax breaks involving over $100 billion in refunds. By comparison, little concern was shown for average citizens left unemployed, nor to the continuing loss of jobs to overseas factories. The passage of Fast Track will only increase the undemocratic process for making global trade agreements which favor transnational corporations seeking cheap labor abroad, and which override community efforts to protect their local economies, environment and health. Campaign finance reform to restore democracy and bring economic justice is worth fighting for.
In protecting our way of life, I think next of the American judicial system admired around the world, yet since 9/11 the Bill of Rights has been under attack by the very people who have sworn to protect it. Citizens can now be subjected to secret FBI surveillance of phones and emails, and interrogated without probable cause. FBI infiltration of groups is condoned under the same policies used to repress civil rights and anti-war groups in the 60’s. As though human rights are due only to US citizens, aliens, even those who are long time US residents, are denied the right of due process and are being arrested without charges, detained indefinitely, and could be tried in secret miliary tribunals empowered to impose the death penalty with no right of appeal. Those who question these tactics are called unpatriotic and the First Amendment right to dissent, a cherished tradition in the American way of life, is considered dangerous to our national interest. The Bill of Rights is worth fighting for.
On the other hand, the American way of life is also about consuming - consuming more than our share. While Americans make up less than 5% of the world’s population, we use up 25% of the earth’s natural resources, and we are the leading producer of global warming gasses such as carbon dioxide, which threaten earth’s very existence, as scientists now agree. While these times call for a re-evaluation of our wasteful lifestyles, and a willingness to sacrifice for the common good, the President urges citizens to increase shopping and traveling, and go back to business as usual. What Americans have become known for is not sharing, but taking. As other countries work together to cut emissions for the sake of future generations, the US rejected the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, (as the Bush administration has other efforts for international cooperation such as the International Land Mines Agreement, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Anti-Ballistic Missal Treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention, the Treaty on Trade in Small Arms. the International Criminal Court, and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.) At a time when sustainable energy sources are well within our grasp, the Bush administration’s Energy Policy continues dependence on oil, coal and nuclear power. That is perhaps the greatest threat to our long-term security, both environmentally and militarily. A sustainable energy policy to save our planet is worth fighting for.
For many citizens, flying the flag is symbolic of pulling together - finding comfort in unity during difficult times. If we are to live successfully together on planet earth, our flag must also represent our country’s leadership in pulling together as global citizens. Terrorism can only be increased by American policies that are seen by the rest of the world as arrogant, selfish, and based on military and economic global domination. That is a recipe for making enemies, not friends.
I once saw a video of a civil rights demonstration in the early 60’s when a white officer was grabbing an American flag from the hands of a young black boy. The boy was hanging onto that flag for dear life. I feel like that now - as though what I love about my country - democracy, equality, justice, community, free speech - is being wrestled from my hands.
To fly our flag proudly, the American way must stand for universal human rights, international cooperation, and protecting and sharing nature’s gifts equitably among all people. That is the only way to bring lasting peace and security, and that’s worth fighting for.
