I do not profess to be an expert on terrorism or foreign affairs. I am simply an American Jew struggling with what I should be thinking and feeling. How do I integrate my knowledge of history and my Jewish values, with my horror of the recent terrorist attacks? How do we make sense of it all and develop a calm and reasoned approach?
First and foremost, we should acknowledge that as Jews we feel this attack very personally, and it makes us feel even more vulnerable. The attack happened on the anniversary of the Camp David summit, and an ongoing theme of the Islamic fundamentalist movement has been anti-Zionist since the beginning. I hope we can bear in mind, however, that Islamic fundamentalist, anti-Semitism and anti-U.S. sentiments are the vehicles through which they translate their hatred, their rallying cry, if you will. The goal of this Islamic fundamentalist movement remains international dominance, and there is no price too high to pay for meeting that goal.
Next we should stop casting stones at one another for our honest reactions. The cries for military action and a ferreting out of terrorism are understandable in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. The anti-war demonstrations are not an apologist defense of terrorism by self-hating Americans but a cry on behalf of innocent citizens who might be slaughtered in an unfettered military attack.
Proud Americans come in many guises, both those who hang American flags from their windows and talk of military action, and those who don’t want to lose sight of the challenges facing America in the midst of this crisis. Casting aspersions at each other is not productive and only serves to enhance the effectiveness of the terrorist attacks.
For those made nauseated by the overwhelming American sentimentality, I would urge remembering that timing is everything. While many would want to use this time to remind Americans of how far we have to go to achieve equality in this country, others would view such a reminder as blaming the victim, as if the United States were responsible for the attacks and not the terrorists themselves.
As we move toward eliminating terrorism and enhancing our country’s security, we must ask ourselves what price we are willing to pay to secure these ends. It is indeed a balancing act.
Before we determine a military course of action we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to sponsor the slaughter of innocent civilians. If our ultimate aim is to eliminate terrorist activity, will the killing of innocent people help us achieve that end? We need to keep our focus on the terrorists. Easier things to agree on are economic and political sanctions for those countries that house known terrorists and that support their activities.
We want greater security and are willing to give up certain liberties to assure that. Are we really? I’m certainly willing to wait in longer lines at the airport, but I’m not willing to give up my right to privacy. Even if in my heart I know that I don’t have to worry about it, because it will only be people of Middle Eastern descent who will.
If we don’t want to remember our own history of being scapegoats throughout the centuries or the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, then let’s remember Proposition 187, which unfairly scapegoated undocumented immigrants from Mexico and which made all people of Latino descent suspect. Or maybe we should simply look around us and see what is happening to our citizens of Middle Eastern descent and the fear they hold in their eyes and hearts. Even if we are the great defenders and join hand in hand with our Middle Eastern friends against acts of hatred, if we allow civil liberties to be eroded we are sacrificing them into a world without protection.
The fervor of the country could result in astronomical military spending. Should we enhance our capacity to protect ourselves against terrorist attacks? Of course. At the same time, we need to be mindful that if we gut core government programs to pay for the military increases, health and human services will be the first thing to go, and as a result we will see an increase in poverty and concomitant economic instability which will only serve to destabilize the country, thus increasing the effectiveness of the terrorist attacks.
Let’s take a deep breath and count to 10, remembering that we must not act out in anger and fear. There are some prices that are too high to pay, and we need to take the time to strike that delicate balance to ensure that we don’t lose our country’s soul along the way.