The numbers 911 have always evoked terror in the breast, a sharp intake of breath, a foreboding of ill tidings, irrevocable circumstances. But after the attack on America, the numbers have a greater resonance, worldwide reverberations and a syncopated cacophony of prayers, weeping, screaming, searing pain and seemingly endless questions. What could we have done better? Why weren't we prepared? And, most importantly, whom can we blame?
Blame seems to be the balm that anesthetizes the pain, and Americans are anxiously surveying the terrain - political, financial, commercial and ethnic - to find a target for their anger and confusion. Obviously the airline industry has been branded as negligent, the government agencies such as the INS as irresponsible and the Muslim community as fomenters of terrorism. But the true culprit is our democracy.
Democracy denotes a government by and for the people, where everyone's needs are served to the best of its ability. This means that there is no “big brother” watching as in Communist Russia, no record of our daily transactions, no clandestine monitoring of our telephone calls. And a lack of surveillance can sometimes translate into "the bad guys pulling one over on us." So, in essence, we can say that our freedom restricts our ability to feel completely free and at ease at all times.
I am certain our Founding Fathers took the fore-mentioned thoughts into account when they created this wonderful country. And they still chose an infrastructure based on this concept. Because democracy works. Our freedom is too precious to subjugate to fear. And people, as a whole, are good. That's why America has remained the fortress of humanity it has been for hundreds of years, why we've felt safe, sheltered from harm and all the other tribulations that afflict inhabitants of other countries. A respect for the polyglot citizenry of the world, reverence for protean cultural landscapes, appreciation for individuation and miscegenation of color, race and ethnicity have impelled us to embrace a universal heritage and welcome strangers to our shores. It has prompted our intervention in world history, our invasion into foreign lands to “straighten things out a little.”
You can say that America is more than polyglot, it is polyglutinous. In America you will find factions of diverse cultures juxtaposed, eating each other's foods, wearing each other's clothes. Our food industry is so expansive, with such unlimited breadth and variety that one can eat a French breakfast (croissants), a Spanish lunch (taco) and an Italian dinner (pasta). Our clothing industry is constantly seeking new templates for clothing from ancient artisans, foreign antiques, museums overseas. American culture is constantly expanding to assimilate new holidays (Kwanzaa) or various others aspects of diversity into its cultural directory.
The things that make us great are our multi-faceted underpinnings. But they are also what make us vulnerable. Are we willing to give up everything we have striven for, fought for, built since 1776 because of one incident, no matter how heinous? Are we now ready to subject ourselves to a government by SOME people, for SOME people and to SOME people? And if so, whom will we call upon to create such a chaste system? Will we now accept a governmental sentinel on our actions, words and, even, thoughts?
I think not. And so the only solution is to face forward, chin up, back straight and resolve to enjoy our sense of community even as we keep our guard up a little bit more. Our airlines can become a little more vigilant, the INS can become a little more meticulous and the Moslem leaders can be a little more paternalistic towards their constituency, ensuring that they interpret and implement the theology of Islam properly.
But we will not change our basic tenets, the country our forefathers brought to life. Because America is a great country, with an opulence of opportunity and our input - all of us, individually and convergently - is essential to its emotional, spiritual and, even, financial growth.
America is great. Let us appreciate its strengths and shore up its weaknesses. But never let us forget. It is a country by the people and for the people. In its people lies its greatness. And, speaking for the people, I find it self-evident that this country is one nation, under
G-D, indivisible and represents liberty and justice for all.
