[Austin-ghetto-list] State of the World Forum

Fri, 21 Sep 2001 18:04:11 EDT

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Friends, I believe the following essay by Jim Garrison, President of the=20
State of the World Forum, is the most comprehensive and insightful -- and=20
hopeful -- perspective I have read so far about the situation which now=20
confronts us.

Love from Folsom,
Carol

****************

Subj:   An Op-Ed by Jim Garrison   =20
Date:   9/21/01 3:59:10 PM Central Daylight Time   =20
From:    news@worldforum.org (Jim Garrison)
Reply-to:    news@worldforum.org
To:    forume@topica.com
   =20
   =20

THE STATE OF THE WORLD FORUM

To view reflections on the September 11th event from members of the=20
Forum Network, visit: www.worldforum.org.

An Op-Ed by Jim Garrison

On September 11, 2001, we Americans lost our sense of invulnerability=20
and joined in the universality of human suffering. Not only for a moment=20
did the world become America, as so many noted, but America became the=20
world.=20

As we mourn our dead, let us also mourn the frailty of the human spirit=20
and humanity=E2=80=99s incapacity to be consistently humane. As painful as o=
ur=20
agony is here, what America has just suffered is what others throughout=20
the world have experienced, sometimes with even more devastating impact,=20
and sometimes at the hands of Americans.  People around the earth are=20
caught up in a complexity of hatreds as both victims and victimizers: =20
in Ireland, in the Middle East, in the Balkans, in Rwanda, in South=20
Africa, in Afghanistan, in Cambodia, in Vietnam. The list is endless.=20

Given the enormity of the barbarity America experienced, the Government=20
will certainly exact vengeance. The destruction of the World Trade=20
Towers and the Pentagon were veritable acts of war against the United=20
States. While we plan our vengeance, however, let us also be aware that=20
from the point of view of our enemies, we are guilty of horrendous=20
crimes against them; thus their hatred against us. To plan such acts as=20
what occurred on September 11, with such a high degree of sophistication=20
and precision, are not simply the acts of madmen bent on a binge of=20
random destruction.  They were calculated deeds deliberatively=20
conceived, meticulously planned and methodically executed by men and=20
women of such deep conviction that they were willing to give their very=20
lives as instruments of the success of their mission.=20

President Bush has rightly declared war against such terrorism. We must=20
know that Osama bin Laden is a warrior dedicated to more than just war;=20
he is leading a holy war against the United States and Israel.  He is=20
not a diplomat; he is not a negotiator; he is not a compromiser.  He is=20
a man of war who, ironically, was an ally of the CIA in the 1980s during=20
the war in Afghanistan against the Soviets. He has been building his=20
army and his tactics for decades with an absolutism that only elevating=20
war to the realm of the holy can instill. He will kill until he himself=20
is killed. When we eventually do this, as I assume we will, we must=20
understand that in his place will arise myriad new Osama bin Ladens,=20
equally committed, equally impassioned, equally ruthless. When one=20
fights fire with fire, fire is not always vanquished. It can lead to a=20
conflagration that burns beyond any borders, particularly if one is=20
fighting a fire that is considered holy.

As we seek his demise, it is perhaps worth reflecting on some truths=20
provided by the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, now upon us. At the=20
core of this commemoration of the Jewish New Year lies the story of=20
Deborah, a woman judge of ancient Israel, whose leadership included the=20
mourning of Sisera, the General against whom the Jews of the time were=20
fighting.  At the moment of victory against him and also in the midst of=20
their grieving for their own dead, Deborah intuited that the pain of the=20
mothers on the other side was just as intense as that of her own people.=20
In this, she understood one of the great truths of all religions, that=20
we are all one, which, if we can bear to think the thought, means that=20
Osama bin Laden is us, and we are him, and we are all made of the same=20
dust.

Bush and bin Laden are caught up in the act of co-origination. In a deep=20
and mysterious way there is a deep synchronicity of opposites coming=20
together between them with a force that, if we can endure and live=20
through it, can potentially redeem us.  Bin Laden=E2=80=99s attacks came aga=
inst=20
the two icons of American power: global capitalism in the World Trade=20
Center and U.S. military might in the Pentagon. Adding insult to injury,=20
the hijackers used American technology to destroy American symbols,=20
transforming American civilian airplanes into guided missiles against=20
American institutions. Underestimating the enemy, American intelligence=20
was caught completely unprepared. =20

More deeply, the attack came against perhaps the most conservative=20
administration in modern American history which has been systematically=20
withdrawing from all multilateral agreements and treaties with the=20
exception of those which increase American economic power.=20
Paradoxically, the actions of September 11 were taken against the son of=20
the man who organized the coalition of nations to fight Desert Storm,=20
the catalytic point at which bin Laden turned his armies against the=20
Untied States. History has bestowed upon George W. the task of=20
organizing a coalition against the man that his father=E2=80=99s coalition=20
turned into the enemy. The President who is withdrawing from the world=20
in order to maximize America=E2=80=99s freedom for unilateral actions in the=
=20
world has been met by the ultimate unilateralist: bin Laden. The=20
superpower has met the super-empowered individual.

To succeed, Bush the unilateralist must become the premier=20
multilateralist. He must forge a coalition of nations against world=20
terrorism like the world is trying to forge to deal with global warming,=20
nuclear disarmament, trafficking in small arms, chemical and biological=20
weapons, all coalitions and treaties from which he has disengaged. =20
Perhaps the ultimate irony of this complex set of interactions is that=20
this Administration might learn that global cooperation and global=20
governance, meaning the alignments of nation states around rules and=20
norms for international priorities, deliberation and commerce, actually=20
serve the national security interests of the United States rather than=20
threaten them.=20

Working within the complexity of coalitions might enable us to tackle=20
another complexity: that the war against terrorism can only be truly won=20
when we also declare war on the roots which cause such acts of=20
barbarity: poverty, illiteracy, injustice, and disease.  Terrorism does=20
not arise in a vacuum but has it roots in historical, political, social=20
and economic dysfunctions so deep, so cruel, so systemic that they=20
create and sustain discontent until it spills over into a desperation=20
that sees no recourse other than wanton destruction against those=20
perceived as responsible for the plight of the terrorists. Unless there=20
is an equally dedicated attack on the causes of terrorism, there will=20
never be victory in the war against terrorism.=20

Let us meet our measure of vengeance therefore with an equal measure of=20
mercy. In so doing, perhaps we can come to realize that the world is not=20
simply a rough terrain that needs to be made flat in order to enable the=20
global corporations, financial interests and entertainment industry to=20
have a richer harvest. While good for business, free trade zones may not=20
do justice to the complexity of the world ecology with all its voices,=20
cultures, histories and traditions, all of which have their own unique=20
legitimacy and all of which must be given their rightful place of honor.=20

While at the level of politics we seek victory over terrorists, at the=20
level of healing our redemption might come with our willingness to=20
grapple with the complexities occurring around us: that when opposites=20
collide, they co-create; and it is precisely our ability to hold the=20
opposites in a spirit of empathy and humility that generates the=20
capacity for the redemption we seek. If out of the present crisis the=20
United States emerges more connected with the rest of the world, more=20
willing to compromise national sovereignty within the context of the=20
needs of the larger community of nations, more willing to live=20
cooperatively within coalitions than outside them, then light will have=20
truly come from out of the darkness and redemption out of the recesses=20
of hatred and war.  In one of the deepest paradoxes of contemporary=20
history, the present crisis might compel America to reconnect with the=20
wellspring of values the rest of the world intuits it needs America=E2=80=
=99s=20
leadership in order to achieve.

If we can attain this level of understanding, we will have learned the=20
wisdom of limits, that in an increasingly complex and interdependent=20
world, no country is an island unique unto itself; and, since there are=20
no longer frontiers to war, the only sustainable solution to hate is to=20
stop the underlying causes that produce it, working within the community=20
of nations to achieve goals that benefit the poor as well as the rich,=20
the south as well as the north, the developing nations as well as those=20
more advanced.  Achieving this, America will fulfill the deepest=20
yearning of one of its founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, who wrote=20
that he believed the real destiny of America would not be about power;=20
it would be about light.=20

These thoughts I pass your way, keenly aware that many might disagree. =20
I am deeply sensitive to the fact that wisdom is a very elusive thing. =20
We often have the experience but miss the meaning.  It invariably comes=20
slowly, painfully, and only after deep reflection.  This is to say that=20
my thoughts now will change as my subjective interaction with the event=20
itself changes, as they will with the passage of time and the constant=20
ebb and flow of the world situation. In a year we will all look back on=20
September 11 and view it completely differently than we do today.  Let=20
us all be humbled by this and modulate our certainties accordingly; and=20
let us engage with each other with deepened empathy and compassion.

--part1_f3.f71b947.28dd135b_boundary
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Language: en

<HTML>Friends, I believe the fo=
llowing essay by Jim Garrison, President of the State of the World Forum, is=
 the most comprehensive and insightful -- and hopeful -- perspective I have=20=
read so far about the situation which now confronts us.
 
 Love from Folsom,
 Carol
 
 ****************
 
 Subj: An Op-Ed by Jim Garrison =20
 Date: 9/21/01 3:59:10 PM Central Daylight Time =20
 From: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;news@worldforum.org (Jim Garrison)
 Reply-to: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;news@worldforum.org
 To: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;forume@topica.com
 =20
 =20
 
 
 THE STATE OF THE WORLD FORUM
 
 To view reflections on the September 11th event from members of the=20
 Forum Network, visit: www.worldforum.org.
 
 An Op-Ed by Jim Garrison
 
 On September 11, 2001, we Americans lost our sense of invulnerability=20
 and joined in the universality of human suffering. Not only for a moment=
=20
 did the world become America, as so many noted, but America became the=20
 world.=20
 
 As we mourn our dead, let us also mourn the frailty of the human spirit=20
 and humanity=E2=80=99s incapacity to be consistently humane. As painful=20=
as our=20
 agony is here, what America has just suffered is what others throughout=20
 the world have experienced, sometimes with even more devastating impact,=
=20
 and sometimes at the hands of Americans. &nbsp;People around the earth a=
re=20
 caught up in a complexity of hatreds as both victims and victimizers: &n=
bsp;
 in Ireland, in the Middle East, in the Balkans, in Rwanda, in South=20
 Africa, in Afghanistan, in Cambodia, in Vietnam. The list is endless.=20
 
 Given the enormity of the barbarity America experienced, the Government=20
 will certainly exact vengeance. The destruction of the World Trade=20
 Towers and the Pentagon were veritable acts of war against the United=20
 States. While we plan our vengeance, however, let us also be aware that=20
 from the point of view of our enemies, we are guilty of horrendous=20
 crimes against them; thus their hatred against us. To plan such acts as=20
 what occurred on September 11, with such a high degree of sophistication=
=20
 and precision, are not simply the acts of madmen bent on a binge of=20
 random destruction. &nbsp;They were calculated deeds deliberatively=20
 conceived, meticulously planned and methodically executed by men and=20
 women of such deep conviction that they were willing to give their very=20
 lives as instruments of the success of their mission.=20
 
 President Bush has rightly declared war against such terrorism. We must=20
 know that Osama bin Laden is a warrior dedicated to more than just war;=20
 he is leading a holy war against the United States and Israel. &nbsp;He=20=
is=20
 not a diplomat; he is not a negotiator; he is not a compromiser. &nbsp;H=
e is=20
 a man of war who, ironically, was an ally of the CIA in the 1980s during=
=20
 the war in Afghanistan against the Soviets. He has been building his=20
 army and his tactics for decades with an absolutism that only elevating=20
 war to the realm of the holy can instill. He will kill until he himself=20
 is killed. When we eventually do this, as I assume we will, we must=20
 understand that in his place will arise myriad new Osama bin Ladens,=20
 equally committed, equally impassioned, equally ruthless. When one=20
 fights fire with fire, fire is not always vanquished. It can lead to a=20
 conflagration that burns beyond any borders, particularly if one is=20
 fighting a fire that is considered holy.
 
 As we seek his demise, it is perhaps worth reflecting on some truths=20
 provided by the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, now upon us. At the=20
 core of this commemoration of the Jewish New Year lies the story of=20
 Deborah, a woman judge of ancient Israel, whose leadership included the=20
 mourning of Sisera, the General against whom the Jews of the time were=20
 fighting. &nbsp;At the moment of victory against him and also in the mid=
st of=20
 their grieving for their own dead, Deborah intuited that the pain of the=
=20
 mothers on the other side was just as intense as that of her own people.=
=20
 In this, she understood one of the great truths of all religions, that=20
 we are all one, which, if we can bear to think the thought, means that=20
 Osama bin Laden is us, and we are him, and we are all made of the same=20
 dust.
 
 Bush and bin Laden are caught up in the act of co-origination. In a deep=
=20
 and mysterious way there is a deep synchronicity of opposites coming=20
 together between them with a force that, if we can endure and live=20
 through it, can potentially redeem us. &nbsp;Bin Laden=E2=80=99s attacks=
 came against=20
 the two icons of American power: global capitalism in the World Trade=20
 Center and U.S. military might in the Pentagon. Adding insult to injury,=
=20
 the hijackers used American technology to destroy American symbols,=20
 transforming American civilian airplanes into guided missiles against=20
 American institutions. Underestimating the enemy, American intelligence=20
 was caught completely unprepared. &nbsp;
 
 More deeply, the attack came against perhaps the most conservative=20
 administration in modern American history which has been systematically=20
 withdrawing from all multilateral agreements and treaties with the=20
 exception of those which increase American economic power.=20
 Paradoxically, the actions of September 11 were taken against the son of=
=20
 the man who organized the coalition of nations to fight Desert Storm,=20
 the catalytic point at which bin Laden turned his armies against the=20
 Untied States. History has bestowed upon George W. the task of=20
 organizing a coalition against the man that his father=E2=80=99s coaliti=
on=20
 turned into the enemy. The President who is withdrawing from the world=20
 in order to maximize America=E2=80=99s freedom for unilateral actions in=
 the=20
 world has been met by the ultimate unilateralist: bin Laden. The=20
 superpower has met the super-empowered individual.
 
 To succeed, Bush the unilateralist must become the premier=20
 multilateralist. He must forge a coalition of nations against world=20
 terrorism like the world is trying to forge to deal with global warming,=
=20
 nuclear disarmament, trafficking in small arms, chemical and biological=20
 weapons, all coalitions and treaties from which he has disengaged. &nbsp=
;
 Perhaps the ultimate irony of this complex set of interactions is that=20
 this Administration might learn that global cooperation and global=20
 governance, meaning the alignments of nation states around rules and=20
 norms for international priorities, deliberation and commerce, actually=20
 serve the national security interests of the United States rather than=20
 threaten them.=20
 
 Working within the complexity of coalitions might enable us to tackle=20
 another complexity: that the war against terrorism can only be truly won=
=20
 when we also declare war on the roots which cause such acts of=20
 barbarity: poverty, illiteracy, injustice, and disease. &nbsp;Terrorism=20=
does=20
 not arise in a vacuum but has it roots in historical, political, social=20
 and economic dysfunctions so deep, so cruel, so systemic that they=20
 create and sustain discontent until it spills over into a desperation=20
 that sees no recourse other than wanton destruction against those=20
 perceived as responsible for the plight of the terrorists. Unless there=20
 is an equally dedicated attack on the causes of terrorism, there will=20
 never be victory in the war against terrorism.=20
 
 Let us meet our measure of vengeance therefore with an equal measure of=20
 mercy. In so doing, perhaps we can come to realize that the world is not=
=20
 simply a rough terrain that needs to be made flat in order to enable the=
=20
 global corporations, financial interests and entertainment industry to=20
 have a richer harvest. While good for business, free trade zones may not=
=20
 do justice to the complexity of the world ecology with all its voices,=20
 cultures, histories and traditions, all of which have their own unique=20
 legitimacy and all of which must be given their rightful place of honor.=
=20
 
 
 While at the level of politics we seek victory over terrorists, at the=20
 level of healing our redemption might come with our willingness to=20
 grapple with the complexities occurring around us: that when opposites=20
 collide, they co-create; and it is precisely our ability to hold the=20
 opposites in a spirit of empathy and humility that generates the=20
 capacity for the redemption we seek. If out of the present crisis the=20
 United States emerges more connected with the rest of the world, more=20
 willing to compromise national sovereignty within the context of the=20
 needs of the larger community of nations, more willing to live=20
 cooperatively within coalitions than outside them, then light will have=20
 truly come from out of the darkness and redemption out of the recesses=20
 of hatred and war. &nbsp;In one of the deepest paradoxes of contemporary=
=20
 history, the present crisis might compel America to reconnect with the=20
 wellspring of values the rest of the world intuits it needs America=E2=
=80=99s=20
 leadership in order to achieve.
 
 If we can attain this level of understanding, we will have learned the=20
 wisdom of limits, that in an increasingly complex and interdependent=20
 world, no country is an island unique unto itself; and, since there are=20
 no longer frontiers to war, the only sustainable solution to hate is to=20
 stop the underlying causes that produce it, working within the community=
=20
 of nations to achieve goals that benefit the poor as well as the rich,=20
 the south as well as the north, the developing nations as well as those=20
 more advanced. &nbsp;Achieving this, America will fulfill the deepest=20
 yearning of one of its founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, who wrote=20
 that he believed the real destiny of America would not be about power;=20
 it would be about light.=20
 
 These thoughts I pass your way, keenly aware that many might disagree. &=
nbsp;
 I am deeply sensitive to the fact that wisdom is a very elusive thing. &=
nbsp;
 We often have the experience but miss the meaning. &nbsp;It invariably c=
omes=20
 slowly, painfully, and only after deep reflection. &nbsp;This is to say=20=
that=20
 my thoughts now will change as my subjective interaction with the event=20
 itself changes, as they will with the passage of time and the constant=20
 ebb and flow of the world situation. In a year we will all look back on=20
 September 11 and view it completely differently than we do today. &nbsp;=
Let=20
 us all be humbled by this and modulate our certainties accordingly; and=20
 let us engage with each other with deepened empathy and compassion.
 
 </HTML>

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