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Glenn Greenwald, who I take it is a fairly mainstream journalist, has written a scorching piece on America's newfound bloodthirstiness, a lamentable trend that has shown itself more clearly since the assiassination of Osama bin Laden. Killing bad guys is the one area where America can still demonstrate its superpowerfulness. Greenwald notes that what is unfortunate is that, with the liberal Democrat Obama in the White House now, this macabre glee is now bipartisan and is therefore deeper cast in the American character, arguably.
It is a darker turning. It is not the best we can be. On the other hand, it would be a worse thing, if the stories were about our frustrations with trying to capture suspected terrorists for trial, while the deaths of American innocents continued to accumulate thanks to terrorism, in which case Obama and the Democrats would definitely lose what power in Washington they have in favor of the Republicans and cowboy right-wingers. When you are in war, I am afraid that supreme virtue becomes a secondary ideal.
What is all the more worrisome, though, is that the War on Terror could go on for years, for decades. Forever? And American life can become much darker yet. One dreads the day when Americans will be picked up off the streets of this country and subjected to torture or even execution on grounds of suspicion. Can that day be far off?
_ _ _
When President Obama announced the killing of Osama bin Laden on the evening of May 1, he said something which I found so striking at the time and still do: “tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history.” That sentiment of national pride had in the past been triggered by putting a man on the moon, or discovering cures for diseases, or creating technology that improved the lives of millions, or transforming the Great Depression into a thriving middle class, or correcting America’s own entrenched injustices. Yet here was President Obama proclaiming that what should now cause us to be “reminded” of our national greatness was our ability to hunt someone down, pump bullets into his skull, and then dump his corpse into the ocean. And indeed, outside the White House and elsewhere, hordes of Americans were soon raucously celebrating the killing with “USA! USA!” chants as though their sports team had just won a major championship.
As I wrote on the morning after bin Laden’s death, this gleeful reaction was understandable given the slaughter Americans witnessed on 9/11. But there was still something notable, and troubling, about this episode. Such a rare display of unified, chest-beating national celebration is now possible only when the government produces a corpse for us to dance over. Some suggested at the time that Osama bin Laden was sui generis and that no lessons could or should be drawn from his killing; for that reason, even many people who are generally uncomfortable with such acts proudly celebrated his death as the elimination of a singular evil. But it seems clear that the bin Laden episode was no aberration, no exception: the American citizenry rarely finds cause to exude nationalistic pride except when the government succeeds in ending someone’s life.
Since the bin Laden killing, we have witnessed a similar joyous reaction when the U.S. assassinated its own citizen, Anwar Awlaki (along with another American dubiously claimed to be “collateral damage”) — even though Awlaki was never indicted as a Terrorist, charged with treason, or accorded any due process, and even though the government never showed the public any evidence supporting its accusations. Instead, Obama officials, with no evidence offered, simply declared him to be a Bad Terrorist, and that was all that was needed: hordes of his fellow Americans did not merely approve — but cheered — the news that a drone had found and killed him.
[Continued at the source]
-- Glenn Greenwald, "A Remaining Realm of American Greatness" at Salon.com
It is a darker turning. It is not the best we can be. On the other hand, it would be a worse thing, if the stories were about our frustrations with trying to capture suspected terrorists for trial, while the deaths of American innocents continued to accumulate thanks to terrorism, in which case Obama and the Democrats would definitely lose what power in Washington they have in favor of the Republicans and cowboy right-wingers. When you are in war, I am afraid that supreme virtue becomes a secondary ideal.
What is all the more worrisome, though, is that the War on Terror could go on for years, for decades. Forever? And American life can become much darker yet. One dreads the day when Americans will be picked up off the streets of this country and subjected to torture or even execution on grounds of suspicion. Can that day be far off?
_ _ _
When President Obama announced the killing of Osama bin Laden on the evening of May 1, he said something which I found so striking at the time and still do: “tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history.” That sentiment of national pride had in the past been triggered by putting a man on the moon, or discovering cures for diseases, or creating technology that improved the lives of millions, or transforming the Great Depression into a thriving middle class, or correcting America’s own entrenched injustices. Yet here was President Obama proclaiming that what should now cause us to be “reminded” of our national greatness was our ability to hunt someone down, pump bullets into his skull, and then dump his corpse into the ocean. And indeed, outside the White House and elsewhere, hordes of Americans were soon raucously celebrating the killing with “USA! USA!” chants as though their sports team had just won a major championship.
As I wrote on the morning after bin Laden’s death, this gleeful reaction was understandable given the slaughter Americans witnessed on 9/11. But there was still something notable, and troubling, about this episode. Such a rare display of unified, chest-beating national celebration is now possible only when the government produces a corpse for us to dance over. Some suggested at the time that Osama bin Laden was sui generis and that no lessons could or should be drawn from his killing; for that reason, even many people who are generally uncomfortable with such acts proudly celebrated his death as the elimination of a singular evil. But it seems clear that the bin Laden episode was no aberration, no exception: the American citizenry rarely finds cause to exude nationalistic pride except when the government succeeds in ending someone’s life.
Since the bin Laden killing, we have witnessed a similar joyous reaction when the U.S. assassinated its own citizen, Anwar Awlaki (along with another American dubiously claimed to be “collateral damage”) — even though Awlaki was never indicted as a Terrorist, charged with treason, or accorded any due process, and even though the government never showed the public any evidence supporting its accusations. Instead, Obama officials, with no evidence offered, simply declared him to be a Bad Terrorist, and that was all that was needed: hordes of his fellow Americans did not merely approve — but cheered — the news that a drone had found and killed him.
[Continued at the source]
-- Glenn Greenwald, "A Remaining Realm of American Greatness" at Salon.com
