Peace Advocates Fail to See Larger Picture
by George Melissinos
American Word Staff Writer

The American attacks on Afghanistan on October 6, caused all of us to ask the same question: “do I agree?” For the large majority of the country, the answer seems to be an affirmative yes. Yet, in such a situation a look into the rationale and justification for the attacks is vitally important.

As in many cases, a look back at history provides an important backdrop. I think we should start with the 1930s.

If one looks at how Mussolini and Hitler’s governments came to power, and what they did in terms of propaganda, it is clear that most Italians and Germans were in fact convinced at the time that what their countries were doing was right. People saw incidents like prominent assassinations and terrorist raids on communities and houses of worship as constructive to national unity.

How does this relate to what the United States is currently doing in Afghanistan? First, it is always important to look at the broader picture. Second, there are at least two sides of the story. Neither of them is necessarily right or wrong. Finally, just because two historical situations appear to be similar, does not mean one is immoral and the other is not.

In the case of the Axis Powers in World War II, their citizens were, by a large majority, in favor of the imperialist and atrocious actions they were committing. So, fast-forward to 2001. The Al Qaeda organization led by Osama bin Laden, attacks the United States in a brutal, terrorist fashion and proceeds to hide in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, most people have no idea who Osama bin Laden is or that he has tried to blow up the World Trade Center and bombed multiple United States embassies before 1998.

Leftist groups become angry that the United States government is going to retaliate, buy a lot of erasers, and change their IMF protest signs to peace signs. People continue to completely ignore the fact that the Taliban went from condemning the attacks on September 11 to applauding them even before the U.S. strikes began.

Yet, I continue to hear about how “ignorant” people like myself are about what it is like to be in the shoes of the Afghans. Peace protestors, who changed their pro-Third World marches into anti-war ones, continue to claim that what the Bush administration is doing is in some way over-aggressive. So, I guess we should just look at their message a little closer.

Should we take their stance to mean that governments that abuse women should be left alone? Or should we take it to mean that if someone were to blow up the peace protestors’ houses that they would favor some action other than force. What about if the terrorists said they would continue tracking each of them down until they killed them all?

Look, I am all for peace. But peace only works when people are rational. If the other side is willing to keep attacking you, peace will get you nowhere. No modern pacifist, King and Gandhi included, would be, at least blatantly, against U.S. action in this case. For the record, Gandhi actually helped with the World War I effort, and he was at no point completely against stopping Fascism in World War II.

Therefore, all I am asking is for people who profess an opinion to actually go the whole distance, and follow the ideologies of the people of whom they claim they are following in the footsteps. If you think that this conflict is about economic disparity, why did people not cancel their IMF Protest airline and hotel reservations and send that same money to UNICEF? And before people start quoting Gandhi, actually go and read what he wrote and what he stood for.

So, to make it full circle, things do not always end up the way they seem. But do not ignore the truth, either. Some anti-retaliation people were probably surprised when they later heard the people responsible saying how Americans should die in any circumstance.

The only solution to totalitarianism is, and always will be, war. It’s an unfortunate state of Darwinism, but somebody is going to be eliminated. Fortunately, the human race is always composed of more sane people than terrorists, so the good guys always win. Sometimes just looking at the facts instead of spontaneously choosing a side goes a long way.

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