Iranian President Wins Again

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not a good person. I can say this without likelihood of offending any of my readers thanks to the fact that he is a foreign leader that has been antithetical to America and the west. It also happens to be true. His regime suppresses the freedoms of his people and works to destabilize the region for its own gains of power. He denies the preponderance of the historical record on the holocaust and would very much like to see Israel removed from the world map, along with its people. He has a tendency to do one thing and say another or say one thing and do another. He is not a good person nor is he entirely stable. However, that having been said, it must be added that he is not stupid. Unfortunately authorities in America and the west continue to treat him as though he was an ignorant lunatic, rather than the Machiavellian manipulator that he is.
Iran helped 9/11 hijackers enter this country and coordinate the attacks by forging documents to mask the fact that they had passed through the country on several occasions. According to the 9-11 Commission, Iran played an important role in the development and execution of the 9/11 attacks. Most of the rhetoric that was used by the Bush administration to lead us to war with Iraq could have been used to describe with accuracy the Iranian involvement while the Iraq connection was nearly if not completely fictional. Unfortunately the point no longer matters because our government essentially invaded the wrong country. Iran was one of the first countries to condemn the 9/11 attacks and critics here quickly pointed out that Ahmadinejad was simply playing politics. Of course he was, but pointing it out makes us look like ungrateful jerks to an Iranian population that sees their government as representing their views. It is also likely that the Iranian government is ,at some level, supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq and developing nuclear weapons despite the Iranian President's claims to the contrary. His request to visit the site of ground zero was truly a ploy to create drama and generate publicity for his trip. He is not a good person. However, everything he has done has been effective in promoting and advancing his agenda and goals. The Bush administration, New York City officials and the American media in general have helped play into his hands.
When we look at the issues from the point of view of the Muslim population in general or the fringe fanatical groups of terrorist, we can start to understand how Ahmadinejad is winning the diplomatic, propaganda war. Just look at some of the claims of our own government through the eyes of someone living in the middle east. Our government claims that we do not torture, that we do not invade countries without justification and that our motivations are purely based on the spread of freedom and democracy are all very suspect. From their point of view, saying that Ahmadinejad is a lying manipulator is hypocrisy in the highest extreme. Making the Iranian government our enemy while it ascends to a position of power in the region only legitimizes the point of view of those that we were fighting originally after 9/11; namely Al-Qeada and Bin Laden.
Why not use Iran's dishonest rhetoric against itself. The President of Iran condemns 9/11 and terrorism. Ahmadinejad recognizes that the losses of American lives in New York was a terrible tragedy. He claims to promotes women's rights, doesn't want nuclear weapons and wants to work with the west in developing closer relations. None of these things are likely to be true, but it is all things that he actually said. Critics use President Bush's words against him all of the time, why shouldn't we use Iran's public rhetoric to diminish Mahmoud's support with his jehadist? While openly supporting his public agenda of peace and reconciliation we can still quietly oppose his hidden activities and agendas. In doing this we separate him dogmatically from those radicals that believe that any contact with western culture is a betrayal. What a photo op it would have been for Bush to buy Mahmoud a decadent burger and fries in down town New York City and that they would work together from now on toward world peace and a defeat of terrorism. Mahmoud would never agree of course, but that would be the point of the whole deceitful exercise.
Ahmadinejad is a powerful leader of an important country. America is tied to its region of influence in every way imaginable. Every day we relate to him in terms of; good superpower versus bad Muslim country, we feed his position and his power. This guy is oppressive, manipulative and very clever. His ideas are xenophobic and dangerous and his methods are effective. He is also a powerful force on the world stage and every time we engage him in terms of us versus him we fall right into his trap. He plays nice and smiles while giving talks at Columbia university for propaganda's sake. Aren't we powerful enough as a nation and a culture to beat him at his own game? We had better be, or his recent trip to America will not be the last battle he wins with little more than a wink and a smile.

Remembering Our Ideals

This week marks the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Looking back on that day I am reminded of the grace of spirit that seemed to be universal throughout the country. As a nation, we didn't panic in the face of unknown danger. We unified in grief and resolve. Compassion and sadness was a shared experience that no one could accuse another of having too little of. This was our country. Across the broad diversity of the American population we shared our claim to this nation for the first time in years. America was put to the test on that day. No matter what mistakes we have made between then and now we proved our unity and strength; not despite our diversity, but because of it.
The sky was without airplanes for several days after 9/11. No one traveled. Everything stopped long enough for the nation and the world to register what had happened to us. The world had changed and everyone was aware that the future was not going to be what we had expected. The one certainty was our unity and an absolute confidence that we would not be broken, by this enemy or any other. Six years later there is a part of me that looks back at that time with fondness. There was a confidence in the ability of my government and a belief that our ideals would prove us the better of two warring parties. Liberals and conservatives were not opposite poles of a spectrum of values. We were variations of a common hope that by taking part in our communities and our government we could make both things better. For a brief and shining moment diversity did not mean division. It was the attribute that made us mighty and better than those that attacked us.
Many of these hopes have be dimmed in the passing of time and the inevitable mistakes that all of us made as we tried to find a course to the future. I think back to 2001 when the potential still existed to be the heroes of our creed. That potential still exists, but it seems further away and will always have the tinge of regret attached to our successes. The thought of asking forgiveness for our trespasses never entered my thoughts six years ago. This nation was innocent of wrong according to my limited point of view. Today the actions of our nation become the responsibility of those this government represents; namely all of us that live under its rule. The American virtues of liberty and justice for all have been curtailed by the perception that what we need is the freedom to make war more efficient.
To simply blame this unfortunate truth on those seated in government is to misunderstand how our system of government works. They are the representatives of the will of the American people. If we do not have the energy or the interest to stop where the government is going, then the only people we have to blame is ourselves. The axiom that, “freedom isn't free,” is true on many levels. The complication is that there are several different types of currency that pays for our liberty. One of those burdens is that for our ideals to have value they must be applied and offered to everyone; even our enemies. For my part I am sorry for allowing this government the power it has wielded. The precedents they have set. might one day curtail the rights of those citizens that simply disagree with the majority. If we are to believe that this nation is a functioning democracy then the actions of the government become the propriety of those that are governed. The validity of our freedoms come at the price of having to maintain them for all people, whether they be good, bad, evil or perhaps simply unpopular.
The dignity and heroism that was shown collectively by the American people six years ago is a testament to our strength of character. The failures of the past six years show an insecurity in our own ideals to function in our defense. What happens in the future will depend on the ability to reconcile these issues within ourselves. To take responsibility for our failures and prove our courage in the face of threats to what we hold dear. 9/11 exposed our potential as a nation and the strength of an entire population. Where grief and fear once might have made us fail this potential, the future is ours to create. This anniversary represents a chance to remember what was lost and to hope again toward a shared ideal in the future.

The Masks We Wear

Thousands of true believers gathered in Atlanta this Labor day weekend for the annual Dragon*Con festival; myself included. This congregation believes strongly in Harry Potter, but they do not believe in magic. Others believe in Klingons, but don't believe in aliens. Still others believe in Superman, while others believe in Yoda. You wont find any of these people trying to leap buildings in a single bound or lift rocks with the power of their minds. The common belief amongst these people is that the literature that they consume can and does have value in their lives. They share a belief that heroism is real and can be a model for our own behavior in our mundane yet complicated lives.
The 501st Legion is a group of Star Wars fans who dress in the Imperial garb of those white clad Stormtroopers from the movie series. Their membership numbers more than five thousand. The only requirement for participation is to have a theatrical quality costume resembling a villain from the Star Wars series. Most of these costumes are of the Stormtrooper variety. Why would so many do this? Why troopers? What draws hundreds to hide their personal characteristics under the impersonal garb of an armored soldier from a time and place that does not exist?
The answer to the question reveals the power of the metaphor. Their actions expose a need for such theatrics and play in our lives. This group of play actors help express the sensation that so many of us have today living in the modern world. Each Stormtrooper looks essentially the same. The plastic armor is imposing in its size. The grim faces and dead eyes of the trooper mask, convey a sense of vacancy to their actions. In the face and the form of the uniform there is nothing personal. There is no way of knowing who hides beneath the costume. This is the image of the automaton; doing what they are told without thought to what they might otherwise want to do. As the responsibilities of life push against our personal desires, how many of us feel like these villains of apathy. We do our jobs and pay our bills, never expressing a distinction in our work or our actions from those of our neighbors. It is this burden of necessity that is expressing itself through the mask. Hundreds of men and women marching down Peachtree Avenue in Atlanta, as part of the machine that drives the modern world. Each in their own way reflecting the empire of stress and pressure that every one of us helped to build.
However, under the round white helmets lie individuals as diverse and character filled as any group that might be assembled. Each mask hides a person with their own dreams and aspirations. The people of the 501st are fully aware that they are not defined by the costume that they wear. This is why they put on the armor with a sense of joy and playfulness. When the Star Wars costumes are put away and the work attire is applied for the coming week, the same attitude can be carried. The tie of the business man is worn by some as a chain around ones neck. The mask that some wear come in the form of a strip of cloth with a knot at the neck or a pull over poncho with “How can I help you?” written on the back. Those that can see the lesson behind the Stormtrooper mask do not have to be so burdened. Those things in our lives that keep us from reaching our own personal potentials as individuals doesn't have to be the thing that defines us. It is the striving toward our personal strengths that make us valuable beyond the masks we wear or the roles we play. The hero within can surface from behind the wall of duty and necessity.
There are gatherings of such fans of fantasy literature and art every weekend of the year around the country and around the world. They share a common belief that the media which they enjoy, can enrich their lives and deepen their understanding of the world. It's through the nobility and strength of heroes acting out of the best of what humanity can be that fills us with hope that such strength might be inside us as well. It is the villain that reminds us that evil does not belong to the distant someone else, but can be created out of our own fear and inaction. So much time and money is spent entertaining ourselves in the modern world. How much of this energy is spent simply to fill voids of time? How much television is broadcast for no other reason than to fill time and sell advertisements? How much of this have we already watched and forgotten? The value that fiction fans place on the stories they love might seem strange to those on the outside looking in. However, the silly person dressed as the hero of their comic fantasy is expressing the potential no only of their inner self but of all people. In doing so they define themselves beyond the requirements of their lives and the limitations of their form. It is my hope that everyone, fiction fan or not, can find something that encourages the potential joy of living in their lives. Keep in mind that you do not have to dress like a Stormtrooper to learn something from one that does.