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Gut-Check
September 26, 2001
by
William Rivers Pitt
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form
of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point
of highest reality." - C. S. Lewis
The events of Tuesday, September 11 have been described in
a number of ways. It has been called another Pearl Harbor.
It has been called an act of war. It has been called a crime.
The new reality that has settled in since the attack has
likewise been described in various ways. We have heard the
burgeoning conflict described as a 'Crusade.' We have heard
it explained as a battle against good and evil. Our society
has been called a changed one, where rights are less important
than safety.
Ask my mother what name to bestow upon everything that has
happened, however, and she will use a term that has probably
been in my family since the earliest Irish immigrants in my
line beheld the Statue of Liberty for the first time.
She would call it a gut-check.
Integrity has been described as the quality of the actions
one takes when no one is looking. My mother worked to instill
this lesson in me from the beginning of my life. Living according
to that simple code has been a difficult struggle, one that
virtually everyone can relate to in some form or another.
A gut-check, in my family, is the moment of deliberation
when you decide what to think or do in the aftermath of a
calamity or moral dilemma. That moment can last hours, days
or weeks if need be. A gut-check is a test; if you pass it,
it allows you to look into mirrors without fearing what you
will see reflected in your eyes.
The attack upon New York City, upon Washington D.C., upon
every civilian and soldier, upon the entire country, is unquestionably
the most frightening and unnerving and important gut-check
this nation has ever faced. Everything depends upon our reaction
to this.
If we, as ordinary citizens, are to gauge our own reaction,
it is helpful to review how those visible in our society have
reacted. We may measure ourselves by them.
Jerry Falwell failed the test in spectacular fashion. His
first instinct was to turn upon those whose lifestyle or politics
he finds distasteful and subject them to a withering verbal
assault. In essence, he blamed his fellow Americans for the
horror visited upon us. I am sure the gay New York City firefighter
who rode Tower Two down to dusty death would have an opinion
on this. Sadly, he has no voice now. Therein lies the essence
of Falwell's failure.
The aforementioned firefighter, along with his comrades and
those who answered the call within the New York City police
and disaster rescue departments, cannot be lionized enough.
Among the dead and the living within their ranks walks the
pride of a nation. We hold them all in the light. In this
test of tests, these men and women pass with all the flying
colors of the rainbow.
Those within our nation who have turned their anger and fear
upon our Muslim citizens have failed the test in truly bloody
fashion. Falwell's attack was nauseating, to be sure, but
in the end was only words. Fists, clubs, spittle, vitriol
and gunfire have rained down upon Americans who share cultural
connections with those who attacked us. The immigrant is the
easiest to blame, and doing so has been a wretched American
parlor game passed from generation to generation like a malignant
gene. Those who do this shame us all.
A number of individuals deserve recognition for passing this
test. Rudolph Giuliani, mayor of New York City, must be singled
out in particular. In the first few days of darkness, Giuliani
became the true leader of the nation. He was seemingly everywhere,
never sleeping, healing with one hand and informing with the
other, and all the while he showed everyone what a person
who has passed the gut-check looks like.
To our great misfortune, the entity most able to inform and
heal has been once again perverted to more insidious purposes.
The news-providing wing of the American media establishment
has allowed coverage of this event to merely skim the surface
of an important topic, and has likewise kept all but the narrowest
of viewpoints from disbursement to the American public.
With the sole exception of one Nightline episode, and a few
programs on PBS, the news outlets have told us the attack
against us came because our enemies hate our freedoms. No
more dangerous an obfuscation could be foisted.
Certainly, within the fundamentalist Islamic community, there
are cultural gulfs. Imams of that wing of the Islamic faith
deplore our ability to speak anything but orthodoxy. The freedoms
American women enjoy jar against the traditions espoused by
the Taliban and other fundamentalist sects.
This cultural divide is only a small part of the explanation
for Tuesday, September 11th and does not do just service to
the large majority within Islam that deplores the attacks.
The rest of the truth lies in our long and often disreputable
involvement in those regions, for purposes that are as simple
as the numbers on the sign above your local gas station.
This nation must reexamine our priorities, and our history,
for we have at last been taught the horrible lesson that actions
have consequences. The actions of tomorrow, under these new
circumstances, do not escape this immutable law. The media
could and should be assisting in this, but do not. They hide
history behind rhetoric, dooming us to repeat what has befallen
us.
Because the media has failed this test, it falls to the common
citizens to seek that information and introspection for themselves.
Perhaps the most common reaction to these attacks has been,
"My God, why did this happen?" The information is out there.
This is but one aspect of the gut-check we as citizens face.
With only a tiny fraction exempted, it can be said that the
great body of the American citizenry have passed the test,
and passed it well. We hold high the flag, and hold each other
close. We have given so much money, food, and supplies that
it has become difficult for those collecting it to know what
to do with it. They have been overwhelmed with generosity.
We rally behind our leadership in unprecedented fashion, demonstrating
both solidarity and trust in this time of conflict.
It must also be said that those who wear the military uniform
have responded to the test in excellent fashion. Whether you
agree with the combative course we have set or not, only the
wretched speak ill of the soldiers. These men and women have
left aside their lives and embarked without hesitation into
a conflict that has promised casualties.
They do this for us all, and are prepared to give that last
full measure of devotion. Hawk or dove, the courage and integrity
of their actions cannot and should not ever be questioned.
Once upon a time we blamed both the sword and the hand that
wields it. We spat upon soldiers returning from a war they
did not start, and we failed for years to honor their sacrifice.
We must not repeat that terrible chapter.
This nation is a republic, meaning that American citizens
and soldiers in uniform cede control of our national and individual
destiny, through our votes, to elected leaders. The gut-check
we face, essentially, tests the fabric of this very idea,
and tests the foundations of our government.
It has yet to be determined if those we trust to lead the
way have passed this test and earned the trust we have so
freely given in this crisis.
Opportunistic politicians have taken advantage of this crisis
by wrapping new and fiscally dangerous tax cuts in the flag,
describing what would be yet another windfall for the rich
as something desperately required for national and economic
security. Some have attempted to attach to the Defense Appropriations
bill a rider that would open the Alaskan National Wildlife
Reserve to plunder by the petroleum industry.
Actions like these have been taken in stealth. This is still
America, and such important decisions must be done before
the ears and minds of the American people. Not everything
changed last week, and actions that favor the few over the
many cannot be advantageously rammed into legislation by leaders
who know we are necessarily distracted.
Those within our leadership who decided that 'Infinite Justice'
would be an appropriate title for our looming military actions
are another example of individuals who fail the test. Even
the blandest connotation of that phrase is chilling, and not
designed to create the international unity we will need to
see this fight through. The religious overtones are striking,
for who but God has the power to dispense infinite justice?
The title was withdrawn, but the impact of it remains.
Those among our leadership who stampede to restrict and shred
our personal American liberties deserve loud condemnation.
Many aspects of our American life must change in order to
secure ourselves from further catastrophes, to be sure. This
is not an excuse to recreate America into a fearful totalitarian
state, something that appears to be happening one drip at
a time. If we fall into this trap, those who attack us win,
even if we should destroy them all.
At the end of the day, all of the confused, fearful and greed-influenced
failures described above must be laid at the feet of George
W. Bush, who has likewise failed to demonstrate whether or
not his own gut-check has delivered that which is essential
to our country. As the plaque that once sat upon his desk
clearly states, the buck stops there.
The news media is not describing the whole story in no small
part because our ultimate leader has avoided that conversation
completely. In his speech to the joint session of Congress,
Mr. Bush spoke better than at any other moment in his presidency.
He was forceful, firm, and took pains to separate Islam from
terrorism. He told the American people that a calm and measured
response to this new threat is absolutely required. These
were good words, ones I willingly praised him for.
However, so much of that speech was in reaction to words
and deeds preceding it that were far less than honorable.
Before the speech, Mr. Bush appeared helpless to do anything
but speak with belligerence, to frame this event as a battle
of religions by using the word 'Crusade.'
Over and over, he told us that we were attacked because our
freedoms and liberties are hated, reinforcing the lie. In
his speech, he repeated this grievous error. This was a failure,
a shout into our national echo chamber that resonates loudly,
drowning out truths that require a full and complete airing.
More troubling, it is becoming more and more clear that Mr.
Bush may have cut and run on that deadly and dangerous day.
Radar reports describe with precision the course of those
hijacked aircraft. None, but none, appeared to threaten Air
Force One. This flies in the face of explanations coming from
the White House press office.
In times of crisis, other Presidents have made a point to
dash back to Washington D.C. as quickly as possible. Bush,
however, went into hiding. Perhaps there are good reasons
for this demonstration of weakness and fear, but the American
people have yet to hear them.
Perhaps the greatest failure of Mr. Bush has been to challenge
other nations in such a bellicose manner. They are either
with us or against us, we are told. Machiavelli spoke of this
long ago, and said that such a challenge inevitably causes
all to be against the challenger. This ham-fisted diplomacy
carries none of the delicacy required to face the threat.
This will not be a conventional war. It will be a struggle
whose ultimate outcome will be based upon diplomacy and the
mutual sharing of information. Many nations will not do this
at gunpoint, thus damming up possible sources of information
that could aid us.
In fairness, it must be stated clearly that Mr. Bush faces
the most important and immeasurable gut-check of all. The
process may well not be complete, and there is hope that his
sail may yet further unfurl to set him upon a better direction
than he has thus far traveled.
The early signs have not been promising, but as another Presidential
desk plaque says, "Oh God, thy sea is so large and my boat
is so small." That Bush has been tossed violently along with
the rest of us is clear. How he ultimately responds will define
him for all time, and will determine our fate. He must be
watched.
This leads to the last aspect of the test we as Americans
face in this time of trial. It has been made quite clear in
a variety of ways that dissent at this time is nearly tantamount
to treason. Disagree with the leadership, disagree with Bush,
and you are herded into the same corner with the terrorists.
Nothing could be further from fact, and nothing could be
more unhealthy to our nation. Now more than ever, the simple
fact that the citizens are ultimately the essence of the government
comes into play. We The People, that parchment reads.
If we dissent, we must speak. If we see a better way, we
must speak. If we are being taken down a path dangerous to
all we hold dear, we must speak. If we hear things that are
not true, or that seek to hide the truth, we must speak to
set the record straight.
We have been told to keep to our American way as much as
we can. We are told to spend money as an aid to our wounded
economy. We are told to go out into our cities and sports
arenas, juicy targets all, and live our lives with as much
normalcy as possible.
Likewise, we must nurture and tend that flame of dissent,
for it is the fire that first forged America, and is the fire
that has kept us warm for generations. Dissent is our birthright.
Forfeit it and we forfeit everything.
Finally, we must not give in to our fears. Fear begets vengeance,
and vengeance is a river of blood that has no end. We look
forward to a day of justice, in the name of all who have died
and all who have risen to this challenge. Justice, however,
cannot be revenge. This, perhaps, is the most pressing aspect
of the test. The status of our very souls are on the line.
I do not come to these assessments lightly, for I have faced
my own gut-check in recent days.
On Thursday night, I heard of a threat to my home city of
Boston. The existence of that threat was confirmed Friday
morning - Attorney General Ashcroft had telephoned Boston
mayor Thomas Menino and informed him that credible evidence
was in hand describing a potential attack on the city, scheduled
for the coming Saturday.
I was faced with a decision. I could stay in the city with
my loved ones, and have faith in those who defend it. Or I
could leave with my loved ones, seek safety in distance, and
wait to see what transpired. Within this decision lived so
many of the dilemmas described above - fear, freedom, integrity,
and measured response to a threat among them.
I remembered my years in San Francisco. Each day I went to
work in offices housed high in skyscrapers. The threat of
earthquake was ever-present, and images of 1906 loomed large.
Despite this, my life continued. I went to work each day,
walked passed buildings made of glass, and traveled across
bridges whose structural strength was uncertain. I did this
because I refused to live in fear.
If someone had told me that an earthquake was almost definitely
coming tomorrow, however, I would not have planted myself
on Market Street with my middle finger pointed at the ground.
I would have left, sought safety, and not thought twice about
it.
So it was Friday night, when I found myself in a Jeep with
my loved ones traveling northwest on Route 2. I spent the
next night and day in New Hampshire, watching the news and
slowly becoming convinced that the reports of danger had been
badly overblown.
The Attorney General, it seems, received a poorly translated
bit of intelligence pointing a bloody finger at Boston. He
called with the warning before consulting other sources, and
the brushfire began. I am heartened that he is so ready to
respond to threats, but am disturbed that such dire news was
launched before due consideration.
I refuse to regret the fact that I sought shelter for myself
and my loved ones. The shattered debris in midtown Manhattan
are a testament to the ingenuity of our enemies, and to the
difficulty our leaders face in defending against this kind
of threat. In this way, our nation is truly changed. Prudence
and safety have been given new definitions, and achieving
them requires new actions.
Nevertheless, I will not forget watching the skyline of Boston
recede into obscurity in my rear-view mirror Friday night.
I still wrestle with the fear that leaving Boston was an act
of cowardice, that I too was cutting and running. I fear that
I ceded a small victory to those who attacked us.
I am not finished with my gut-check, and my actions on Friday
are proof of this. There is much of my course I do not yet
know. So it is with many of us.
I take courage in my test from something I saw while in New
Hampshire. I walked the streets of Keene that day, and came
upon the town square. There were gathered about twenty people,
who faced the traffic with American flags and signs which
read, simply, "Peace."
They had completed their gut-check, and were acting upon
principles invigorated by the test. They do not want bloodshed,
and they do not want war. They had not fallen into the awful
quagmire that is the desire for vengeance.
Whether you agree or disagree with those people from Keene,
you must respect them. They have reached a place we all must
seek. They stand upon firm ground, they speak and act without
fear. They passed the test.
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