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.It was Thucydides who first depicted this vulnerability of democraciesto demagogic appeals in his classic account of the fall of Athens in the aftermathof the Peloponnesian Wars.As the ultranationalism of Nazi Germanydemonstrated, even fascist states can invoke patriotic sentiments to build popularenthusiasm for irrationally grandiose schemes of conquest and expansion.Ofcourse, this mobilization of the public for militarist adventures has taken variousforms over the centuries, with each instance exhibiting its own particularity.Thisconcern about the link between patriotism and aggressive war making remains apotentially fatal flaw in existing political arrangements at the interface ofmodernity and postmodernity.American patriotism in the aftermath of September11 is the latest manifestation of this phenomenon, allowing the U.S.governmentto proceed with an ill-advised empire-building project without confrontingdomestic opposition and an accompanying public debate.Two separate concerns are explored in this chapter: mobilizing patriotism as ameans to pursue an ultranationalist and militarist approach to the specificchallenge posed by the al Qaeda network; and reimagining patriotism in light ofthe advent of postmodernity. 204 " THE DECLINING WORLD ORDERThe Impact of September 11I think it is not an exaggeration to say that the period since the attacks ofSeptember 11 poses the greatest threat since at least early in the Cold War to thetraditional liberties of the American people, and it may turn out to be worse andmore enduring.The U.S.government initially obtained a virtually unconditionalmandate from Congress and the public to claim sweeping authority in theexercise of its role to restore and protect what the Bush administration has calledthe homeland security of the American people.With the passage of time andthe abrasiveness of Attorney General John Ashcroft, coupled with some horrorstories about governmental abuses of Americans and others, a rising tide ofcritical reaction is visible in the United States, but remains subordinate to thebasic mood of submissiveness induced by September 11.It requires, depending on your point of view, either an extraordinary innocenceor an unwarranted level of trust to feel that this new kind of authority beingconferred on the United States government will be used in a manner thatreconciles the security needs of the citizenry with the values of a free society,and the evidence to date confirms this skepticism.Those of us who care aboutbeing members of a free society must not allow anxious attitudes of grief, fear,and anger resulting from the grim reality of the September 11 experience toprevent our realization that there are other threats to our well-being arising from the security syndrome that prevail and provide justification for the mostfearsome claims by government over our freedoms as a people that have everbeen made during the history of the country.For the first time, America has ahomeland security czar with vast resources and the authority to consolidate theoverall effort to sustain internal security.What this has already meant in practiceis a greatly expanded congressional mandate for unregulated law enforcement,wide discretion to maintain secrecy, lengthy detention of suspects without dueprocess, racial profiling as permissible police action, and for a frighteningsuspension of legal protection for those in our midst who are not citizens,especially if they should come from Islamic countries, and particularly those whoare males and from the Arab world.An American citizen at this time is doubly challenged to worry quite naturallyabout the terrorist threats that continue to be directed against our society, but alsoto recognize that under the guise of meeting those threats, basic liberties aresacrificed in ways that are not required to carry on the proper work ofgovernment.It is true that the frightening nature of the September 11 attacksleads to what can be accurately described as a popular demand that thegovernment take all necessary steps, regardless of their infringements on rights,to restore as quickly as possible a street feeling of security in relation to terrorism.The events of September 11 combined with the disturbing failure of thousands ofFBI agents to identify the source of the anthrax disseminated by mail a fewmonths later left an overall sense that America had become a terribly vulnerablesociety in a manner that can be exploited by vicious enemies within and without [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.It was Thucydides who first depicted this vulnerability of democraciesto demagogic appeals in his classic account of the fall of Athens in the aftermathof the Peloponnesian Wars.As the ultranationalism of Nazi Germanydemonstrated, even fascist states can invoke patriotic sentiments to build popularenthusiasm for irrationally grandiose schemes of conquest and expansion.Ofcourse, this mobilization of the public for militarist adventures has taken variousforms over the centuries, with each instance exhibiting its own particularity.Thisconcern about the link between patriotism and aggressive war making remains apotentially fatal flaw in existing political arrangements at the interface ofmodernity and postmodernity.American patriotism in the aftermath of September11 is the latest manifestation of this phenomenon, allowing the U.S.governmentto proceed with an ill-advised empire-building project without confrontingdomestic opposition and an accompanying public debate.Two separate concerns are explored in this chapter: mobilizing patriotism as ameans to pursue an ultranationalist and militarist approach to the specificchallenge posed by the al Qaeda network; and reimagining patriotism in light ofthe advent of postmodernity. 204 " THE DECLINING WORLD ORDERThe Impact of September 11I think it is not an exaggeration to say that the period since the attacks ofSeptember 11 poses the greatest threat since at least early in the Cold War to thetraditional liberties of the American people, and it may turn out to be worse andmore enduring.The U.S.government initially obtained a virtually unconditionalmandate from Congress and the public to claim sweeping authority in theexercise of its role to restore and protect what the Bush administration has calledthe homeland security of the American people.With the passage of time andthe abrasiveness of Attorney General John Ashcroft, coupled with some horrorstories about governmental abuses of Americans and others, a rising tide ofcritical reaction is visible in the United States, but remains subordinate to thebasic mood of submissiveness induced by September 11.It requires, depending on your point of view, either an extraordinary innocenceor an unwarranted level of trust to feel that this new kind of authority beingconferred on the United States government will be used in a manner thatreconciles the security needs of the citizenry with the values of a free society,and the evidence to date confirms this skepticism.Those of us who care aboutbeing members of a free society must not allow anxious attitudes of grief, fear,and anger resulting from the grim reality of the September 11 experience toprevent our realization that there are other threats to our well-being arising from the security syndrome that prevail and provide justification for the mostfearsome claims by government over our freedoms as a people that have everbeen made during the history of the country.For the first time, America has ahomeland security czar with vast resources and the authority to consolidate theoverall effort to sustain internal security.What this has already meant in practiceis a greatly expanded congressional mandate for unregulated law enforcement,wide discretion to maintain secrecy, lengthy detention of suspects without dueprocess, racial profiling as permissible police action, and for a frighteningsuspension of legal protection for those in our midst who are not citizens,especially if they should come from Islamic countries, and particularly those whoare males and from the Arab world.An American citizen at this time is doubly challenged to worry quite naturallyabout the terrorist threats that continue to be directed against our society, but alsoto recognize that under the guise of meeting those threats, basic liberties aresacrificed in ways that are not required to carry on the proper work ofgovernment.It is true that the frightening nature of the September 11 attacksleads to what can be accurately described as a popular demand that thegovernment take all necessary steps, regardless of their infringements on rights,to restore as quickly as possible a street feeling of security in relation to terrorism.The events of September 11 combined with the disturbing failure of thousands ofFBI agents to identify the source of the anthrax disseminated by mail a fewmonths later left an overall sense that America had become a terribly vulnerablesociety in a manner that can be exploited by vicious enemies within and without [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]