| Triumph in The Air by Shekhar Deshpande
The
culture we placed our faith in, is hounding our freedoms.
There
is talk of Empire in the air! As the nation prepares
to go to war, absolutely inevitable at this moment,
several pundits, from the left to right, have spoken
of equal inevitability of the Empire. That is, Empire
like the Roman or the British empires, both vanquished
to the dustbins of history, but once empires nevertheless.
What does it feel like to speak from within this Empire?
It is hard to fathom fully how one feels today. There
isn't much opposition to anything anymore. Whatever
opposition there is, is flimsy at best and the policy
makers believe that it would evaporate once the yellow
ribbons are tied around trees or lampposts. Even though
Susan Sarandon has a lot to say on behalf of those 40
percent who seem to oppose the coming war, it is hardly
affecting the ever-increasing tempo in the city on the
hill. The French and the Germans are lining up to oppose
the war, but they were dismissed in a flash by Donald
Rumsfeld as "old Europe," and therefore entirely inconsequential.
There seems to be some consensus that Saddam Hussain
is a rogue and one would be justified in kicking him
out. But there is little consensus that there are equally
despicable guys like that around the world. The reach
of the Empire cannot touch them. Any power that dictates
the terms of its own policy without reasoned justification
is an Empire, after all.
How should one oppose from within the Empire? There
is fear even in the hearts of the brave and the minds
of the thoughtful. Many are walking around dazed and
bewildered at the shape of things and the grasp of power.
Freedom of expression is now limited to opposing your
local congressman who does not seem to bring in that
much bacon.
For those who bear mixed and weary identities of many
cultures and mixed histories, that is, people like us,
there is little choice but to watch for our daily bread,
contain our free thoughts and celebrate the freedoms
at the shopping malls. This is a particularly difficult
choice since some of us looked up to this place for
its values of freedom and justice. It is an uncanny
phenomenon; the culture we placed our faith in is hounding
our freedoms.
This past December, I was told of a tale that many American
travelers in Europe wear Canadian flags and logos so
as not to bring attention to themselves. Richard Belzer
argued vigorously with a non-descript talk show host
recently that to be an American in Europe is like being
a Jew in Germany (during the Nazi era). Belzer, himself
a resident of France, disagreed with the sentiment,
but agreed with the conditions.
The rest of the world does not like Americans either.
Almost everyone sympathized with the tragedies of Sept.
11. But almost nobody can understand how America can
be such a bully in forcing its foreign policy, in ignoring
world opinion and in not using its power judiciously
to work against \ dictatorial and obviously unjust regimes
around the world. Then there are other contradictions,
hypocrisies and discontinuities in foreign policies.
While all of this continues, the war talk continues
unabated as if no one can hear the voices of dissent
from around the world. For most of the world this is
bewildering. How can a generous and well endowed nation
force its will on the people of the world, as it chooses
tyranny in one place and opposes it in another? It is
beyond the reach of reason for most that a fair and
just struggle against terrorism can be so selective
and yet invite more of it.
Some of our loud thinkers have expressed these conditions
in benevolent and almost inevitable terms. They say
all of this is a welcome chapter in history as we witness
the high days of the responsibilities of an Empire.
The American Empire, writes Christopher Hitchens in
Slate, cleans up after it kills. Brother Hitchens is,
of course, more sophisticated than that, but one get
the flavor of his argument. This is an Empire because
it establishes just conditions, gets rid of inhuman
and brutal regimes and this is the only force that is
capable of staying in the devastated lands to care for
people. This is the benevolent aspect of this Empire.
He likes it, demands more of it, all the while underscores
the rewards of having such an Empire.
Michael Ignatieff agrees with Hitchens in New York Times
magazine in an article titled "The Burden of the Empire."
For him the muscle of the Empire, inevitable and unavoidable
as it is, in the wake of increasing oppressive regimes
around the world, is beneficial, because it alone can
establish the rule of law and provide a good market
system that is sometimes called democracy. Ignatieff,
the thoughtful warrior on the Left, believes in the
necessity of the Empire, adding to the chorus of many
across the political landscape.
The last two great empires, those in our recent memory,
the Roman and the British, humiliated a large part of
humanity although they are remembered for their planned
cities and efficient railways. The consensus among these
spokespersons for the Empire is to support the benevolent
and inevitable aspect of this Empire. But like all empires
before this one, the cost for human beings is merely
a footnote to history.
One assumes there were voices of reason within these
Empires. History tells us, slowly and methodically,
that they were either repressed or were never expressed
at all. If the reach of the Empires for justice were
effective, it would have been more effective with this
reason on its side.
There is a particular dilemma for the immigrants, for
those who have come ashore to become unwitting participants
in the great game of benevolence after violence. Who
shall we speak for? The wisdom of our traditions as
well as theirs tells us that outsiders have a sharper
eye and a keener insight into established paradigms.
An outsider brings a different and often fresh perspective.
What blinds the insiders becomes clear to us. We have
lived in at least two worlds. Such insights have saved
the world from catastrophes and have brought about revolutions
in our thoughts.
And, the great irony of this great Empire is that the
outsiders are shunned, silenced, watched, contained
and always maintained under the lens. Those who came
here to worship the freedom and judiciousness of the
Empire are now cowering for shelter, with no place to
return. It is difficult to contemplate the present and
it is even more difficult to imagine the future. It
is impossible to imagine how the Empire would trace
back its steps.
We will soon have a world without Saddam, if not a world
without the Kim Jong-Il, or the Saudi princes or the
tyrants of Syria. We will have a world with plenty of
oil and perhaps even a hydrogen-powered car. Will we
ever have a world that is safe, just and fair for this
generation of immigrants and for generations to come?
Will we always live in the shadows, more worried about
the daily bread and less about the lasting values that
we have always searched for?
We do not know. What we do know for now is that the
new great Empire is about to triumph.
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End Of Article.....
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