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UNCERTAINTY LOOMS LARGE IN THE WORLD AFTER THE "BLACK SEPTEMBER' DAY
By D. Chandramouli
"Either you are with us, or with the terrorists" - President Bush, in his "unyielding anger", gave notice to all the nations of the world to choose either the US or the terrorists, in his "international battle against terrorism."
A choice is made of free will. But, in this instance, it doesn't appear so. The voiceless majority of the world, who may not be in total agreement with the way the U.S. is going about, need not necessarily mean to side with the terrorists. The complexities of life do not always throw at us "either or" situations.
We are in awful times, that much is sure. After the dastardly attack on the U.S. on that fateful "Black Tuesday", the very little comfort zones within which most of us have been leading our lives seem to be evaporating. We can no longer afford to shrug and sit back. As Albert Einstein said: "The world is too dangerous to live in - not because of those who do evil, but because of those who watch and let it happen."
"The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace" - this was a statement made by Minoru Yamasaki, Chief Architect, WTC, NY. What an irony! The very same building has become the cause for shaking the world peace. The attack was undoubtedly a stunning and sad moment in world history and the collective pain, arising out of the tragic death of thousands of men and women, is felt worldwide.
Though the intelligence and security systems failed to avert the tragedy, the government and the people of America deserve high praise for the calm and quiet manner with which they are dealing with the after-effects. The steely resolve of the US leadership, represented by President Bush, is on expected lines. How the American people are rallying round their leader in times of crisis is a lesson worthy of emulation. It is quite obvious that America would emerge united and stronger, more than ever.
Change is constant. But then, what's happening now is nothing short of turbulent and unpredictable change. We are part of a global race and what is unfolding thousands of miles away affect us one way or the other. It may not be enough to "fasten our seat belts" for a long and rough ride. We should better be ready to draw the oxygen masks to our noses.
South East Asian countries, in particular, have just started recovering from the multitude of crises, with the perpetual pessimism now giving way to cautious optimism. It's really unfortunate that another crisis of gigantic proportion is threatening to drag our fledgling economies down to unfathomable depths.
The world nations, on their part, are repositioning themselves vis-à-vis the U.S.A. A few countries, keen to be in the good books of America, expect to derive some extra mileage in the bargain. In the changed world scenario, yesterday's adversaries are becoming allies. As is often said, there are no permanent friends or foes, only permanent interests.
Not all terrorists' causes could be considered unjust. Having said that, "no matter how worthy the end, it cannot justify a resort to violence", as Mahatma Gandhi once said. "The means have to justify themselves by some higher code of ethics and humanity. A worthy end does not justify evil means." In another context, Gandhiji even advocated use of force, as one's duty. According to him, "a murderer running amuck must be stopped."
It is often said that it's is the society that creates a criminal. In the same vein, we may say that even ordinary persons tend to become hard-liners, though often under ill-informed and misguided perceptions, when all the avenues to articulate their feelings, or seek redress for their political grievances, are blocked by the powers-that-be.
Let us consider the cause-and-effect relationship. Terrorism is an effect. In the words of Swami Chinmayanda, "For every effect, there must be a cause. Effect is nothing but cause modified in different form. When we remove the cause from the effect, the effect disappears automatically."
Hopefully, therefore, the U.S.A., after its success in tracking down the culprits of Sep. 11 tragedy, would lead the other nations, with the same zeal and determination, to comprehensively address and eradicate the root causes that usually give rise to the lunacy of terrorism in the various regions around the world.
Violence in any form is condemnable, whether it is by individuals, groups or even by the state. The rule of law must exist for all, not just for the poor and downtrodden only. Not surprisingly, an Indian Parliamentarian had this to say about law enforcement in general: "The law is a process through which the rich enforce their rights"!
The U.S. government is duty-bound to go after the perpetrators of "WTC" attack. But, in the process of countering terrorism, let there be no justification for killing innocent people, whoever and wherever they are. Let us not justify that "proportionate" killing of civilian populations in warfare is inevitable.
Let us agree on a new paradigm, here and now, that come what may, no innocent civilian casualties would be admissible, in whatever action that is contemplated. Please, let us not compound the people's misery any further.
The measured and cool response, as exhibited by President Bush and his team, in the last few weeks, does offer hope that after all, matters wouldn't be allowed to flare up beyond control.
Indeed, the leadership makes the difference. Let us pray and hope that good sense and mature consideration would prevail, at all times, so that the world would continue to be a safe place for all of us to live in, for we have no where else to go.
May God bless us all.
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