As Gil Scot-Heron would say, "It's a blues day for Boston!"
Terrorism: The use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby bring about particular political objectives. It has been used by political organizations on the Left and the Right, by nationalists, by ethnic groups, and by revolutionaries. Although usually thought of as a means of destabilizing or overthrowing existing political institutions, terror has been employed by governments against their own people to suppress dissent. Interesting definition!
Al Qaeda? The Assad government? The Taliban? Of course, they're terrorists. But...
The Pilgrims? The Native Americans? What about slave owners? The Ku Klux Klan? The Black Liberation Army? The Jewish Defense League (JDL)? The Crips? The Army of God? The Earth Liberation Front? The Israeli government? The Tea Party? Occupy Wall Street?
Are/were these groups terrorists? Interesting question!
The Boston Marathon...26 miles in honor of the 26 murdered at Sandy Hook by a homegrown domestic terrorist. Human beings are inherently political beings...even those who are mentally unstable. So, all public acts of violence are political in nature...and forms of terrorism.
The Political Marathon...a 3-dimensional debate for more than 3-hundred years in the 3 branches of government as 3 are murdered in Monday's latest act of terror. "Crackpots" expound while crock pots explode!! The Left spins toward "domestic" terrorism; the Right spins toward "foreign-based" terrorism; and the public's head just "spins."
Heroism: heroic conduct especially as exhibited in fulfilling a high purpose or attaining a noble end: the qualities of a hero.
Sandy Hook Elementary School teachers...police officers...firefighters...medical professionals...Soldiers...Airmen/women...Sailors...Marines? Heroes? Of course, they're heroes. But...
Gun rights activists? Gun control activists? What about General Custer or Sitting Bull? "Slave Owner" President George Washington? Black Panther founder, Huey Newton? Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber? JDL founder, Rabbi Meir Kahane? And, Scott Roeder, the abortion doctor murderer?
Are they heroes? Were their causes noble? Something to think about!
Tomorrowism: The belief that tomorrow will always be better than today. An enthusiastic form of hope or optimism.
Days of terror expose the unpredictable nature of life...the madness of the soul...the irrationality of the human condition...the seeming absurdity of our existence. So, we long for tomorrow. Even though, tomorrow brings us inevitably closer to the next terrorist attack...and our own certain death. And, yet...
we are undeterred...we do not despair...we neither falter nor faint..." our heads are bloodied, but unbowed"..."to the last gun, to the last bullet, to the last man we fight, we fight, we fight!"
Like Sisyphus, we run joyfully down that unforgiving hill to eagerly push the boulder back up again...content that the struggle itself makes life worth living.
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!
We are fond of saying, "America's best days are ahead of her!" Perhaps, they are. But, as Gil would say, "It's a blues day for Boston...and, TODAY, America has got the blues."
But then...there's always TOMORROW...
Much love to Boston and the families of those lost or injured in this tragedy.
Until we rendezvous...
Peace!!
UPDATE: The two responsible for this horrific bombing have met their fate. One killed in a shootout on Thursday, and the other captured alive today. The two were brothers and US citizens, believed to have been radicalized by religious extremists. (4/19/2013)
Terrorism – Like the association of liquids and solids whose difference is not obvious…. as some liquids can transform into solids and some solids can transform into liquids….terrorism – whether domestic or international – there is no obvious difference. Having said that, I believe the federal statute refers to those in the international community who use violence to coerce the United States government to change its international policies. Although the author’s definition is intriguing – given it allows space under the terrorism tent for a host of domestic and international groups each with their own political and/or social agenda, let us take care in not using the term terrorist too loosely. It should be reserved for those most deserving and not applied to those whose make-up includes “two scoops of crazy” of which there are many among us.
ReplyDeleteHeroism – Like terrorism, this term in my humble opinion, perhaps is thrown around much too loosely. A hero – simply stated – is a character. No matter the character, the end result of a heroic act should serve to benefit “all” of humanity ……a heroic deed should not serve only a specific portion or segregated population of society….rather a heroic act or deed should serve to benefit of all society. Much like Hollywood where everyone should not be labeled a “star” once they achieve a certain income level, has a minimum threshold of “followers” in social media, or does something which captures the collective inquisitiveness of our short-lived attention spans; each time an act of high moral character is acted out, the actor should not be labeled a “Hero”. The term “hero” deserves to be more sparingly utilized in society and reserved for those acts aimed toward the collective benefit of all humanity.
Tomorrowism – With all due respect to the author, consider another term to describe us Americans………. “Optamalism” as used by the psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar. Optamalism embraces the willingness to accept failure while realizing that success will follow in due time. Optamalists accept and learn from failures and acceptance and education allows for continual pursuit of success. Further, optamalists have an inner desire and motivation to learn. I disagree with the author’s assertion that Americans possess a Sisyphean attitude relative to their optimistic attitudes. Sisyphus was punished/sentenced to a lifetime of the “useless” and “meaningless” activity of rolling the rock up the hill for his deceit. Americans are not been punished or sentenced to a lifetime of violence or terroristic activities at the hands of any individual or any group. Thank goodness, we Americans have an inner fortitude complete with optimism vs pessimism; for pessimism is nothing more than an acceptance of failure and/or defeat. Because of American optimism - all terrorist efforts are futile!!
Thank you so much, bunnyfort!! This piece was meant to provoke thought. And, of course, your insightful and well-written thoughts are greatly appreciated. Please comment again. :-)
ReplyDelete