Column Public sphere shrinks under assault from the enemy
within
By NEVE GORDON
I am against the war, the perpetual
war on terrorism as well as the war against Iraq. I am against empire, the
control of nearly 40 percent of the worlds resources secured by the
deployment of air, naval and ground forces in over 800 bases across the globe.
And I am against deception, the claim that U.S. foreign policy is aimed at
ensuring freedom, justice and democracy around the world, when in fact its
overseas agenda is driven by corporate greed, power and domination.
With the Bush administration determined -- rhetoric aside -- to
oust Saddam Hussein and gain control of oil resources in Iraq, in what will
most likely become an extremely bloody conquest, and the Democratic party
rambling along without even a murmur of protest, it is high time that ordinary
citizens speak out clearly and stridently against Bushs insane
imperialistic aspirations.
My claim is straightforward: In the name of fighting terrorism and
spreading democracy around the globe -- which is outright propaganda
considering the embrace of Pakistans new dictator -- the Bush
administration is undermining democratic processes and institutions within the
United States. Put differently, Bush is exploiting both grief and fear to ruin
the very essence of democratic life.
Lets look at the facts. In order to fund his wars, Bush is
insisting on a $48 billion increase to the current $335 billion military
budget, thus designating 53 percent of government discretionary spending on the
military budget, which is already over 23 times the combined military spending
of countries identified by the Pentagon as likely adversaries: Cuba, Iran,
Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.
Meanwhile, only 9 percent of the budget will go toward education
and social services, and 6 percent to health. All this at a time when almost 17
percent of children in the United States live in poverty, 44 million people
have no health insurance, and 85 percent of public schools need repair.
Incidentally, the cost of one B-2 bomber would be enough to repair over 1,000
aging school buildings.
The intolerance toward the plight of the poor is accompanied by a
rapid increase in the authoritarian elements of state power. Not enough can be
said on the ongoing attack on civil liberties, which began when the U.S.
Patriot Act anti-terror bill was passed in October of last year. Due process
has been suspended in many areas of the criminal justice system, including the
right to speedy trial, freedom from arbitrary police searches, prohibition
against indefinite incarceration and incognito detentions. Surveillance
authority has been widely broadened, whether through wiretapping or through the
federal governments sweeping new powers to investigate electronic
communications, personal and financial records, computer hard drives and other
individual documents.
In order to justify its foreign policy goals, the administration
has been demonizing all perceived enemies and in this way has helped awaken
local xenophobic tendencies. Not surprisingly, this jingoistic tactic has had
far-reaching ramifications for Arabs and Muslims inside the United States as
well.
Bushs Manichean worldview alongside his attack on civil
liberties and utter lack of compassion toward the poor is done in the name of
some distorted notion of patriotism. Anyone who so much as questions the
rationality of the policies is immediately shut up and ostracized. All of which
amounts to a drastic diminution of what political philosopher Hannah Arendt
called the public sphere.
Democracy is, after all, dependent on a plurality of views, on the
opportunity of people to express their opinions, debate issues and persuade
each other. Without a decent education, access to health, basic civil liberties
and an atmosphere of tolerance toward the other, the public sphere -- which is
necessary in order to express ones views -- shrinks.
Accordingly, I am against the war not only because it will help
Bush underwrite the most egregious acts of violence, which will only increase
hatred toward the United States and international terrorism, but also because
Bushs wars undercut basic democratic practices inside the country. One
year after the hideous terrorist attacks, U.S. democracy is under assault. The
enemy, though, is not Osama Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein; the enemy is
within.
Neve Gordon teaches politics at Ben-Gurion University, Israel.
He holds dual citizenship. He can be reached at
ngordon@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
National Catholic Reporter, October 11,
2002
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