American Views Abroad

 
We can continue to blame the Bush administration for the horrors of Iraq -- and should. ....But we Americans must also examine our own responsibility for the hideous acts committed in our name in a war where we have now fought longer than we did in the one that put Verschaerfte Vernehmung (enhanced or intensified interrogation) on the map.

Frank Rich in The Good Germans among Us at www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/14/4526

In August 2004 in New York City for a wedding, the first time back since the breaking of the Abu Ghraib story with its shocking photos and even more hideous reporting of what was taking place there, and the silence was stunning. No one brings up torture at weddings, but the running conversation at one table at the brunch on the following day was a bitter tirade on the government and the state of society, with a couple of very noticeable exceptions: there was not one word lost on the war in Iraq or Abu Ghraib. Ditto the following week in a lovely town just outside of Philadelphia. At a gathering given for the American residing abroad there was one question asked: Do they hate us over there? There was, however, plenty of arguing about if John Kerry was telling the truth about his service in Viet Nam. It seemed surreal to argue about someone's certified service in a war long over with no mention whatsoever of the present, ongoing war, or for that matter the lies it is based on. This point was brought up (gently) on the way to the airport. Wasn't it strange the torture of Abu Ghraib was never once mentioned? The reply was so simple and to the point: We were all so ashamed. End of the discussion.

Shame, powerful and intimate, lingers and nags. Sooner or later, one way or another, things come full circle. When we first married, it was my German husband who was confronted by his country's shame time and again. In Brooklyn to meet the in-laws in the early 70s, he was confronted with a shop owner who never wanted a German to enter her shop. A rather difficult family member decided to push the envelope and see what would happen when he got there. One very nice Jewish lady was forced into dealing with one much younger German very, very reluctantly. 'I don't like Germans, in fact I have never wanted anything to do with them,' she said, 'but you're nice. I like you.' Thereafter, they always made a point of greeting each other whenever he passed her shop. He understood her initial feelings and has always felt she was kind to him. Not everyone here who heard him tell this story agreed with his point of view. In fact, it was often the source of lively debates.

Just a few years ago consulting a doctor who had been the family doctor for years, I was confronted with him stating rather point blankly that he would have a very difficult time taking care of me unless he knew where I stood on the war in Iraq and with Bush's policies. He went on to say he had an American couple as patients and after telling them how he felt politically, they never returned. Why not, he asked. Are all Americans abroad in favor of his policies? Talk about being put on the spot. I recall stuttering of course not and neither do I. However, it didn't take long to realize he could no longer be our family doctor. The doctor was unprofessional, to say the least. Our government in Washington is beyond the word professional. There isn't anything left but us citizens to start getting things back on course.


Related Articles:
Spiegel Online Interview with Military Historian Gabriel Kolko on Many in the US Military think Bush and Cheney are Out of Control at www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,511492,00.html

Sun Sets Early on the American Century by Philip S. Golub at Le Monde Diplomatique at http://mondediplo.com/2007/10/04empire
- posted by Gloria @ 2:47 PM