ILLUSION OF ISOLATION FEEDS TERROR

By Mark Sommer and - - Reprint | | Print |

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BERKELEY, Dec 1 2003 (IPS) - If the first casualty of the US war on terror was truth, the second was trust, writes Mark Sommer, director of the US-based Mainstream Media Project and host of award-winning syndicated radio programme \’\’A World of Possibilities\’\’. In this article, Sommer writes that telegraphed through the policies and pronouncements of an imperial but increasingly isolated superpower, mistrust is spreading like a virus through the global body politic, infecting not only trade relations, diplomacy, and public life but personal and professional relationships. The decades-long decline in civic participation in democratic countries is both a symptom of this fearful isolation and a boon to authoritarian leaders as it fragments all opposition and undermines confidence in its capacity to reverse the course of history. While in itself this reaching out is a purely personal act, it has enormous political implications, opening up a horizon of shared life and shattering what is in fact the mere illusion of isolation. To say that we are all connected is not a merely a wish or spiritual aspiration but a simple material fact. Recognising this is itself a source of profound reassurance.

If the first casualty of the US war on terror was truth, the second was trust. Telegraphed through the policies and pronouncements of an imperial but increasingly isolated superpower, mistrust is spreading like a virus through the global body politic, infecting not only trade relations, diplomacy, and public life but personal and professional relationships.

Isolation and alienation between people are driving us into a downward spiral of self-reinforcing fear. Reversing this trend will require an awakening to our fundamental interdependence and a recognition that our worst enemy is not each other but the fear that prevents us from joining with one another to address the crises caused by our self-isolating behaviour.

Under the banner of ”privatisation”, those who have dominated US and global politics since the end of the Cold War have systematically devalued and plundered the public realm, depriving our governments of the resources and support they need to perform effectively. But privatisation has exacted an equally high price in our social relations. Despite its proclaimed allegiance to family, country, and community, in practice conservative ideology consistently undermines all three through policies that raid public resources, poison trust between people, and erode confidence in our collective capacity to address the challenges we face.

Those who wage the war on terror use fear to intimidate and compel the compliance not only of foreign enemies but also of their own publics. And that fear is best engendered by making people feel alone in any concerns they may have about their nation’s leadership.

”Journalists live in fear of being `necklaced’ with a burning tire of patriotism if they ask the tough questions,” Dan Rather, dean of US TV news anchors, admitted to a BBC interviewer in July 2002. Fearing ostracism and despairing of their lack of power to influence events, most in the American media and public life swallow their doubts and so contribute to the mistaken impression among a ”silenced majority” that few share their concerns.

Yet the same authorities who counsel us to beware of one another and of ”terrorists” in our midst are themselves acting out of a fear-filled worldview. Imagining implacable enemies even among traditional allies, they share key aspects of the paranoid authoritarian rulers of the past. George W. Bush and his reclusive vice president, Dick Cheney, fit a familiar pattern of individuals with little understanding of themselves but an exaggerated sense of their personal destiny. Driven by insecurity and resentment, they seek absolute power, becoming increasingly secretive and obsessed with any challenge to their control, losing touch with reality and those they rule. Ultimately, they inflict their personal torment on everyone around them and plunge their world into a vortex of destruction that culminates more often than not in political suicide.

The pattern set by those at the top of the power pyramid sets the tone for relationships all the way down, infecting an entire global culture with a terrorised image of human nature. Tyranny thrives on isolation and alienation. The ragtag terrorists who strike fear into the hearts of elites and publics alike are themselves acting out of a traumatised sense of their own exclusion. The decades-long decline in civic participation in democratic countries is both a symptom of this fearful isolation and a boon to authoritarian leaders since it fragments all opposition and undermines confidence in its capacity to reverse the course of history.

In such a dispiriting civic environment, the most effective antidote is to reach out and connect with others. Knowing that silence and distance only fuel fear and suspicion, we must rouse ourselves from our isolation and discover our common ground, where we will find strength and courage we could never muster alone.

While in itself this reaching out is a purely personal act, it has enormous political implications, opening up a horizon of shared life and shattering what is in fact just the illusion of isolation. To say that we are all connected is not merely a wish or spiritual aspiration but a simple material fact. Our existence is supported at all times and in all ways by a web of relationships without which we could not survive. Recognising this is itself a source of profound reassurance.

The appalling truth is that in certain crucial respects we are even connected to those whose actions we most abhor. We may not share responsibility for their criminal actions but we share their range of emotions and potential behaviour. This understanding is the wellspring of compassion. And compassion is a potent weapon against the inner terrors that torment both our fellow citizens and our fear-driven, fear-provoking leaders. Our true enemy is not each another but the emotional terrors that plague us all. And the best antidote to this is the simple if daunting act of reaching out to others. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)