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October 13, 2001
I've noticed as I read
I've noticed as I read various opinion pieces about the war in Afghanistan that I am much more bothered by Canadian conservatives' comments than by American. Maybe it's because when I was younger I had the naive hope that Canada was a gentler, more liberal, more tolerant society than the United States, and feel personally wounded when evidence to the contrary shows itself up.
This is the second big propaganda victory the Right has scored in my memory. Ten years ago, the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe fell like dominoes. That was supposed to prove that all forms of economic liberalism - any role for the state in society that was more than minimalist - was unworkable. Myths started sprouting up almost like wildflowers. Ronald Reagan's military buildup was given credit; the Soviets, unable to match American spending with their obviously inferior economic system, buckled under the weight. This argumeht has long since left the bounds of debate and become an axiom, even though it is demonstrably false. In reality, the demand for reform in Eastern Europe was caused by -- reform! An authoritarian regime must maintain control through terror. Relax the terror, as Mikhail Gorbachev did, and the entire structure crumbles. Military factors had very little to do with it.
But the facts didn't matter. The events of 1989 embarassed the democratic left throughout the Western world. Soon, leftist parties found they could not survive electorally without compromising most of their principles, and shifting the entire frame of political discourse deeply to the right. Even centrist parties, like the American Democratic party, or the Canadian Liberal party, governed more conservatively than real conservatives, as recently as twenty years ago. The new orthodoxy was firm. Capitalism works. We were right. Repent from thy foolish ways and embrace the free-market orthodoxy.
And now, we come to the WTC bombing. Once again the conservative chorus is there. We told you so. Western civilization is inherently more pure and noble than any other. Islam is a fundamentally violent religion. The Taliban, who were often cited as an example of America's lack of interest in women's rights, suddenly became proof of the enlightened nature of Western society. Us versus Them. Good Guys vs. Bad Guys, and America is, of course, the saintly Good Guy.
For the first time I can remember I see conservatives gleefully attacking the views of leftist critics such as Noam Chomsky. For over 30 years they pretended he didn't exist, preferring to silence the arguments they could not refute. But now, the moral compass is on their side. For who can justify the WTC killings? Even those who have long decried the brutality and hypocrisy of American foreign policy are at a loss; no one wants to justify the mass murder of civilians. The most prominent leftists in the world's imagination are now Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, not exactly role models that can inspire political movements here in the West.
Once again, the cries are coming. We were right. Dark-skinned types can't be trusted. America has done no wrong; indeed, is incapable of doing anything wrong, for it is America. And anyone who criticizes America can only be a sympathizer with the mass murder of innocent civilians. And the right-wing tide marches on.
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Posted by Tyrone at October 13, 2001 11:58 PM