Reclaiming Bravery

Two weeks ago, the FBI told our country to be on high alert for new waves of terrorism. Simultaneously, they told us to go about our business as usual despite the vague, frightening warning. Ari Fleisher, President George W. Bush’s spokesperson, said that carrying on our regular day-to-day activities under the cloud of terrorist threats should be the “new normalcy.”

We have had several “high alerts” since Sept. 11. Consistently, we have been told to resume our regular routines in a sign of solidarity and strength. The day after the attacks, we were instructed by our government officials, and by the president of this University, to get back to work so that Osama bin Laden, would- be terrorists and the whole world would witness our resolve. So the first battle we were asked to fight in this war against terrorism was to fight our own fear. Instead of fear for ourselves and our loved ones, we have had to be brave for our country.

While I understand the need to move forward with our lives, I am extremely worried about the emerging monopoly on the definition of bravery. Two towers were reduced to smoldering rubble, instantaneously ending more than 4,500 innocent peoples’ lives. The landscape of Manhattan has been transformed, and symbols of American industry and strength have been replaced by a lingering stench of death and destruction that still permeates lower Manhattan. On Sept. 11, for the first time during my life, war planes patrolled our skies. Now, more innocent Americans are being targeted with letters laced with anthrax. And the government warns us this is only the beginning, but it won’t tell us what to do to protect ourselves.

If this is the “new normalcy,” I despise it and it makes me terrified. While I think we should be strong, move on, support each other and recognize the tremendous courage of the firefighters who died at Ground Zero, I think we need to confront our fear. We need to realize that this New Normalcy is unacceptable, and that our fear is not only inevitable, but that it is honest and healthy.

I fear our response to this tragedy has been to bomb innocent people in Afghanistan, to starve them to death and drive them from their homes when most of them hate the Taliban as much as we do. I am terrified that we have answered this tremendous loss of human life with more loss of human life. I am scared of bombing Red Cross buildings and of starving refugees mistaking unexploded bombs for our aid packages. I’m terrified by the horrific cycle of violence we are perpetuating on foreign soil. And I am terrified of the retaliation we are provoking from people who are already bent against us.

Our enemies are scattered across the globe, so killing bin Laden and eradicating the Taliban, even if it is possible, will not protect us from the wrath of those already determined to harm us. They don’t hate us only because American women are free to live independent lives. They hate us because we have starved thousands of Iraqi children to death with our sanctions. They hate us because we so often proclaim our strength and superiority. And they will hate us even more as we keep bombing through the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which begins next Saturday. This does not make the acts of terrorism okay––nothing could––but it does mean that the war on Afghanistan will not prevent terrorism.

I think we must discover new definitions of bravery. In the face of the unprecedented threat to this country, we have to be brave enough to realize that there is no easy solution, and that even our most technologically-advanced bomber jets cannot root out terrorism. We have to be brave enough to realize that war won’t make us safer. We have to be brave enough to voice our questions and criticisms of “Operation Enduring Freedom.” What exactly can this war hope to achieve? According to a poll conducted by the New York Times, the majority of Americans are no longer confident that US forces can destroy the Taliban and capture bin Laden. Given this public opinion, we have to be brave enough to think creatively about alternatives to this war. We have to face the fact that we do not have a solution yet––although we might have the beginnings of one. Most important, we have to be brave enough to say loud and clear that what we are doing now is wrong.

How brave can we be? Are we brave enough to halt the bombing, as the United Nations suggests, to aid the thousands of Afghan refugees, so that Pakistan’s fundamentalists and other groups don’t join forces with the Taliban, or join the ranks of the terrorists? Are we brave enough to alter existing policies that might incite terrorism? To stop the sanctions on Iraq and take our troops out of Saudi Arabia? Are we brave enough to look critically at our relationship with Saudi Arabia and ask if our dependence on oil has made us too lax with a state that helps fund bin Laden’s ventures? Are we willing to trade our big cars and big muscle for smaller cars and a dose of national modesty? Are we brave enough to aggressively work towards nuclear disarmament and engender an international framework for peace, justice and security? Will we channel our energies into an international court to try those who commit crimes against humanity, international police organizations and organizations that would prevent money from being funneled into destructive hands? Are we brave enough to protect the civil liberties of all citizens, even in the face of Sept. 11?

I agree that this is a time for bravery, but it is also a time to recognize our fear and harness it for good. We have to be brave enough to act differently, to admit mistakes and take measures to prevent future ones. This is only the new normalcy if we allow it to be.

Jessica E. Gould ’04 is a history and literature concentrator in Cabot House. She is a member of the Harvard Initiative for Peace and Justice.