On Sept. 11, a tragedy occurred. The loss of life in sheer numbers was terrifying'that's why it's called terrorism. The loss in terms of suffering and pain shall be greater by far. The magnitude of the human suffering will be decided by our ability to be humans. The American people's ability to act as a rational group of thinking, feeling individuals rather than as a machine of nationalism will decide if we as a people and as a race survive this tragedy.
I fear that the human race currently existing on this planet is about to make disastrous history. Will we go down in the books as being the first species to not evolve, but to devolve? How can we avoid it? The answer is unbelievably simple: We simply must take back our own humanity.
Where did the human race's ability to cope with other human beings go? To tell the truth, I don't believe it was ever there. If we intend to survive, we have to quickly develop the ability to peacefully interact. Nationalism, or the desire to further the cause of one's country regardless of the expense to the citizens of other nations, has historically blinded men to the needs of other human beings. The shortcomings of this attitude were thrust into the harsh light of reality Sept. 11. The cauldron came to a boil when men, albeit hateful men, stepped onto an airplane and crashed nationalism and zealotry into the sanity of a nation and a world. That's right. Those were humans who crashed those planes.
In light of these heinous crimes against mankind, there have been calls for peace and humanity as well as calls for blood or the immediate transformation of the Middle East into a parking lot.
The time has come for Americans, and more importantly humans, to make a choice about our next move. Extreme nationalism is an ideology that America, as well as other countries, needs to avoid. Nationalism was the cause of this problem in its inability to consider the common good of all people. It is not the answer. If it is forced to be the answer, the violence will continue. All there will be to show for nationalism is a pile of rubble and a feeling of safety'until someone else takes up the cause of nationalism and Sept. 11, 2001 will repeat itself with different people and different buildings, but always with the same outcome.
In the course of history, the desire to further the cause of nation or religion has caused infinite suffering. It has inspired war and hate on most of the soil that makes up our planet. What is it about nationalism that forces humanity into the backseat? When nationalism takes over for rationality, it breeds imperialism. It creates the desire for one country to be dominant over all others. This gives rise to forms of economic imperialism, which fail to take into account the well-being of the economies of other nations.
Our allegiance to our country should not take precedence over our humanity. History is clouded with bloody examples of times when nations have butted heads with little regard for anything but the advancement of their countries. In war, by definition, there is no regard for human life or it would cease to be war. War is fought because of nationalism, and therefore it must be that nationalism supercedes the interests of the human race. Where was the capacity for rational thought when nationalism over humanity became an option? Why is it that airplanes full of people are being flown into buildings and the obvious repercussion is to take even more lives? Human life has become more of a pawn for the interests of nations than it has ever been. This isn't a game. We don't have to be teams competing, blind to the cost, ultimately sensitive to the outcome. As long as nations continue to operate outside of the boundaries of humanity, we will never be a race of humans operating for the common good. We will be teams.
What can be done? It is a mess of huge proportions because nationalism has existed since nations have. I don't believe in the instant dissolution of nations. That's not an option. Nations have the ability to offer great freedom and solidarity to all humans. However, it is time to recognize that we are humans first and then citizens of our respective nations.
This will not be the end of our world, but it is a monumental turning point. I hope that we can pull together as humans to fully use our famed ability for rational thought as we never have before. I fear that we will not. I do not envision a utopia where all the nations of the world join hands and sing 'We Are the World' while they have a Coke and smile. However, I believe in the ability for things to improve. If we do not change, then mankind is headed for a big fall. There will be no audible sound, but only the palpable remorse of a people searching for their humanity among smoldering piles of nationalism.
