ACTING FROM FEAR– OR FROM

ACTING FROM FEAR– OR FROM A SENSE OF OPTIMISM AND POSSIBILITY? A couple of readers have asked why I keep scolding the administration hawks like a nanny and urging them to “take a deep breath”, “step back”, etc.
Mainly, the reason is that I see these guys just acting out of a very primitive, very counter-productive mindset dominated by fear.
They may seem to be acting like folks who are so purposeful, so dominating, so confident, so competent, so much in command of the world– But I’m afraid that what I mainly see when I see them strutting around is people who have no idea at all about the real possibilities that really are present in the world. Possibilities to build good productive relationships with nearly all of the world’s people who definitely seek such relationships, rather than confrontation and war. Possibilities to hold productive discussion of differences that can enlarge everyone’s understanding of what the issues are. Possibilities of re-building a world based on reason and cooperation, in such a way that the tiny minority of people who can’t accept a world of tolerance and sharing themselves become totally marginalized.
The U.S. is such a rich country, so overflowingly full of resrouces and possibilities in itself! Why can’t our leaders, okay, take that deep breath, thank the Creator for all their blessings, and then set about marginalizing the men of violence using reason, cooperation, a willingness to share responsibilities and blessings, and a calm, respectful approach to expanding the international rule of law?
That route just seems to me so much more doable, so much more productive, so much better for all of us than this shrill revving up of the machinery of war.
I guess I’m surprised, sometimes, that Bombs-away Don and the rest of them just can’t seem to see it my way.
But then I take my deep breath, and remember that nearly everyone who lives in Washington DC is acting right now out of a place of fairly serious trauma. They had the 9/11 crash into their very own Pentagon, losing friends and colleagues there. They had the anthrax scare, which I guess really was pretty scary for many residents of the national capital. Then, they had Greater DC’s long-drawn-out sniper scare, which would have been bad enough anywhere, but probably had an even more traumatic effect for the already doubly-traumatized Washingtonians.
And now, they have Tom Ridge with his constant stream of color-coded disaster warnings…
So yes, I can understand a little, perhaps, of where many Washingtonians coming from. (Though I note that many, many folks from the city have done a grand job of rising above feelings of traumatization and victimhood.)
But to understand where people like Rumsfeld and Co. are coming from doesn’t mean we should just roll over and let them proceed with their fantasies of a violence-based revenge. Oh no! But it does mean, though, that we probably need to spare a thought and a prayer for their mental/spiritual wellbeing, along with that of everyone else we’re concerned about these days.
For their own good, yes. And I really mean that. But also because those guys’ continued suspension in their present web of trauma and fear is extremely dangerous for the rest of us.