Sort of What We're After in Class

From Mark Danner's article on George W. Bush-era torture in a recent issue of the New York Review of Books (an earlier one reported on the leaked Red Cross report on the same topic): "The issue could not be more important, for it cuts to the basic question of who we are as Americans, and whether our laws and ideals truly guide us in our actions or serve, instead, as a kind of national decoration to be discarded in times of danger." I say, sort of, because what we're primarily trying to find out is how laws and ideals go by the wayside to a greater or lesser extent in times of crisis. Is it, as Philip Zelikow said a few years ago about America's post 9/11 scare, that "fear and anxiety were exploited by zealots and fools" (individuals in powerful places implementing wrongheaded policies), or is it that, as Walter Lippmann remarked in the wake of World War I, "at the present time a nation acts too much like a mob" (major pressure generated from below in society, leading to vigilantism, wrongheaded policies, or both). It's usually a combination, and the process differs in every case. The Palmer Raids of 1919 certainly were the result of deliberate actions by people like J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, but the country at that time had also gone a little Bolshevik and immigrant crazy. Japanese internment after Pearl Harbor was pushed through by a relatively small number of people in the army (with approval of President Roosevelt), but it was made easier, to say the least, by widespread anti-Japanese sentiments which in early 1942 suddenly intensified greatly (thanks, in part, to some deliberate misinformation from up high). Persecution of people suspected of communist sympathies after Word War II usually was a mixed bag also. Another vital element in virtually every crisis is that the "fear and anxiety" had some real basis in reality, so it's not as if there's never anything to worry about. But how does a country that likes to think of itself as law-abiding and generally decent do the right thing when it's under threat? By their own account, Dick Cheney and company deliberately decided to go to "the dark side" to deal with our current crisis; in other situations the decision to stretch laws and ideals beyond breaking point may be more opportunistic, or fatalistic. That this kind of dynamic is hard to avoid, however, the series of crises we've looked at makes abundantly clear.

Giving it another go

Which I suppose is good news about my head. Maybe it has something to do with the weather also, because the nice spring weather we've had certainly has made life easier. This morning on the ride into Amsterdam (mild, sunny, little wind, leaves and blossoms on the trees, little lambs in the fields) I found myself thinking: this has little to do with a normal commute, it's too easy--that's how much the winter weather (wind, temperatures in the 30s, regular precipitation) had become the norm since last fall. Better legs is a factor now also. It has been almost a month since I first shaved my legs this year, and I've lost track of the number of rides I've done in shorts. Last Saturday I did an 83 miler, all by myself, to Amerongen and back so that I could get my first "hills" of the year as part of a good, long ride. I was on the bike for almost 4.5 hours, and even though during the final hour it got a little uncomfortable (lower back) and getting up the various risers required some effort, I really can't say that I suffered. The next morning I was out again by nine to participate in a ride commemorating my friend Piet Griffioen, who died suddenly last January. I did the 80 km route, together with about 20 others. It was a very nice morning, in spite of the fact that we rode in a drizzling rain most of the time. Reasonable pace, about 18 m/h, and it was great finally to be on a ride again with my old neighbor and cycling mentor (serious national-level crit tiger in the early 1960s) Thijs Hendriks. Thijs just turned 71, but he seemed to have no trouble with this little ride, so I look foward to riding with him more regularly from now on. In other cycling news, I'm currently reading Karsten Kroon's book of columns (in Dutch), and enjoy it very much.

In the war-and-peace and related matters department, I just did a op-ed piece on the recent torture revelations in the U.S., Cheney's response, and Obama's dilemma (investigation or not?). I'll link to it when it appears somewhere. The subject aligns with my American Studies seminar this semester ("American Scares"), where we look at international crises for the U.S. that have led to domestic responses undermining the nation's basic principles, intensified political contradictions, or both. Students are doing papers now on episodes as far back as the Adams and Jefferson presidencies, but also World War I and its aftermath, the post-World War II Red Scare, and, of course, the current "War on Terror." Oh, and I've put my money where my mouth is and ordered home delivery of a daily newspaper (NRC-Handelsblad, which has an English-language section on its website). Last week they were out in the streets of Amsterdam with a special offer, and even though I try to buy a paper regularly, and still have an on-line subscription to the Wall Street Journal (along with the print subscription to the Economist), I have been missing a daily paper at the house. So I decided I should take advantage. I, too, spend a lot of time on line, reading all kinds of excellent blogs. But I still don't think there's a real substitute for the kind of reporting offered by, and the kind of experience and expertise assembled at, a traditional news organization, a serious newspaper. I also believe there's value in holding the entire paper in your hands (you do read things you otherwise would not come upon, often to your great benefit). But even if traditional newspapers continue to gravitate toward the web, there remains the question of how they're going to pay their bills. Advertising (on and off-line) continues to be insufficient, so it remains up to all serious citizens, people who understand how important professional, vigilant news organizations are to maintaining a vibrant democracy, to do their part and pay up.