by Herbert W. Chilstrom

These past months have been wrenching for all Americans, and not least for religious leaders -- Christian ministers, Jewish rabbis, Muslim clerics.

Most of us feel deep patriotism. I never hesitate to pledge allegiance to our flag, joining others in commitment to the freedoms we enjoy. At athletic events I've always sung our national anthem with vigor, even though most around me -- until recent months -- stood mute. During my active career I traveled to more than 40 countries around the world. I never touched down again on American soil without feeling deeply grateful for being a citizen of this land.

My love for this country is deep. And so is my abhorrence of terrorism and bigotry. Like the Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who risked his life in an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, many religious leaders would be ready to do the same if we could stop the madness of men like Osama bin Laden.

So why is it that many of us feel so uneasy when we try to put these troublesome days into a larger perspective? Is it because we see what some have called "the dark side of patriotism"?

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by Salim Muwakkil

I spend much of my time in this space criticizing what I see as the excesses and evasions of those in power. According to my critics, I love to spotlight problems but seldom suggest solutions.

My opposition to our war on terrorism has sharpened their point: What, they ask, is my alternative to U.S. policy? How do I suggest we deal with suicidal Islamic radicals ruthless enough to murder thousands of innocent people?

Here's my solution: Utilize the UN to establish a permanent International Criminal Court with jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity--such as the Sept. 11 attacks. This new court would be granted the police powers needed to enforce its edicts. It would be empowered to pursue terrorists across all borders and force the accountability of governments that protect them.

With a commitment to the civilizing force of law and impartial justice, this new international court would present a tangible alternative to the logic of terror.

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by Robert Jensen

[A talk to Independent Allies, San Antonio, TX, December 6, 2001]

After a recent antiwar talk in which I sharply criticized U.S. foreign policy, a student asked me, "Don't you find it hard to live being so cynical?" When I responded that I thought my comments were critical but not cynical, he looked at me funny and said, "But how can being so critical not make you cynical?"

The student was equating any critique of injustice produced by institutions and systems of power with cynicism about people. His question made me realize how easy is cynicism and how difficult is sustained critique in this culture, which shouldn't surprise us. People with power are perfectly happy for the population to be cynical, because that tends to paralyze people and leads to passivity. Those same powerful people also do their best to derail critique -- the process of working to understand the nature of things around us and offering judgments about them -- because that tends to energize people and leads to resistance.

Understanding the difference between critique and cynicism -- and the difference between hope and optimism -- is crucial to the future of any struggle against injustice. At this moment in history, those struggles must not only be about trying to win changes in policies but also about the reinvigoration of public life -- a call for participation, for politics, for radical citizenship in reactionary times.

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by Pratap Chatterjee

On December 4, 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy. Not long ago Enron was the largest energy trader in the world, the largest natural gas pipeline owner in the country and a pioneering force behind energy deregulation. The move resulted in 4,500 layoffs, or 60% of Enron's workforce at its headquarters in downtown Houston.

Employees and investors were stunned. How could one of the most wealthy and powerful corporations in the world go bust over night? Wall Street shuddered; could this be the first in a series of corporate disasters that marked the now official US recession?

In Houston, security guards patrolled the Enron buildings, watching employees as if they were potential thieves as they emptied their desks. Workers flooded into the streets in front, many crying and hugging one another as police on horseback shouted at them to disperse.

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Experts' Disagree on bin Laden Home Video
by Eric Margolis

WASHINGTON -- In our media age, it was inevitable we'd finally see terrorist home videos. How long, one wonders, before they come out in DVD format?

The Osama bin Laden home video released by the U.S. last Thursday gave a fascinating look at the head of a fanatical Muslim cult receiving a visiting Saudi sheik. According to the accompanying translation from Arabic to English - made by the U.S. government and checked by two U.S.-based Arabic experts - bin Laden clearly appears to voice his culpability for the suicide attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

In the most damning admissions, a gleeful-looking bin Laden says, "We calculated in advance the number of casualties from (sic) the enemy who would be killed based on the position of the tower." And, "We had notification since the previous Thursday that the event would take place that day."

The U.S. government is delighted by the smoking gun tape, which was mysteriously "found" in Afghanistan a few days ago. The White House says the tape should dispel any lingering doubts bin Laden was behind the Sept. 11 mass killings.

But two other Arabic experts say the tape's audio quality is so poor that almost nothing bin Laden says on it can be verified. To my ears, well accustomed to Arabic, half of bin Laden's words were inaudible. The translation was sometimes out of sync with the action on screen. Bin Laden's statements looked cut up and edited.

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When Bonnie Greer returned to America to talk to the people she grew up with, she came across a different set of attitudes towards the events of 11 September
by Bonnie Greer

African America knows something about the ugly face America presents to the world. To friends here in Britain I always say that if you don't like American foreign policy, try American domestic policy. Try being an American citizen with the full backing of the constitution yet by word and deed having to feel like an outsider.

It took me years in Britain to adjust to being called 'American' and 'Yank'. I had never felt like one in the land of my birth. Yet to hear intelligent people condemn America, even say it got what was coming to it on 11 September, makes me want to yell 'Which America are you talking about? Not mine!'

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