Osama is dead. But I can't get over the feeling that he won.
The world is a darker place than it was 10 years ago. We have less privacy and less dignity as human beings, even in America, yet as a culture our anxiety has worsened. I'm not a psychologist or a statistician but does anyone doubt it?
We seem closer than ever to an Orwellian future -- a future that doesn't seem all that "futuristic" anymore. Movies and books about near apocalypse states of being (World War Z, Children of Men spring to mind), much of their satiric bite comes from the fact that they refer to stuff as it actually is, right now.
Like the amber waves of our prairies, I watch as waves of fascism rise and fall around the world. In our media, in our systems of authority, in our religion, in our government, in our own bodies.
As perverted as it is, Osama sacrificed his life for what he believed in. This does not make him a hero, because he was evil. However, his does make his narrative attractive to many of dispossesed of the world, Muslim or not.
Theodor Adorno wrote in one of his essays, "The [current] hero no longer makes any sacrifices but now enjoys success. He does not come of age and assume freedom through his deeds for his career is simply the revelation of his conformity." Some of these "heroes," according to Adorno, are the banker and the career politician, "terms of abuse, even in the United States." They are hated for their arrogant assumption of moral and financial superiority. We, as Americans, are hated for those things now. The name "American" has been tainted and is considered inherently oppressive now. Reclaiming the concept of the "good American" will be an uphill battle and we cannot wage it while occupying other nations without legality or common sense. What the world thinks of us is important, even what poor and weak nations think of us is important, because, at the very least, it will impact the security of our children and grandchildren.
The Good America was built on the values of inclusion and tolerance, and, most importantly, respect for the individual and his and her right to make a life for themselves without having the system stacked against them. This is what capitalism and democracy are meant to achieve for humanity; otherwise, why bother?
Our economic system in this country has become predatory. It is fair to say that it is no longer democratic, because it favors a tiny financial elite. This is the "Judas Economy" (one that favors capital over labor) discussed by William Wolman and Anne Colamosca. It's clear to many of us that this has negative effects throughout the globe, and this is the true source of the resenting of Americans by so many. That and the many illegal and ill-considered wars since World War II.
Last year, many American banks saw an increase in profits, major increases, as it happens. JP Morgan/Chase Bank saw an increase of 40 Billion dollars. Its CEO (his name is Jamie Demon, I mean Dimon, and he wants to punch you in the face) pocketed nearly one percent of that, the rest shared in the typical upside down pyramid style of Corporate America. I think its safe to say that janitors and computer technicians and administrative personnel are not making more than they were a year ago, or even five years ago. Even such well-known beneficiaries of American corporate charity as Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs almost doubled his pay to $18.6m for 2010 "in spite of a slump in profits."
At some point we will have to admit that stealing from the working people of America in order to maintain the current system is as flawed as supporting dictators in other countries to maintain the global status quo. It was this sort of thinking that got us involved with people like Osama bin Laden in the first place (back during the cold war, when he was our friend).
And we will have to question our own economic and foreign policy. How can we promote good in the world? What is is to be a good American? It is not blithely assuming power that was not earned, or making the shareholders happy, or increasing profit margins at the expense of human margins. True heroism involves sacrificing one's own comfort in order to accomplish what is right and good for one's family and the world beyond it. Smart Americans know this. Americans like the best of the grunts in Afghanistan right now, the kind of people who do their job and try to do as little harm as possible. Interestingly, these Americans tend to be against the war when they return, if not before. These people put their lives on the line for very little pay (enlisted men start out at less then $20,000 per year). Meanwhile, at home, their families are stuggling to pay both the heat bill and the car payment this month while navigating the obscure rules of their HMO -- in other words, dealing with the same crap as the rest of us, but with the possible death of their spouse looming over their head.
Tonight, I will raise my glass not to America and her past glories, or the death of one evil man, but to these true heroes.
