Fundamentalism, Tolerance and the American Dream

Next week is the ninth anniversary of what will forever be known as '9/11'. What happened on that day is something that lives in the collective consciousness of everyone who witnessed the event; we can never underestimate the worldwide changes that were brought about by such shocking events. The civilised world stood shoulder to shoulder with America in grief and shock; when the US President and Senate advocated war with Afghanistan and then Iraq, America's allies - Britain included - went in with them.

This isn't going to degenerate into yet another anti-war rant; frankly, it seems ridiculous to keep going on about how legal or illegal the war was, or how justified we can claim it to be. Not even the recent shenanigans with the US finally pulling combat troops out of Iraq (cos we won that one, apparently) or the hoo-ha about Tony Blair's book are justifications for going over and over what happened. Besides, I'm fairly certain that those of you who know me are pretty clued in to my feelings about the two military campaigns...But what has completely pole-axed me - and yet doesn't really surprise me in the slightest - is the recent news coming out of America relating to the news that an Islamic Cultural Centre is to open two blocks away from Ground Zero.

I'm going to indulge in a few sweeping generalisations here, for which I hope anyone reading this will forgive me. Naturally there are exceptions to every rule; indeed, I know several exceptions to the very statements I'm going to make, but there are times when the old sweeping generalisation is the most accurate statement. So...America has always traditionally harped on about being "the Land of the Free" and how tolerant and accepting they are; look at us, they cry, for did we not rise as a nation from the ashes of other countries? Are our people not the people of the world, for we came as immigrants from far and wide to settle this land. (This of course conveniently neglects the indigenous population who were there all along, but as many Americans have and still do the same thing, I find this a justifiable statement. I digress...) With this historical melting pot of class, culture, creed and country, you'd think that the US of A would be the most tolerant and compassionate nation in the world, right. Well, I guess it is...if you happen to be a right-wing, white male Christian fundamentalist.

The reactions of the people that I've seen interviewed about this centre have completely beggared belief. One guy, whose firefighter son was tragically killed in the 9/11 disaster, stated the following (and I quote):

"'It is hallowed ground to us. There are porn shops and other things down there, but they didn't murder my son. Muslims murdered my son. And that is why I don't want the mosque there. They were cheering in the streets of Cairo, Baghdad, all through the Middle East, they were cheering the murder of my son that day. All we are asking is, practice your religion, but just move it a little bit further away.' He says he is not a bigot and this is not about religious freedom. 'All Muslims are not to blame, just like all Japanese are not to blame for Pearl Harbour, but you wouldn't put a Japanese centre at Pearl Harbour. I would say they promised to come back after '93 and they did, they promised to come back after 2001, I bet you it will be through that mosque if they do.'"

Whoa, whoa, whoa...let's just back up here a wee bit, shall we? First of all, it's not like they're erecting a mosque on the exact site of the World Trade Centre. I appreciate that he notes that it's not 'all Muslims', although subsequent comments about the fact the mosque (it's not a mosque, by the way, not by Islamic standards) will be used to launch the next attack on America detracts somewhat from that. I am very, very sorry that this man lost his son; what happened on that day was absolutely horrific and we should never forget that, but Jesus how paranoid could America be? And of course the right-wing nut jobs like Sarah Palin (Goddess help all of us if that woman ever gets into the White House) have jumped all over this particular bandwagon. And frankly, his comments and those of many other people about "oh yes, we're tolerant and don't mind you practicing your religion as long as you do it a bit further away" are verging on inciting religious hatred - how much further away is good for you, America? The Middle East? All this comes after a taxi driver in New York was attacked explicitly because he was a Muslim and a mosque in Tennessee was the target of an arson attack - be careful, America, because you're starting to resemble the intolerant hate-filled insurgents you claim to be going to war against. This all comes, of course, in the same week that the Israeli and Palestinian presidents meet in the US to try and salvage some form of treaty and hope from the dreadful situation in those countries, which is another ranty-filled blog entry yet to happen I feel (hint of my feelings - Israel has a collective short memory).

The lesson of 9/11 should not be that hate begets hate. The lesson should be that, by working together to understand the vast disparity of cultures and religions that this world has to offer - without pushing one or the other onto the rest of it - we can combat the small minority of religious fundamentalists and terrorists who seek to cause fear and bloodshed and hate. Don't let them win by assimilating their views and becoming the same intolerant and hate-filled people. We're better than that. We are.

River Rushing...

Last night (or 2 nights ago, as it's now technically Monday morning - doesn't time fly when you're surfing t'internet?) for the first time in many years I sat and watched Stand By Me, the 1986 Rob Reiner film based on a Stephen King novella. I absolutely love the film, but it's one of those ones that I almost have to force myself to watch; not because of its content or because I can't stand it (quite the opposite), but because every time I see it, I'm reminded again of the tragic death of River Phoenix and how much talent he had...

All four of the young leads in Stand By Me are talented, and very much of their time and generation, but it was River who was the stand-out performer by about a country mile. It seems to be the most ironic thing in the world that so many of the great writers, actors and musicians I've grown up admiring have died far too early, either through self-inflicted means (Kurt Cobain and Sylvia Plath, for example), accidental overdoses (Heath Ledger) or drugs (Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, River...) There seems to be some bizarre law of the universe that states that it is almost impossible for someone so gifted, so talented, with such a state of genius, to be able to live a normal, happy and healthy life: something always has to come along and screw it up, whether that be tragedy in their personal lives or their own untimely death when, like Heath and like River before him, they still had so much to give. And everytime I watch Stand By Me in particular (although Running On Empty, Indiana Jones and My Own Private Idaho also have this effect), I find myself sobbing at the wasted talent, his tragic death and of course the film itself. It is without a doubt (in my humble opinion at least) one of the greatest films ever made, and this is probably one of my favourite moments in the whole thing...



Of course, I have to declare a conflict of interest here. Not only did I grow up full of admiration for River's talents as an actor and musician, and for his stance on all things animal rights, environmental and political, but I was sort of a sucker for his looks, too. I know it's trite and it's shallow but it's true; for the love of the Gods, I was only eleven years old when he passed away after all, and the hormones were starting to kick in! But because I was so young, it was mainly after his death that I was left to rue what might have been and, yes, to mourn the beauty (physical, emotional and acting-wise) that had been taken from us. To this day, my heart breaks when I watch the campfire scene from 'My Own Private Idaho' for example, or the bit in 'Running On Empty' where his character sneaks into his girlfriend's house...River just shone out from the screen, completely mesmerising and utterly heartbreaking all at the same time.



So come Halloween, I shall make the time (amongst all the other festivities and ceremonies) to curl up with plenty of tissues and watch something River-related to honour his memory. It had better only be the one film, though; there aren't enough tissues in the world that could sustain me for the full 'Stand By Me, Running On Empty, My Own Private Idaho' cycle...may the Gods bless you, River, wherever you are...