American Pie: Symbolism - How Powerful Is It?
"In these pragmatic times, one would think people would be immune to allegory, and it would be rational to suppose that symbolism had no place,'' says columnist John Merchant.
"Two very different events this past two weeks have given the lie to that supposition. The first, the grand and joyous wedding of handsome Prince William and his winsome Princess Kate; the second, the dark and gloomy assassination of Osama bin Laden.''
John's views on both events are relevant, trenchant and civilised.
Do read on...
Both events produced a strong reaction across the American continent. In a way, the fervent excitement and approval of the Wedding came as a surprise, to me at any rate. After all, British royal marriages this past three decades haven’t exactly been shining and durable, and in the case of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, ended in tawdry melodrama.
So it would have been reasonable to expect the armchair royalists in the USA to turn a jaundiced eye and give the Wedding no more than a passing glance. As it was, people on the east coast rose early to watch the full coverage, and many in later time zones took the day off. Some, like my wife, have watched all the repeats. The plaudits have continued to flow, not least about the unusually swift and immaculate preparation.
It seemed that the event gave heart to people here, many of whom are still dealing with the negative impact of the recession, and who are looking at an uncertain future.
The other event, Bin Laden’s assassination, also generated an enthusiastic response, but not one that I could identify with. There were cries of “Justice has been done.” In a country that prides its self on the strength of its jurisprudence, it’s hard to see how justice has been done when there was no trial. It’s clear that bin Laden could have been captured rather than killed, and also that there was never any intention of bringing him back alive.
Admittedly, if he had been brought to the US, his trial would not have occurred anytime soon, as is evidenced by the experiences of many prisoners who are held at Guantanamo Bay, and therefore could have lost its impact, but the process would have been served. At the same time, the Obama Administration would not have received the popularity boost it so badly needed.
Assassination has historically been seen in many parts of the world as the only sure way to bring about regime change, but surely we’re not sinking to that level in America. US citizens were horrified at the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, but at least the assassins were deluded and unbalanced, not the military cutting edge of a powerful government that preaches justice and democracy.
In some ways, assassination is a regression to the days when black people were lynched in the American south.
Osama bin Laden became the focus of all the hatred against Islamic extremists, but in truth he was simply a figurehead, a symbol. He had no legitimacy. In reality he was a pathologically sick, megalomaniac millionaire. There is some evidence that he even opposed the plan to attack the World Trade Center, supposedly brought before him by Khalid Sheikh Mohamed; not on humanitarian grounds, but because he thought it wasn’t viable.
I watched the attacks on the World Trade Center on live TV. The sight horrified me, all the more so because I knew people who worked there, and had visited the towers many times on business. At the time, I believed it signaled the beginning of the Apocalypse that I am sure will envelop the Middle east one day.
Despite my abhorrence, I found it hard to direct my anger at a vague ideologue, halfway around the world. It was much more relevant for me to blame the USA’s FBI and CIA, and the stupid people who didn’t see anything unusual in Egyptians wanting to take flying lessons on big passenger jets.
Al Qaida had declared war on America before 9/11, so how was attacking the World Trade Center morally any different to indiscriminate carpet-bombing by the US in Vietnam and Cambodia, or using nuclear weapons against the Japanese. Both involved the mass killing of defenseless civilians.
Bin Laden’s demise won’t end the jihad. There are plenty of zealots ready and willing to take his place. His main value to Al Qaida was as a figurehead and a source of funds. The US had already rendered him ineffective by cutting his lines of communication. Apparently symbolism still can be a powerful influence, but it’s not the end game. That requires planning and strategy and a real leader, not a rabble-rouser.
The assassination was an act of bravado – a vengeance killing. But, for the sake of the World Trade Center survivors and the families of the victims, I hope they are able to find consolation and closure in it.
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For more of John's columns, which are as entertaining as they are thought-provoking, click on
http://www.openwriting.com/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=john+merchant
And do visit his Web site
http://home.comcast.net/~jwmerchant/site/
