The 'warrior race' theory of North American genetics
presupposes that we all love war. It overlooks the fact that
idealism isn't altogether dead in the U. S., and that many
young men and women might actually be willing to
sacrifice their lives for other human beings.

Phillip Mizewski

Many Brazilians appear to have reached a startling conclusion about the evolution of human life in North America. The 'smart money' in Brazil these days seems to favor the idea that the DNA of citizens in the United States is a near perfect match with that of the fictional Klingon race of Star Trek fame. While I've spent enough time in Brazil to understand that political and trade policies have fostered resentment toward the United States, I believe that the Iraq War "feeding frenzy" of anti-American sentiment warrants reconsideration.

I agree with Brazilian sentiment that this war was avoidable, and should have been avoided. I disagree with Brazilian sentiment as to how the war could have been avoided. Any student of history can tell you that appeasement only plays into the hands of a brutal dictator. Perhaps Tony Blair has remained so steadfast in his alliance with the United States more because he remembers the folly of Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler than because of anything having to do with 9/11.

I think it far more probable that Saddam Hussein would have more fully cooperated with UN inspections had every member of the UN Security Council remained steadfastly committed to 'solidarity' in supporting the resolution which each of them had agreed to last autumn. Yes, it's true that the United States, Great Britain and their "coalition of the willing" could have simply backed down. But, again, history tells us that appeasement only encourages tyrants to press for further advantage.

It seems to me that the suffering of so many millions of Iraqi citizens has been of little genuine interest to either the far right pro-war lobby or the far left anti-war lobby. Those on the right seem to drag out the "we've got to liberate the oppressed" banner anytime they feel the need for military intervention. Otherwise, the silent suffering of tens of millions of Africans, Asians and Latin Americans goes on largely unabated.

Those on the far left seem to be so resentful of this tactic that they suddenly leap to protest the 'murder' of thousands of innocent civilians in time of war when they themselves stood silently by while millions died at the hands of a brutal regime. Why should I believe that either side has assumed a "morale high ground"? I don't.

I disagree with U.S. reliance on bombast and threats of intimidation. Whatever happened to "speak softly and carry a big stick"? Saber rattling is a form of political viagra for the morally impotent. And our penchant for flag waving isn't helping either. For sure, I have an American flag, and I display it on some holidays _ like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. But when that young Marine draped the U.S. flag over the head of the statue of Saddam in central Baghdad I cringed.

As a former Marine I cringed at this public display of lack of discipline. As an American I cringed because I immediately understood the negative impact that this failure of self-restraint would have on public opinion toward the United States in the Arab world. Predictably, the image was played over and over again on Arab television, and made the front-page of anti-American newspapers around the globe. And I cringed simply because the act was so incredibly insensitive.

NBC, no thank you, compounded the sin by putting the young Marine on national television to explain how enthusiasm had gotten the better of him and how he was honoring the memory of our loss from 9/11. Any good basketball coach will tell you that the clock, not the other team, becomes the enemy near the end of the game. I fear we're not really recognizing who the enemy is at times. Do Brazilians really imagine that the United States is an enemy of peace? Do North Americans really imagine that Saddam Hussein was the be-all and end-all of our problems in Iraq? And who, or what, is our real enemy with respect to terrorism?

Osama bin Laden clearly warrants billing as "Public Enemy Number One". But eradicating Osama bin Laden without effectively addressing the larger underlying problems that produced him will be futile. I'm sure we can track down any individual terrorist czar and eliminate him (or her). But the act of doing so will only alleviate the symptom, and only temporarily. Unless we treat the illness, the 'root cause', another terrorist czar will rise to fill the void. That young Marine should have restrained himself because failing to do so was disrespectful. "Political correctness" didn't have anything to do with it; America's image had everything to do with it.

I didn't vote for our current President and, apparently, neither did a majority of the minority of other Americans who bother to participate in our national elections. Who can argue with criticism of our "electoral college" approach to determining who will reside in the White House? Our system isn't perfect. But the 'warrior race' theory of North American genetics presupposes that we're all of one mind and that we all love war. It overlooks the fact that idealism isn't altogether dead in the United States, and that many young men and women might actually be willing to sacrifice their lives for other human beings.

True, it may not be likely that any of these idealists will some day preside over our nation, but their own accomplishments are not diminished by the motivations and political leaders and the ideologies of political parties. We, in the United States, live in a very imperfect society. Human beings, by nature, are very imperfect. But can we be less cynical and more even-handed in our assessments of current events.

Philip Mizewski is a past regular contributor to Brazzil. Other of his articles may be viewed at http://www.iei.net/~pwagner/brazilhome.htm  by selecting them using the select bar in the left frame. You can reach him at  pmizewski@hotmail.com

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