During yesterday’s 9/11 commemoration tv coverage, I heard more than once that the 9/11 attack constituted “the worst terrorist attack in history.” Not the worst on U.S. soil – the worst, period.
And Americans wonder why they’re regarded as ignorant, parochial, and self-righteous throughout the world.
The Empirical Me
I’m Roderick T. Long, Professor of Philosophy at Auburn University. I’m an Aristotelean/Wittgensteinian in philosophy and a left-libertarian market anarchist in social theory. (More about me here.) This blog, Austro-Athenian Empire, is a continuation of my earlier blog, archived here.
Profesor Long, I do not think the problem here is a problem of memory rather than one of double standards…I bet most of those comentators will never accept the atomic atacks on Japan could be considered “terrorist”…which I suspect is even worse…
That’s the point. By excluding states from the definition of the word “terrorism” it effectively gets rid of hiroshima, israel’s bombing of lebanon, etc from the public discussion.
Yes, but that’s why I said “ignorant, parochial, and self-righteous.” If they don’t know that Hiroshima was worse, they’re ignorant. If they know it was worse, but did’t think of it because it didn’t happen to Americans, they’re parochial. And if they think it was OK because we did it, they’re self-righteous.
I don’t think the crucial factor is whether it was a state or not, though. If some rival state had perpetrated the 9/11 attacks, the American government would still have called the attacks terrorism. So the deciding feature is whether it was done by our state (or one we’re friendly with).
How about those who think Hiroshima was OK because the US was at war with Imperial Japan? You know, “Remember Pearl Harbor” and all that?
http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson080505.html