Opinion

It takes a war

By Joseph LaPenta

As the holiday season approaches, people tend to look back over the past year, and this may be especially true of 2001, the first year of the new century. It has been a very strange year for the United States. It began when George W. Bush became president after one of the most controversial elections in American history. His opponent, former Vice-President Al Gore, actually got more popular votes, but the Supreme Court, by a 5 to 4 decision, effectively gave the election to Mr. Bush. That result deeply divided Americans.

Currently, however, President Bush has one of the highest popularity ratings in recent times. What changed everything was the "War on Terrorism." As the old saying goes: "Every cloud has a silver lining," and even a war may have its bright side. Now, as the president and so many others are saying, "Americans are united."

This is an exceptional situation. Throughout their history, the people of the United States have been anything but united. There have been deep and persistent racial, class and regional divisions and hatreds. There was the Civil War between the North and South, massacres of Native Americans, many bloody race riots and violent labor-management disputes. With the important exception of Vietnam, it has usually taken a war to unite Americans.

The destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 has been compared to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and they are similar in at least one important way. Before both attacks, the vast majority of Americans were utterly opposed to going to war anywhere. In addition, the Taliban are the kind of people Americans love to hate. They burn books and movies, discriminate against women and destroy priceless works of art. Who could ask for a better enemy?

Americans have shown their unity by contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to help the families of the victims of the attacks. But one of the most visible ways has been by displaying the flag: they hang it from flagpoles, paint it on buildings, put it on Web sites, wear it, and even have it tattooed on their bodies.

Many Japanese have asked me why Americans are so crazy about their flag. With all their racial, ethnic, religious and even linguistic diversity, one of the few things Americans do share is the flag. They sing about it in the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Indeed, "the Grand Old Flag" is the country's most important symbol, and Americans regularly declare their loyalty to "the Red, White and Blue." When I was a child attending school, I had to recite the following pledge nearly everyday: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Some think it is ironic that it takes a war to bring Americans together, but whether it is a real "fighting" war or a troubling social problem, Americans seem to need the idea of war to focus their collective attention. Since the 1960s, there have been massive government programs called the War on Poverty, War on Cancer and War on Drugs, but poverty, cancer and drugs have not been defeated. Compared with those "enemies," beating the Taliban will probably be a piece of cake.

Let us hope the New Year will be a happier and more peaceful one.

Shukan ST: Dec. 21, 2001

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