By:Jerry Burke
For those of us who vaguely remember senior English (in my case, I vaguely remember senior year), the quote above comes from one of the most important novels of the 20th century. It-s the story of a man, once honorable, who travels to the African jungle with the intention of "civilizing" the native population. But along the way, he becomes mired in depravity, using fear as his power over the "savagery" of the people.
Conrad-s novel was published in 1902. One hundred two years later, it seems the lessons of history have once again been tragically ignored. The Abu Ghraib prison pictures clinched it. All the noble words, the desire to bring democracy to an enslaved nation, gone with a few clicks of a camera.
Yes, it was only a few "bad apples." Of course that-s not what America is about. America is about truth, freedom and opportunity. I still believe that, even now. But what has happened at the prison, the nightmare pit of hell for every Iraqi citizen during the years of Saddam-s rule, has made winning their hearts and minds about as likely as a Nader presidency.
I wish I didn-t have to say this. I know some people will read this and think I-m undermining the troops or the American way of life. Rush Limbaugh, in all his wisdom, compared the torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners, some of whom were later found innocent and released, to a frat initiation. Rush Limbaugh is a moron.
Using the Conrad quote may imply that I believe America is carving out a new empire. I don-t think that. But members of the Bush administration has not been shy in stating, for the record, its desire to promote the expansion of democracy as the cure to all of the world-s troubles. What works for us will, and must, work for all, they say.
This is where their logic fails. In the past two weeks, perhaps you-ve heard or read the concern that our country has lost its "moral supremacy." Assuming that we had it to begin with, maybe the pundits are right.
The question is, how do we fix this? The short answer is, we can-t. The long answer, one that will require us to examine how this country works on all levels, is to keep believing in the dream. That all men and women are in fact created equal, no matter what the color of their skin or the size of their bank account.
The state of the world at the moment is not pretty. But we must keep looking at it, exploring every possible way we can try to improve it, not just for our own sake but for the sake of every man, woman and child unable to stand up for themselves. That is what America must be about, and that process must begin at home.
