NPR Commentary
Speaking Against Silence

Morning Edition air date: 12/4/01

By Ellen David Friedman
I cannot remember, in my lifetime, a moment of such apparent national consensus. And I can not remember a moment when I felt so nearly alone in my dissenting opinion. It feels to me as if the sheer horror and scale of the September 11th attack shut down our capacity for national dialogue ... as if, one by one, our major institutions: Congress, state government, churches, labor unions, corporations, have essentially agreed to support the President in whatever he wishes to do.
I wonder whether the startlingly high poll numbers for President Bush's policy don't reflect a kind of mass mourning ... a hope for solace in presidential strength. Yes, our shock and sadness are great. Our losses
feel unfathomable. But we serve our democracy poorly if we act solely from these raw emotions. Only with full debate and democratic agreement can we make policy that's sound for the long-run.
Our country's might would be diminished if we were to act merely in vengeance ... especially when acts of great justice are within reach. The bombing of Afghanistan, in my view, does not have moral or judicial basis... but the lawful punishment of criminals has both. And we possess unique resources to avoid war and promote justice.
The world's richest country should have a better response than pouring down bombs on one of the poorest. A widening war will only make us more vulnerable to desperate terrorist reprisal. Instead we should prosecute those who committed this vast crime ... probably through the World Court. With social construction and aggressive diplomacy, we can dry up the recruiting pool for extremists and terrorists. These are anti-terrorist strategies that can actually work.
All these policies would reflect compassionate statecraft in a troubled world. And yet, I find it difficult to talk about them publicly. I have been censoring myself. I worry that some might feel my ideas show insufficient respect for the September 11th victims ... or that they lack righteous vengeance. Some say this is the time for single-minded and exclusive unity behind the President. Some would consider my ideas anti-American.
But ... especially now ... we can't afford the luxury of silence. If these views reflect only ten percent of American opinion, certainly they pose no danger to foreign and domestic policy. And if they reflect, in any measure, a broader yearning for peace ... and for the rule of law over the rule of force... then they need to be spoken aloud.