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For lack of a Solzhenitsyn!
05-Aug-2008
This past Sunday another citizen of the world, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, started his walk in that never-ending pilgrimage we refer to as immortality. And he did it, not just as a laureate man of letters, but as a man of well thought-out choices, conscience and true humanity; a man who proudly and joyfully accepted his Russian beginnings, but also conceded highest priority to dignity and humanity as inalienable rights for every man.
News of his death came to me over the Internet as I was reading an article by AP writers Charles J. Hanley and Jae-Soon Chang, “Seoul probes civilian ‘massacres’ by US,” that had just come over the wire. Thoughts from those two pieces of news were running parallel in my then emotionally-charged mind: here is a man searching for truth (Solzhenitsyn) and, running parallel to it, here is truth searching for a man, some American great man acknowledging that truth… and finding no one.
While reading data of the horrific victimization, actually murder, of countless Korean civilians – as usual, mostly women, children and old people – at the hands of the US military during that 1950-1 period, I couldn’t help but think of the Gulag created by Joseph Stalin, “the whiskered one,” as described by Solzhenitsyn, and emulated militarily by followers of our own American empire: first in Korea, later in Vietnam and, these days, in Afghanistan and Iraq.
How many thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, innocent civilians were strafed by bullets, or napalmed, in Korea? Indiscriminately, yes, for our soldiers couldn’t tell “one gook from the next,” as they claimed… from the North, in flight to the South… or simply trying to find safety, refuge…anywhere. Over 200 incidents; some, like the one that happened at No Gun Ri, where survivors estimate 400 Koreans died at American hands, have been kept under wraps from the American citizenry; all the military brass needed to do is just classify any and all the facts with the “secret” or “top secret” stamps thus letting the angry-radioactivity cool off, as if converting it to depleted uranium or denying it to be uranium at all, until two or three generations have passed. By then, who will be charged with war crimes? It’s not a cover-up since Americans pretend, and some actually believe, that we never engage in torture or cover-ups. The White House has for decades given a free hand to the Pentagon… after all, crimes of war “just happen,” and the only crime Americans are not permitted to commit is one which may result in lowering the morale of the troops; or one bringing dishonor to the country.
Then I thought of Solzhenitsyn, and his recollection of being an officer in the Soviet Army, observing the inhumane treatment that the Soviets had inflicted on the Germans, military and civilians, in 1945 as WWII came to a close; perhaps crimes that many would excuse as retribution for what the Germans had done years earlier to them; a retribution that he would not find acceptable.
Today’s counterpoint is simply the ease in which the American military accepts crimes of war, often candy-coating them and making them PR-acceptable, as simply “collateral damage.” Our American military has gained vast experience at decriminalizing many repugnant acts of war during the past six decades, from No Gun Ri to My Lai to Fallujah, expecting future generations to be the ones passing judgment, if at all. It will probably be three decades or more before we get to know the truth of what happened in Fallujah, Haditha and some of the other unresolved war crimes committed in the Middle East. Documents will then be declassified as memories fade and many, or most, of the witnesses to the war crimes, as well as the perpetrators, are dead. Also, after much of the anger in the victims’ families has subsided.
Solzhenitsyn was a loving son of Russia and its history; but his humanness made him a great citizen of the world. He denounced what to him needed to be denounced in every facet of life, whether it pertained to the inhumanity of man towards man; or the way modern society was evolving, including such areas as music. To his regret, and in spite of his desire for privacy, he was used in propagandistic ways by men he did not hold in high esteem, such as Ronald Reagan; and even criticized by many liberal-secularists who failed to understand that his acceptance of religion in the form of Christian Russian Orthodoxy had little to do with faith, and the inhumanity that faith may have caused, and much to do with history and tradition as basis for change.
Why is it that here in America we don’t produce notable figures, heroes of humankind?
Do we prefer not to be “snitches” to those who commit crimes, not to be “traitors” to the ugly face our country may show at times; this, when in truth we really are, maybe without realizing it, whitewashers of crimes… and traitors to our own humanity?
© 2008 Ben Tanosborn www.tanosborn.com
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Definitely Iranian
by programmer craig on Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:27 AM PDTYour descriptions of Chomsky and Zinn are inaccurate, but never
mind.
It seems I have a better understanding of them tahn you do, as you believe them to be believers in democracy and capitalism :D
You wonder whether you should move to Russia... something to
think about indeed. Russia is ruling pipeline-istan (it just went into
Georgia this week, after last week's securing of Turkemenistan natural
gas)which means that in combination to being the number one gas
producer in the world it is sitting awfully pretty as far as world
energy dominance is concerned.
I see. And you belive that Russia will be a super-power again?
This in turns means that the US as sole
world superpower is history -- or any kind of superpower, for that
matter.
Why does it not surprise me that you are not a fan of the United States? :D
Not that you're probably dying to know but IMHO the sorry state of
the US is partly due to the fact that it long ago betrayed and
abandoned its own best political and civic traditions, namely something
to the effect of democracy.
That's a tough sell! You sure it has nothing to do with capitalism? :o
Chomsky and Zinn have doggedly insisted on
grasping on to the last strands of this tradition blowing in hostile
domestic wind.
"This tradition" being democracy. Well, Chomsky is a communist and Zinn is a socialist. At what point in their lives would you say either one gave a damn about American style democracy, individualism and capitalism?In other words, have they ever cared about those three things, which are (in fact) what made America great nation?
No. I don't think so.
The fact that they are not young any more and are still at it makes
them deserve even more respect and indeed gratitude.
You contradict yourself. These 2 have been saying the exact same thing for 40 years. You were just talking about teh "sorry state" teh US is in. The US has only been a super-power for 60 years. And has been the sole super-power for less than 20 years. How exactly are you able to make that math work out for you? :D
They are
long-standing upholders of American soft-power, as it is sometimes
called.
That's nonsense. Neither one of them has ever been a proponent of American power, period.
This, my dear fellow world citizen, is the best America has
ever had.
I'm not a wolrd citizen. And pardon me while I barf at the thought that somebody who doesn't even like teh US should be pronouncing who the greatest Americans are :P
If you like brute force and old-fashioned world domination maybe you
should move to Russia. At least you'll be on the winning side for a
couple of decades to come!
Gratuitous insults now? Wonderful! If I wanted to be on "the winning side" though, I would move to China. Energy is not going to be enough for a Russian resurgence. And if they try to make moves on Western Europe, it is World War III or whatever number we are on now. Not a pleasant prospect, especially since the US will sit the next one out in my opinion.
Programmer Craig, dear...
by definitely iranian (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:33 AM PDTYour descriptions of Chomsky and Zinn are inaccurate, but never mind. You wonder whether you should move to Russia... something to think about indeed. Russia is ruling pipeline-istan (it just went into Georgia this week, after last week's securing of Turkemenistan natural gas)which means that in combination to being the number one gas producer in the world it is sitting awfully pretty as far as world energy dominance is concerned. This in turns means that the US as sole world superpower is history -- or any kind of superpower, for that matter.
Not that you're probably dying to know but IMHO the sorry state of the US is partly due to the fact that it long ago betrayed and abandoned its own best political and civic traditions, namely something to the effect of democracy. Chomsky and Zinn have doggedly insisted on grasping on to the last strands of this tradition blowing in hostile domestic wind. The fact that they are not young any more and are still at it makes them deserve even more respect and indeed gratitude. They are long-standing upholders of American soft-power, as it is sometimes called. This, my dear fellow world citizen, is the best America has ever had.
If you like brute force and old-fashioned world domination maybe you should move to Russia. At least you'll be on the winning side for a couple of decades to come!
definitely iranian
by programmer craig on Thu Aug 07, 2008 08:37 PM PDTI nominate Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn as Americans of the Century...
lol. A contrarian communist mathematician and a 300 year old ex-hippie are the best America has to offer? If thwta were true, I'd be the one moving to Russia...
Chomsky and Zinn
by definitely iranian (not verified) on Thu Aug 07, 2008 04:39 PM PDTI nominate Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn as Americans of the Century (I don't like the concept of "hero"). They are the historical memory of this country: one in foreign policy the other in domestic history. They spoke when everyone else was silent. And they did not let us forget.
Thank you Ben for writing this. These "love it or leave it" types are sure vocal but you can bet there's the rest of us out there too!
Heroes?
by programmer craig on Thu Aug 07, 2008 09:12 AM PDTWhy is it that here in America we don’t produce notable figures, heroes of humankind?
We don't? :O
Wow. Don't even know what to say about that one. Perhaps you should consider moving to Russia, the land of heroes?
Love it or leave it!
by Peter Attwood (not verified) on Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:41 AM PDTThat's the answer of apologists for evil when nothing else will serve.
This is one of the great constants of American life - that some are tortured, enslaved, and massacred, while others are offered the privilege of immunity from these and then guilt-tripped into being grateful for being exempted, included with the non-tortured, which is really just to be enticed into being accessories in the crimes against the designated niggers.
It started 400 years ago, with different rules for the master and his guests in the Big House, and for the slaves in the huts who made it possible for him to sit quietly in his study and write eloquent words on liberty.
That choice is given us since the foundation of the world. Moses was qualified to be a deliverer because he chose to identify with the slaves instead of being the son of Pharaoh's daughter. To most, that choice is folly. They glory in the liberty, for which they are eternally grateful, founded on the misery of those they avert their eyes from. They can offer liberty to no one else, and they have no liberty in truth for themselves either.
Anonymously
by Souri on Wed Aug 06, 2008 08:18 PM PDTI do agree with everything you said about America and also I experienced same
thing as you said below:
"I've known a few Iranians who are so ass confused about their nationality
and their national obligation, but you really take the cake."...
When I was living in France, once we got a friend of a friend who came to us
as a guest. After few days in Paris, he said :
"I don't like these people(French), they are not educated and have no
culture. They treat us (American tourist) very badly. It's all our
fault, that when they needed us during the war, we came here to
help them out !!"..
I smiled and told him : but Hamid khan, during the war, you were still in
Iran at Ghom :O)
Then he laughed...
Another Iranian reader, How
by Farhad Kashani on Wed Aug 06, 2008 03:10 PM PDTAnother Iranian reader, How did America “waged” war on its own people? Did America execute its people for political dissidence? Did it take its people’s freedoms away? Did it put them in prison for criticizing the government? Did it silence anyone? Did it provide them with bad economic opportunity? Did it provide them with bad educational opportunity? How?
I’m assuming you live in the U.S. How did the U.S government “waged war on you”? Is someone gonna come to your door tonight asking why you bashed America in your posting? Are you gonna get fired from your job because of this? Are they gonna take your freedoms away for blindly bashing the U.S?
Also, Iranian.com is not “Iranian”, its “American”. Its based in America and follows American law. Post an article criticizing Khamenei in an “Iranian” website from “Iran” and I’ll accept your argument
Excellent!
by نانام (not verified) on Wed Aug 06, 2008 01:21 PM PDTExcellent article! Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a hero and heroes can turn their backs on their countries. Why? Because they LOVE their countries. This is a paradox that an un-exercised mind cannot understand.
Thanks Ben!
www.fazelifilms.com
You don't know why?
by Anonymously (not verified) on Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:35 AM PDTIs it possible that your puzzle is the result of you being ignorant? Bill Clinton is a hero? Jimmy Carter? Both presidents of a country that we are talking about?
Understanding and talking about that fact that a country like US worships heroes that come back from a war and knows no other kind of hero, is not anti American, it is simply stating the fact. Now for you "kase az ash daghtar", who for whatever reason decides to wrap yourself in the flag of a country you don't belong in, why?
I've known a few Iranians who are so ass confused about their nationality and their national obligation, but you really take the cake.
Anti American? No.- Anti Neo Grap
by shirazie (not verified) on Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:00 AM PDTThis site always has been come anti stuip, right wing, nuts like Bush and his followers
I Love this site
american heroes
by another iranian reader (not verified) on Wed Aug 06, 2008 09:50 AM PDTThe trouble is that the US has been waging a war not just against much of the world but against its own people too. There are lots of American heroes -- and they're not all famous. In fact, they are kept marginalized and obscure and all but powerless. And American people continue to think that they're free and extremely lucky and "number one."
I am touched and proud that an iranian forum gives voice to Americans like Ben. We need a worldwide renaissance of sorts and it sure doesn't look like it's going to start in America!
oh I see, non-heroes like
by Farhad Kashani on Tue Aug 05, 2008 06:25 PM PDToh I see, non-heroes like Carter (Who I disagree with) and Al Gore who won Noble Peace Prizes, and Chumsky (who I disagree with ) who has been selected the most popular intellectual in the world.
Non-heroes like Bill Gates and Bill Clinton who spend millions helping poor children in Africa and elsewhere.
I’m not sure why this site has become a hub for anti American non-Iranians also!