I Blame New York

I blame New York. I blame New York for 911. I don't mean the attack. I blame America for the attack. I blame New York for the aftermath of 911. I don't mean I blame ordinary New Yorkers. Ordinary people look to their leaders to interpret invents. Of course, New York's economic leaders don't want the truth spoken, it would raise questions about their culpability. I blame the intellectual and artistic leaders of New York for the aftermath of 911. They failed to speak the truth. They failed to identify the quite obvious causes of the 911 attacks and they failed to call for the necessary reforms. They failed both intellectually and morally. They failed not only New York and America, they failed the whole world. I put this failure down to the fact that these intellectuals and artist are not in fact free and independent, but instead have let themselves become inthrall to the economic powers that be in New York. No other Americans suffered their pain, and no others could speak the truth with more force. And none will. Middle America will not accept the truth, or the responsibility, until New York accepts them. And the truth is no mystery. For fifty years America has supported the tyranny of the Saudi Family in Arabia for the sake of obtaining cheap oil for our own profligate ways. We have been arrogant and greedy. And some Arabians, fed up with our bullying, gave us a disastrous punch in the eye. What is inexplicable about this? Has no one seen a cowboy movie about the evil rancher who takes all the water for himself and then finally, in desperation, the little ranchers blow up the dam? For more than fifty years we have been the mean, greedy rancher on an international scale. There is no disputing this. We are world class resource hogs. Or do you believe, along with the Roman Emperors, that it is right for others to go without, so you can live in luxury? The question now is whether or not we will make the reforms that should have been called for on 912. Reform number one is to fix the original cause of the attack. America must stop supporting tyranny on the Arabian peninsula, or any where else for that matter. If Iraq and Afghanistan can hold democratic elections in the midst of virtual wars, why aren't we pressing now for democratic elections in a new Republic of Arabia? This reform in foreign policy is long over due. It is a no-brainer for any president who purports to believe so fervently in democracy for all. Or are Arabians exempt? Smart enough to bring down two colossal office towers with two gadfly jets, but too stupid to vote? Or is Bush's support for democracy just a pose to hide military adventurism? It will be exposed as such if the Bush administration will not come out for democratic elections in Arabia TODAY. If the number one cause of 911 was our support of tyrannies on every continent for our own economic benefit for more than fifty years, the number two cause is our profligate use of oil. There are three obvious reforms we can make to address this. The first is to make Fuel Efficiency Standards apply to ALL vehicles, including ALL trucks and their monster offspring, SUVs. The second is the funding and development of an American Public Transit Systems as we did for our interstate road system. McKinley to Miami, Bangor to Baja, on the APT should be our goal. The third reform is to institute a program of supports for solar power, including research funding, and incentives, subsidies, tax breaks, for manufacturing and installation. We should require solar power on all NEW construction, commercial, residential and agricultural from Alaska to Florida starting today. We want to end our "addiction" to foreign oil, these reforms will do it. How hard is it to figure out that these reforms would be good for ordinary Americans(new jobs, cheaper energy, a cleaner environment). But not good for the President's family business, or for Wall Street's long lived cash cows, oil and centralized power utilities. We have been profligate. We must stop being greedy and wasteful. America brought 911 down on itself. We must face these awful truths about ourselves, New York and America. We must reform OUR ways. It is up to all Americans to push for America to act in the world public's interest, not childishly just for ourselves. And how can the intellectual and artistic leaders of New York atone for their moral lapse? And they do need to atone for standing silent. They can break out of their thralldom and lead ordinary New Yorkers in a campaign to banish commerce from the World Trade Center Site. After all, would any feeling person seriously suggest putting an office building cum shopping mall any where on the site of Auschwitz, not just over the gas ovens, but anywhere at the site? Why aren't New Yorkers pressing to use eminent domaine to take this site not just for the good of New York, or even America, but for the whole world from which New York and New Yorkers flow? Instead of memorializing, in any way. the worst of New York, its money making greed, the site can be used to memorialize the best of New York, its marketplace in ideas. This site should be turned it into a World Trade Center of Cultures, a place for cultural crosstalk and criticism. Self criticism, an examination of conscious, is how free people learn from their mistakes, instead of repeating them to literal death. Only tyrants, and the guilty, stifle self criticism. Maybe if a Trade Center of Cultures had existed before, we would have heard the cries of distress of the Arabians. Heard them before they felt that only a violent 911 call could wake us up. They were wrong. We sleep soundly still, in denial of our own responsibility for this disaster that has befallen us all. I blame New York. I blame America. 911 was our own fault. Please, New York, stand up, accept responsibility, call for our own reform, so the rest of America can do the same. Stephens MJ