Shadows on the Wall

Book Seven in Plato’s Republic records a dialogue about cave dwelling people forced by constraints to only look in one direction. The shackles prevent the people from turning their heads to view anything except the far wall of the cave. As a direct result of these limitations, the cave dwellers came to believe over time that the shadows cast on the wall were reality since they could not actually see the objects themselves. America is at a grave crossroad in our history … we can continue on the path of seeing the world as we want, or think, it should be, or cast off the artificial constraints that prevent us from seeing things as they actually exist. The opportunity is there to effect pragmatic, gradual change and build a better world, but it needs to be more than an American world.

Much of the debate in American society right now centers on issues like the war in Iraq, the broader war on terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, and the failures of the Congress to adequately address the ills of our own society. Are we dealing with the realities of these problems, or accepting the shadows cast on the wall as truth? Freedom in our society is a basic premise of our national strength. Attempts by anyone, including the government, to present only one side of a debate constitute an artificial shackle that asks people to only consider the shadow cast on the wall. Intelligent people want more. We are living in a world that is getting increasingly smaller through technology, and the understanding of our growing global interdependence is also blossoming. But in America there is a disturbing trend occurring that is beginning to rankle the thinking electorate: A rigid rejection of compromise coupled with a dogged determination to depict the “truth” of any situation cast only in terms of the conceiver.

Witness the Iraq war. Not only did Iraq not possess weapons of mass destruction, but President Bush impatiently failed to build an international coalition, instead announcing America’s intention and right to use preemptive strikes to achieve national objectives. The decade of unilateralism was born. The veil of secrecy this administration has adamantly used to mask a multitude of activities, including things like warrant-less wiretapping, and a shameless expansion of executive power are both naïve and dangerous. The American people want the presentation of both sides of the argument … we don’t want to be spoon fed what amounts to propaganda, Democratic or Republican. We are tired of viewing the shadows cast on the wall, and being asked to discern the facts behind the shadows. The 2008 elections will demonstrate just how tired voters are of the political status quo in this country. What has happened to the fine arts of diplomacy and dialogue? Why has the American viewpoint become the only one that matters in an ever-shrinking world?

As someone who has lived abroad for several years and traveled extensively around the world, this distinctly American arrogance is doing more to harm our national interests than any single action we might take. When we conduct ourselves as a nation unwilling to dialogue or listen to any view, never mind opposing views, we broadcast to the world that we have the answers. The questions no longer matter … the US has the answers. Yet the rest of the world looks at events like Katrina and New Orleans, the racial injustice underlining the Jena six, the quagmire of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and says, “Physician … heal thyself.” It is this arrogant projection of might that is exacerbating, if not outright causing, terrorism. President Clinton had it right when he said we need to create more friends around the world. As a Republican, it genuinely pains me to say that but we need to look at the world as it is, and not as we wish it would be. The path forward must include diplomacy and dialogue, even with our enemies. This administration has set back diplomacy and the US Foreign Service twenty years. How did we get here?

We have stopped listening. We, through the Bush Administration, attribute the dangers of our current world to Islamic fundamentalism … Centuries old hatred and clashing between Sunni and Shia’ muslims. We have inserted ourselves into cultures much older than our own because we have the answer. Iraq must be a national government, and not regional republics as Senator Joe Biden has advocated because that’s the way it is. It doesn’t matter that these sects have been killing each other for longer than we have been a nation. Americans are going to solve the Iraq “problem” while simultaneously trying to cast a deaf ear to the Arab world when they talk about US inconsistency on the Israeli/Palestinian “problem.” Israel kowtows to the US, so they are a different situation, or so we are led to believe. Happily moving forward despite contradictions in our policies is the legacy of the last twenty-five years. The insidious claims of the religious right and the Moral Majority have created a national environment where there is only one possible answer. Right or Left. Blue or Red. Either/Or. Our viewpoint is the right one, and there is no need for dialogue. The “Contract with America” has become a national nightmare because of the narrow-mindedness it has fostered. The shadows on the cave wall are dancing.

As long as there is no substantive dialogue in our diplomacy or our politics, the possibility for incremental change is lost. Despite the truth that no one will willingly allow someone else to impose “reality” upon them in one fell swoop, the US has scrapped the idea of pragmatic compromise. With the din coming from the red states and the blue states we are losing the voice of those who desire moderation. This is the tragedy of the 21st Century. This is why we have an Iraq. This is why there is growing hatred of the US in the world. Our opinions are not the only ones that matter. There is wisdom in dialogue. There is a growing backlash of moderation poised to explode on the US political scene. We are tired of extremism in all its variations, foreign and domestic. There is more than one answer to the issues we face. Our lives are inextricably intertwined with people in other cultures. We need to hear their challenges, and welcome their ideas. It is time to stop willful cave dwelling, and become citizens of the world. To those of either party who will not listen, this trend to moderation is going to become the US equivalent of a political IED in 2008.

© Gerry Young 2007