AUSTIN -- On war, and rumors of war. In 1950, the United States
got involved in a war and called it a police action. We are now involved a
police action we're calling a war. The semantic confusion is having
unfortunate effects on everyone.
As we bomb Afghanistan, Secretary of State Colin Powell is
waging a diplomatic offensive in the region, including plans for a
broad-based future government to include "moderate elements of the
Taliban" -- an arresting concept. This must be as confusing to the Afghans
as it is to us. However, it makes perfect sense in the context of a police
action with limited aims and a substantial humanitarian commitment.
On anthrax and rumors of anthrax, television is showing symptoms
of the Condit Syndrome -- a story with little news and a lot of speculation.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, John Leonard, the television critic, wrote in
Salon.com, "After a couple of days of doing what they do best, which is
grief therapy, the television networks and cable channels reverted to what
they do worst, which is to represent the normal respiration of democratic
intelligence." According to other critics, that judgment may be a trifle
harsh -- networks apparently strained to get it straight, and many rose
nobly to the occasion. Then the logos and the tom-toms of war took over. In
the anthrax cases, some are notably keeping cooler heads than others. The
fine line between keeping people informed and scaring them to death is
getting blurry.
As is always true in the these cases of media semi-hysteria, the
only people keeping their heads are the people. The media report great
numbers of ghastly anthrax hoaxes, but they don't report the wry jokes and
splendid examples of gallows humor coming from regular citizens. I spent two
and half hours standing on a security-check line Sunday at Logan Airport in
Boston, and aside from sore feet, found it quite a pleasant experience. A
troop of happy young people off for a vacation in Aruba, some business types
cracking wise about Logan's management abilities, adorable toddlers on the
prowl -- a whole line culture developed in no time, as strangers chatted
with one another, held places for those who needed a bathroom break and gave
advice to those who hadn't even made it around the first bend. "What line is
this?" asked an appalled late-arrival. A cheerful bleached blond replied,
"We're the Ten Items or Less."
Seems to me there's enough news these days to keep reporters
busy, hype is inexcusable. Perhaps the most valuable resource America has in
the coming struggle is Arab-Americans, but we sure aren't behaving as though
we realize this. According to some reports from the Arab community in Texas
and California, and to Mark Singer's article on the Arab community in
Dearborn, Michigan in the current issue "The New Yorker," these people are
scared, depressed, afraid to go out. The case of the Saudi doctor in San
Antonio, who was held for two weeks not as suspect but as a material
witness, not allowed to see a lawyer, then released without comment or
explanation, is but one of these. A Florida businessman from Egypt, American
citizen for 18 years, was held in jail for three days as a witness. And the
anecdotal accounts of both official and unofficial abuse are already piling
up. During World War I, excited patriots went around kicking dachshunds, on
the grounds that they were "German dogs." What a blow for freedom that was.
One would have hoped our fellow citizens would show just a modicum more
sense.
On the other hand, it is quite likely some of these stories
aren't true: rumors are particularly apt to circulate in a climate of fear.
The downside of the Internet as a source of information is there's no way of
checking the reliability of what appears there -- there are already many
urban legends that have built up since the attack. Fortunately, there are
also Web sites at which you can check them -- if you hear something strange
you might want to run it by
www.truthorfiction.com.
To find out more about Molly Ivins and read features by other
Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web
page at
www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2001 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
