Not Forgetting 9/11My name is Jin Huang. I doubly concentrate in physics and economics. I interest in IR because it deals with some of the most fundamental contemporary questions that are essential to understand global phenomena. Despite the importance of the field, I personally do not have a foundational understanding of its frameworks, methodology, or theories. While I do pay much attention to histories and current events that are in the realm of IR study, I do not know whether I possess the vocabularies and critical mind to analyze those historical moments that are too important to ignore. Taking the class, I hope to learn about the organization and the intellectual traditions of the field. As a curious young scholar (maybe not so much of IR, but of knowledge in general), I would also like to see and appreciate the rigor and power of IR theories at work. To address the question(s) of 9/11, I will start by asking yet another question: does 9/11 deserve the magnitude of attention that it has been getting? The war in Afghanistan alone was a huge undertaking that was comparable in magnitude as the event that preceded it. Subsequent efforts, both abroad (Iraq being the prime example) and home (Patriot Acts, Dept. of Homeland Sec.), are all overarching projects that will become very prominent historical events. The combined active response (by our government) has exceeded (in my opinion) even the calculations of those who planned and forecasted the consequences of 9/11. The cascade of changes that happened worldwide requires us to wonder: did 9/11 really cause all those changes that we normally associated with 9/11? My simple answer is YES. That single event shaked our worldview and especially shaped our politics in fundamental ways. Like it or not, for personal philosophical, ideological, or political standpoint, 9/11 has permeats our culture and society and establishes itself as the foundation and starting point of international as well as national political discourse. Therefore, the answer to my own rhetoric question (does 9/11 deserve....?) is irrelevent if we are looking to understand the world after 9/11. Whether 9/11 should have had such an impact in our society is irrelevant because it has had enormous influence, in fact, it is the #1 most important factor (at least in the limited geographic region that is vital in this discussion) in the world after 9/11. This goes back to the question that I suppose to be answering: should we forget 9/11? The answer matters very little. If political and socioeconomical discourses center on and starts from the assumptions and responses specificly linked to 9/11, it seems to me that 9/11 has become the cornerstone of any discussion. And any other conversation that tries to do without taking into account the event of 9/11 is pointless, non-constructive, and simply, naive.
So how do we go beyond 9/11? We do not. I would ask the question: how can we do better starting from 9/11? We must look forward to formulate our world views (and politics) while keeping the consequences of 9/11 in the back of our minds. The event certainly has changed our value judgement (for example, the tolerance of infringement to personal liberty), but I am not suggesting that we them as they are given to us now. If we believe that rules and values of our society are not consistent with our highest standard, we may demand changes. But we do not do so by appeal to the olds and the befores and the forgotens by saying--forget about 9/11. The correct attitude must rest on reasons and philosophical and moral merits. We should believe our propositions not because these are what they used to be but because these are what we truly believe as better forms of government. Posted by Jin Huang on September 15, 2007 12:22 AM | Permalink « Should we forget about 9/11? | Main | Should we forget September 11? » |
