My thoughts relating to events arising out of the terrorist action against the USA on 11 September 2001.

My first reaction and my note left on the AOL open Web Forum on the eve of the attack on the Twin Towers.



I am a British Citizen who came to England as a refugee in 1956 from Hungary in the aftermath of a bloody Uprising against a tyrannical regime.

I witnessed and survived the carnage of World War II there, witnessed and survived the Holocaust too, having been persecuted by fanatics who believed in the idea of an Aryan Master Race. Later, under the dictatorial regime of Stalin's lackeys, I witnessed and suffered further persecution by those who were protagonists of a relentless "class war".

I witnessed too the bloody carnage of the Uprising in 1956. In short I witnessed many times the pointless, brutal carnage brought upon innocent people by bloody-minded fanatics, or by ordinary people mislead by others. By my experiences, I ought to be immune to the horrors witnessed. Perhaps it is my fault that I am not. I thought I have seen it all. I was wrong. The carnage continues unabated… and my heart weeps for mankind…

I often wonder about the madness, insanity and the sheer wanton stupidity that is inherent in human nature.
It is easy to blame religion, political indoctrination, ideology or fanaticism…

Perhaps the fault lies within all of us. We are all guilty, if we are judged by our own history and our own prejudices…
One time or another we all lust after blood, we learned nothing from the carnage of previous generations and ignore the fact that exercising our own freedom without responsibility can injure, kill or enslave other human beings.

There can be no freedom - individual or collective - without responsibility to others and the price of freedom is constant vigilance, not only aimed against others, but also against our own frailty, lack of purpose, lack of compassion or clarity and weaknesses.

My heart goes out to all those who are affected by this barbarous act of terror. I offer my wholehearted sympathy and my solidarity to all decent citizens of the USA and pray fervently that one day we may all learn the virtue of compassion, love, tolerance and justice towards our fellow human beings.

(Signed.)


11 September 2001.


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Excerpt from a letter written to a cousin living in the USA.


As events escalate on the World scene our own personal and family problems require a new dimension and could broadly be described as paltry compared to the existing and possible future problems the world is facing.

I started collecting my thoughts on the subject, but as the most profound thoughts seem to occur to me during a certain prolonged bodily function that is the consequence of chronic constipation, my notes were hastily inscribed on paper normally designated for a different function. As in an instant of mental aberration - caused by a momentary lapse of attention - I subsequently and inadvertently used the paper for the function it was originally designated for, my profound thoughts thus turned into human waste - albeit not more of a crap than those paraded in the various media as infinite wisdom - and the notes may only be legible now as a possible imprint on my hinterland.

I am not inviting you, or anyone else for that matter, to try to read those notes. I still have a certain amount of shy reserve combined with a sense of decorum and God only knows there are already an awful lot of backsides with imprint out there to read. I only wish that politicians, commentators, ayatollahs, columnists, broadcasters and other assorted "rumps" held the same reserve. Life could be a lot more tolerable that way. The amount of verbal and inscribed diarrhoea generated post hoc the tragic events of September, seem to me more frightening than the prospect of contracting Anthrax. Anthrax is at least curable: this insidious crap flowing forth from every imaginable human crevice seems a threat to overwhelm the very fabric of Human Society if not Earth itself. There is a profusion of self appointed bog-philosophers and other assorted "experts" expounding contradictory and more often pointless rubbish theories and advice without any regards to the possible consequences.

As ever, it will be hindsight that will sober up the various protagonists. But hindsight will only prove to be the consequence of a dysfunction of foresight.

In short, it looks like once again that humanity learned nothing from its own sad history. I hope not to live to witness the day when a lifeless, Anthrax infested planet, will slowly fade into universal oblivion.


2.10.01

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Ruminations on Terror.



Having declared virtually all written and spoken statements on the vexed subject to be utter rubbish, I am now going to stick my neck out to voice my own opinion, or rather my thoughts on the same. I will do this without apology and in the firm knowledge that nobody gives a hoot about what I think anyway.

What is the point of uttering a single word on this subject if you know that it will not make an iota of difference?

Well, expressing an opinion puts you in the camp of either a protagonist or antagonist on any subject, whilst remaining silent exposes you to the criticism of either sitting on the fence, or - worse still - of being a coward.
Not that I give a crap of what others think of me, but I would rather give voice to my opinion after all, than simply being classified as one of the "silent majority." In any case, I have already taken side on the issue, by voicing my solidarity with the victims of terrorism and as one who abhors violence in any form I put myself firmly in the camp of the anti-terrorists.

As one who experienced living under both Hitler's and Stalin's shadow at very close quarters, experienced both aerial bombardment and the effects of ground fighting as a civilian bystander, as well as effects of racial and class hatred and violence, I feel I am qualified to say at least: "I know what terror is all about."

Where I feel at a disadvantage is that in spite of all personal experiences I have only the vaguest notion on how to fight terror. Hold out the other cheek like the early Christians did in Rome and walk with nothing but a prayer and a smile into the jaws of the lions, or use the Old Testament's notion of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", or strike terror in the hearts and minds of active and would be terrorists by any means fair or foul?

Listening to all the arguments around me, watching the events unfold on the political scene as well as on the "battle fields", it leaves me with the conviction that there is no one out there really who knows the answer any more than I do. And that is very small comfort indeed. Especially so, as the currently favoured answer to the problem seems to be the good old fashioned way of answering terror with terror.

Let's look at what terror and terrorism is all about. To understand it one has to have a clear idea and definition of the meaning first.

The definition of terror- defined in various dictionaries - is: 1. Extreme, intense, overpowering fear. 2. Anything that instils such fear. 3. The ability to instil such fear.

Terrorism is defined as the use of terror, violence and intimidation to achieve an end.

The end could be economical, financial, political, educational or even "spiritual", although this latest one is highly questionable in terms of what constitutes a "spiritual" state or condition.
None the less the use of terror in spreading a "spiritual" message is well documented in the history of almost all major religions as well as in the propagation of most political dogmas. The very notion of "Going to hell", if not conforming to an established "moral code" or religious order is also a form of psychological terror.

Terror is therefore with us all from birth to death in one form or another, whether we like it or not and whether it is recognised as such or implied in an almost too subtle, almost friendly manner. Carefully and subliminally applied, it can keep us on the "straight and narrow path" in our social affairs; whilst in the extreme it can land many of us behind closed walls and doors in mental institutions or in the penitentiary systems. What state terror could achieve is also well documented in the history of the Holocaust and in the Soviet Gulags.

Individual terror is applied early in form of bullying at schools, both by well meaning teachers and not so well meaning pupils and in far too many instances even earlier by parents, either unfit for the parental role, or simply misguided by some so called experts of educational or child rearing psychology, or by their own early conditioning.

Terror, fear applied to or perceived by any individual elicits a reaction in one form or another. Some absorb it and use it as a useful tool in applying the same to others. They in turn become "terrorists" in a looser term. Bullies are usually people who have experienced bullying as recipients themselves. Fear conditioned them to act as bullies.
Some live their lives in perpetual fear, afraid of their own shadows. Yet others learn to live with it to carry on with a fairly normal existence. Some, probably a minority, manage to rise above it and achieve heroic deeds, in some instances laying their own lives on the line to save others.

So what is it really that we face when confronting terror? In the ultimate we face our own fears and our reaction to that fear is guided by our own conditioning.
To fight terror and to win you have to fight conditioning and the conditions that foster terror. Terror is the instrument of fear and ignorance and to conquer fear and ignorance you have to overcome the conditions that give rise to it.

That however is easier said than done. Fear is a basic animal instinct, an intuitive impulse to perceived danger. This instinct is inherent in humans and virtually all other known animal life forms. Without fear there is no survival, for without an impulse to escape danger there would be no "fright and flight" reaction that is so vital to escape.
Terror, by definition, is an extreme, overpowering fear and whilst fear is inescapable, normal and even necessary for survival, terror is counterproductive. To start winning against terror and terrorism, one has to have a clear, rational understanding of what terror and terrorism is all about.

The desired effect of terror and acts of terrorism is to cause a paralytic response in the recipient or recipients that would either lead to submission, or an inappropriate reaction detrimental to escaping the effect. If the extreme element of fear and the unwanted overreaction could be brought under rational control, then terror would prove to be a futile instrument or action to achieve a desired goal.

You may wonder why I am labouring over the definition and psychology of terror and terrorism. The answer is simple. Without understanding the nature, aim and the psychology of terror, you cannot escape its effects, cannot confront it and cannot escape. Your own reaction gives victory to the terrorists. And here lies our current weakness and dilemma.

The other vital element in terror is ignorance; another human condition that does not seam to vanish, despite centuries of effort in educating the masses. Whilst fear can be construe d as normal and even desirable, the same certainly could not hold for ignorance. Ignorance is inexcusable. How to eliminate it from the human condition is another matter entirely, which, in view of the vast masses' unwillingness to shake it off, seems to be as hopeless and remote a task today as it was back in the dark ages.

There is nothing new about terror and terrorism. It has been with us since the beginning of our miserable and sad history. That it is still with us is a depressing indictment of human nature and a proof, if we need any, that we are unable to learn anything from our own history. War, after all is just another form of terror, another instrument to achieve an end. Declaring war on terror, bombing and carpet-bombing, covert and overt operations behind and in front of "enemy" lines are a way of instilling terror in the minds and hearts of terrorists. By any other name it is just another act of terror. Justified? Maybe… Excusable? Maybe!… Understandable? Maybe…
Effective? Maybe… Will it solve the problem? Judging by thousands of years of human history; definitely not!

We, who witnessed and survived many forms of terror, who in the wake of events believed that the Second World War would be the war to end all wars, can testify to our disappointment in that illusion. Why should this "war" yield any better final result? Will it eliminate human greed for wealth, power and glory? I doubt it. Will it eliminate racial and religious hatred and misunderstanding? I doubt it.Will it eliminate the conditions that breads disenchanted and disenfranchised humans? I very much doubt it.


(Written on the eve the first shots were fired in Afghanistan.)



© P. J. Oszmann 2002.



These notes were written in the wake of the terrorist attack in New York in September 2001.
Apart from the note left on the AOL Open Website, they were not intended for publishing and were forgotten until a current "clearing through" my files.

In view of more recent actions in Iraq I feel it may have some relevance to the events unfolding there.