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REVISITING HARRY BROWNE'S CRUCIAL QUESTION 23 YEARS LATER.
John,
23 years ago today, former LP Presidential candidate Harry Browne published
his response to the September 11th attacks.
This timely article has been revered by libertarians for years, because
Harry Browne had the knowledge and strength to say what few dared to at the
time: that years of insane US foreign policy directly influenced the
attacks.
Below is the article in its entirety.
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WHEN WILL WE LEARN?
By Harry Browne
_Originally published on 9/12/01_
The terrorist attacks against America comprise a horrible tragedy. But they
shouldn’t be a surprise.
It is well known that in war, the first casualty is truth – that during
any war truth is forsaken for propaganda. But sanity was a prior casualty:
it was the loss of sanity that led to war in the first place.
Our foreign policy has been insane for decades. It was only a matter of
time until Americans would have to suffer personally for it. It is a
terrible tragedy of life that the innocent so often have to suffer for the
sins of the guilty.
When will we learn that we can’t allow our politicians to bully the world
without someone bullying back eventually?
President Bush has authorized continued bombing of innocent people in Iraq.
President Clinton bombed innocent people in the Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq,
and Serbia. President Bush, senior, invaded Iraq and Panama. President
Reagan bombed innocent people in Libya and invaded Grenada. And on and on
it goes.
Did we think the people who lost their families and friends and property in
all that destruction would love America for what happened?
When will we learn that violence always begets violence?
TEACHING LESSONS
Supposedly, Reagan bombed Libya to teach Muammar al-Gadhafi a lesson about
terrorism. But shortly thereafter a PanAm plane was destroyed over
Scotland, and our government is convinced it was Libyans who did it.
When will we learn that “teaching someone a lesson” never teaches
anything but resentment – that it only inspires the recipient to greater
acts of defiance.
How many times on Tuesday did we hear someone describe the terrorist
attacks as “cowardly acts”? But as misguided and despicable as they
were, they were anything but cowardly. The people who committed them
knowingly gave their lives for whatever stupid beliefs they held.
But what about the American presidents who order bombings of innocent
people – while the presidents remain completely insulated from any
danger? What would you call their acts?
When will we learn that forsaking truth and reason in the heat of battle
almost always assures that we will lose the battle?
LOSING OUR LAST FREEDOMS
And now, as sure as night follows day, we will be told we must give up more
of our freedoms to avenge what never should have happened in the first
place.
When will we learn that it makes no sense to give up our freedoms in the
name of freedom?
WHAT TO DO?
What _should_ be done?
First of all, stop the hysteria. Stand back and ask how this could have
happened. Ask how a prosperous country isolated by two oceans could have so
embroiled itself in other people’s business that someone would want to do
us harm. Even sitting in the middle of Europe, Switzerland isn’t beset by
terrorist attacks, because the Swiss mind their own business.
Second, resolve that we won’t let our leaders use this occasion to commit
their own terrorist acts upon more innocent people, foreign and domestic,
that will inspire more terrorist attacks in the future.
Third, find a way, with _enforceable_ constitutional limits, to prevent
our leaders from ever again provoking this kind of anger against America.
PATRIOTISM?
There are those who will say this article is unpatriotic and un-American
– that this is not a time to question our country or our leaders.
When will we learn that without freedom and sanity, there is no reason to
be patriotic?
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