But for too many around the world, America is increasingly seen as the land of Gitmo, of drone attacks, of overthrow of elected regime, as bully-boy acting recklessly on behalf of its economic and geopolitical interests. That's not "winning hearts and minds," it's doing precisely the opposite, and it obscures any positive aspects we may have or good that we may do.
Reshared post from +George Wiman
The points made in this excellent article stand on their own (please read it) but I would like to make one more. I don't know if Bin Laden wanted to be listened to, but as a writer and thinker he did have something to say. The problem is that we are so busy hating him for his violent acts that we cannot listen to him. Bin Laden BAD!!! GRRR!!!
This is also true of the Unibomber, who wrote a manifesto that made several good points worth considering. Have you read it? Probably not, because Ted Kaczynski sent bombs through the mail, maiming and killing people. Violence utterly obscured his message.
The United States carries a message about freedom, about the common good, and about a better world not based on group hatred. But at the same time we've projected power violently in both overt and covert ways. You think the victims of a US-backed oppressive regime care what we have to say about anything? How about the parents of a child killed in a drone strike?
To the rest of the world, we are Bin Laden. We are Ted Kaczynski. They can't hear us over the screams of torture chambers, or the ringing in their ears from explosions. When our medium is violence, what is our message?
If we want to be heard, we need to figure out how to wage peace.
(h/t @mikethemadbiol for the link)
Embedded Link
Bin Laden’s insights and the Egyptian Coup | Ian Welsh
This is the sort of post that makes people mad, but in light of what’s happening in Egypt it’s necessary to talk about bin Laden. Most people who hate bin Laden have never read read his writings. They’re quite extensive, and they’ll reward your time in reading them. (Obligatory bin Laden is a …