December 14, 2006

Imperialism as Taboo: The Missing Link between the Holocaust and 9/11

Turning certain subject into taboos is society’s way of dealing with deeply uncomfortable truths; in other words, it is society’s way of living with big lies.

Imperialism, that is, the politico-economic exploitation of the poor countries by and for the benefit of the rich ones, is one example. In the Third World, imperialism is not a taboo subject. Nearly everyone in the poor countries is aware of it, whether they call it by that name or think of it in some other way. For instance, it is often expressed as a deep sense of revulsion against the US government. In the US, this sentiment is dismissed as ‘anti-Americanism.’ Americans, as well as citizens of the other rich countries, have no wish to know how the wealth of their countries has been acquired. They prefer to sweep the whole mess under the carpet, and label any opposition to imperialism as ‘clash of civilizations,’ ‘extremism,’ or worse.

A more recent taboo arose out of the 9/11 events. Beginning on that very day, various authority figures, as well as the subservient Western newsmedia, have drummed into our brains that we were not supposed to talk about the causes of those attacks. More specifically, we were not supposed to talk about the exact mechanism by which a small group of individuals were led to contemplate and carry out this act. We were not supposed to think about the events that led to it or the reasoning that went into it. Instead, we were supposed to think of it as ‘an attack on our freedoms.’

The same thing can be said about the Jewish Holocaust. Beginning with the establishment of the State of Israel, discussion of the Holocaust turned into a taboo subject. Anyone who raised any questions about the official Holocaust doctrine was immediately branded an ‘anti-Semite,’ an ‘ultra-rightist,’ or worse. People were not supposed to talk about the chain of reasoning that led from the Holocaust to the establishment of the State of Israel.

The same Western powers who, in the 1930s, had turned away ships carrying Jewish refugees from their own shores, the same Western powers whose opinion of Jewish immigration was summarized as “None is too many,” had suddenly transformed themselves into the Jewish people’s best friends. We were not, however, supposed to wonder about their change of heart. It was a taboo to ask: Did the Western powers establish Israel simply as a destabilizing influence in the Middle East, so as to facilitate the continuation and deepening of imperialist exploitation in that region? It was a taboo to ask: Did the Western powers exploit the Holocaust to further their own agenda in the Middle East? It was a taboo to ask: Were the Jewish people doubly victimized, first by the Nazis, and then by the Western powers?

9 comments:

pilgrimchick said...

Well, since "history" isn't a very popular subject in schools--in fact, it is generally devalued and even ignored--the idea of examining the whys and the hows behind tragedies like 9/11 is almost entirely out of the American mindset. Our news reports "what happened" but rarely examines the "how did this happen and why did this happen" element that, for example, can be readily seen in British news. Perhaps it is because American attention spans are at the level of the average small insect.

andrewtungsk said...

I have come to the realisation that we live in a world of lies.
http://allaboutlies.livejournal.com

deadcrab said...

Pretty insightful...really made me think...a tad depressing to read at the start of the weekend, but a worthy piece of writing nonetheless :P

D said...

AS SOMEONE THAT WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET A "REAL" EDUCATION NOT JUST SOMEONE PREPARING FOR TESTS, I WAS HAPPY TO READ A WELL WRITTEN, THOUGHT OUT POST. MANY YOUNGER PEOPLE TODAY, EVEN IN COLLEGE, ARE UNAWARE OF WHICH AMERICAN PRESIDENT GOT US INTO VIETNAM, THE 3 LEVELS OF GOVT, ETC. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT THOSE READING YOUR POST USE A SEARCH ENGINE TO DISCOVER WHAT YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT AND HOW MUCH IT AFFECTS THEM AND THE REST OF THE WORLD.

ironhorse said...

after WWI the league of nations put the british in charge of palestine. the jews had their own internal zionist movement which the british opposed. After WWII there were jewish refugees wandering around europe that no country wanted, period. take it from there by watching the old movie 'Exodus," or, even better, read "tales of love & darkness," by amos oz.

Patrick Crowhurst said...

I think what you say is entirely true. As I have come to know the world as it really is, rather than as I thought it was in high school, I have realized that American education is equally propagandist to anything else in the world one might encounter, primarily through the subtle, yet powerful use of omission.

On an aside, I think your argument about the exploitation of the Israeli state might be strengthened by the consideration that the Western Cultures were sending the Jewish people to a home both far from the Western states (and thus lessen the chance of influencing or undermining the Christian authority) and also in an area that would keep the Jewish body from being able to significantly prosper due to the pre-existing regional dominion of Islam, the followers of which could be counted on to oppose both the soveriegnty and economic success of the new Jewish state.

I think in view of this post, half of the American public would call you anti-american for your suggestion that the U.S. could possibly have done anything to provoke the acts of 9/11, while the other half would call you anti-semitic for using the context of the Holocaust to further your argument.

Good luck against that.

David Stephen Ball-Romney said...

Some 'conspiracy theorists' might think of 911 as our "burining of the Reichstag" event. Others were merely hoping for more national unity, like after Pearl Harbor.

But I disagree with your contention because plans for a "state of Israel" had been on the drawing board for a very, very long time!

ancientgreekreborn said...

A refreshing analysis coming from the Americas. It's about time Americans took their rose-colored glasses off, rise above the propaganda served to them in every sort of manner and look at the cold, hard truth. A truth, we, in Europe have known and discussed for years now, with no hope of being heard by those that truly matter: the American public.
Anti-American? No way! I am PRO-American! I want every single American to know the truth about where their government is leading them and make informed decisions.

Naj said...

Check this out What Israel knew before 911