Old Feelings in the New World

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CBS

Letterman consoles an emotional Dan Rather

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This is an amazing declaration of ignorance. Did Dan of Afghanistan not know that Islamic fundamentalists, and a few Muslims not that fundamental, have been peeved at certain aspects of our foreign policy — at the installation and support of a corrupt government in Iran for 25 years before the clerics overthrew it; at our repeated bombing of Iraq, long after the Gulf War, and our insistence on sanctions that have come close to starving its people; at our arming of Afghanistans Mujahedeen rebels (and Osama bin Laden) against the Soviets, with the subsequent and continuing devastation of that country? None of these policies come close to justifying the murder of blameless New Yorkers; but Rather could have listed these grievances without endorsing them. Instead, he fell back on a simplified, Hollywood characterization of these enemies of the U.S.: that militant Muslims are Jason, Freddy and Hannibal Lecter.

Perhaps Rather knew the answer to Lettermans question; he may have been reluctant to be seen imputing reason, any reason at all, to the killers of 7,000 Americans. But in our five stages of national grief, we cant stay forever in the modes of denial and anger. We need first to recognize that we are part of a diverse, sometimes dangerous world, and then to learn some tough, often ambiguous facts about the other peoples in it, especially those that are our enemies.

In such dark days, an embrace of popular culture, of the past or the faraway, may seem its own form of denial. But movies, theater, books ought to mean more than ever now, because they can offer two essential functions: escape and insight. Escape: To lose oneself, for a few hours, in a freshly told story — in the fantasy of someone elses misery or triumph — is prime therapy for the grieving. Thats why, according to some reports, the most popular video rentals lately have been romantic comedies.

Insight: To gain understanding of a distant, exotic people certifies our membership in a world as varied as Iran is from Iowa, or as you are from me. The value of a festival like Toronto, which shows more than 300 films, is to open that world to moviegoers whose view of human experience usually comes from the conference rooms and poolsides of Southern California. But you can create your own festival of classic and foreign films by visiting any of the savvier video stores.

An awareness of things that preceded us and surround us is not a diversion from reality. It is essential to our social and emotional education. We have to look back, because we are the sum of the people and events that came before us; as George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." And we have to look around — beyond ourselves, beyond our aesthetic and political complacency — because we are not the world, just a part of it. Its a small thing to delve into old musicals and seek out foreign films, but it is part of the journey any thinking, feeling person ought to take. Our education must never end. Cultural history, political geography: we cant leave these subjects in our school days. They still have so much to teach us. Even now; especially now.

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