[Cultural Critique] Holy War to What End?

The engine noise of a helicopter that almost rips the ear-drum, the harsh noise of bombings from the headquarters on things helplessly stretched out on the ground, and the resonating sound of Wagner`s `Ride of the Valkyries`. With a majestic concerto made up by a combination of all these noises in the background, the strenuous motion of the helicopters` wings and the dark-red sparks of the bombings covered the entire ground. This reflects a spine-chilling lunatic scene in the movie produced by Francis Ford Coppolla, `The Apocalypse of Hell` where it shows how people shatter human lives, hunt them down, and enjoy war. This movie is a reflection on the 20th century humankind stained with horrendous slaughters and destruction.

However, the Palestinians along with several people in the surrounding nations rejoiced over the terror that struck the heart of America on September 11th, a violent crime where even the number of casualties is as of yet undetermined. Young Muslims are lining up to volunteer and put their life on the line in order to fight against America, while young Americans are enlisting in the army to avenge.

We however still remember the year 1991. When the Gulf War broke out, people gathered around the TV every night at 9pm to watch the mini-series `The Gulf War` a program with a huge production cost. The suffering and deaths of people on the combat field were less of a concern for them. People hollered each time a modern killing weapon accurately hit its target, and along with the shattering of buildings crumbled the hope for humankind.

The two world wars, the Jewish massacre, along with mass murders here and there, and the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are all sins that cannot be condoned. These were sins committed by human beings, who, after having been greatly empowered by the progress of scientific knowledge, have failed to regulate such power. Each time, they reflected on their actions, and made resolutions not to repeat such tragic acts.

However, there are those who support the suspect behind this terrorist attack, Osama bin Laden, and have proclaimed their intention to go to war with America. And then there are the American and UN armies who, under the slogan `Defending World Peace` have resolved to root out the terrorists. Both parties are preparing for what they call a `Holy War`. However, as has been the case with the wars of the past century, the holy water that has been sprinkled on this `Holy War` has already been contaminated with anger and hatred.

The pangs of the wars of the past century might not have been in vain. Even under a war-like situation of insanity, the view that advocates `a cautious approach` is gaining increasing support. There are the concerns that an attack on Afghanistan would serve as a warning signal for a prolonged period of terror and revenge, that America`s crusade war against terrorism could very well develop into a world scale war against the Islam nations, and that America`s attack may be a way of alluring America into a strategy that seeks to unite the Islam nations in the form of new terrorism...

We cannot be free from worry in view of the ample historical experiences we have where anger and hatred towards one another had rendered rational judgment impossible. The cost of the past-century wars is far too great to relive such experiences.

If there is indeed a `holy war` that needs to be fought, it is the holy war against `self-righteousness` that ultimately justifies violence by making one choose between submission and surrender under the name of concept, religion, ethnicity, and nation.

Kim Hyoung-Chan khc@donga.com