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By Alan Cleveland:
A Letter from America
History is full of unifying moments. People with whom we might disagree on nearly everything from politics to religion, can, and occasionally do become allies where the more imminent threat comes from a single source that is more villainous than either of the others involved.
One example of this was on September 11, 2001. We watched the horror, but, we also saw the world rallying behind America. Praying for our resolve, offering their services, and sending out condolences. Sadly, due mostly to political ineptitude, what should have been a unifying moment for us, turned into an endless war where profits were made at the cost of insane amounts of carnage. And, those people who had been willing to give so much, ended up being dismissed to the wind of time. Our opportunity was lost.
Some might call it a conspiracy by the Military Industrial Complex, but I prefer to think of it as an abject shame. To have all of the favor of the entire world – and then to throw it away is not much of a conspiracy. It is far more related to ignorance than to some grand scheme.
You can look at a movie like Independence Day (which is a great title for the Kurds today) and see how these things are supposed to play out. A common enemy to all humanity comes out of the darkness, and has gripped the world in fear. Yet, everyone around the planet rallies together in order to defeat the horror that has come to annihilate them all. You see the ships falling from the sky all over the globe through the shared and applied knowledge of their weaknesses. And, at least for a single moment in time, no one is arguing about religion or politics, but rather they are united in the only thing that matters – the defense of life. Now, if I had written this story, you can be sure that it would not have ended there. Jumping forward in time 10, 20, or 50 years, I’m convinced that these people would probably be hating one another again. That’s just sort of how I see things. But, when it was most important, they were unified – and that’s a good story.
Today, as ISIL sits on your doorstep, I truly believe you are in a position to tap on the same type of unity as was apparent in the movie, and the same type of unity the United States had but lost shortly after 9/11.
Everyone I speak to is for you Kurdistan. You are in a blessed place to have the lion’s share of the world’s sympathy right now. You are recognized as a bastion of freedom in your region and everyone is aware of who your new neighbors are, and what they have on their minds for you. You have our ears, our thoughts, and our prayers – whether from the United States, Japan, Mexico, Germany, or nearly anywhere else around the world up to, and including Israel. Imagine that. And then realize that it is not imaginary, but, is in fact true. Whether Christian or Muslim, Jew or atheist, the whole of humanity is hoping for you.
There is no doubt in my mind that your ground is rich, and I’m not even thinking about oil. Thousands of years of ancient civilizations are just beneath your feet. Archaeological artifacts that scream to be evidence for all to see will inevitably be destroyed by the likes of ISIL as they attempt to eradicate history in the name of their own narrative. Hitler tried this in WWII as well. He’s dead and gone, and we’re still mad at him for everything he tried to hide or destroy.
We witnessed the Buddhas of Afghanistan being blown to pieces by the Taliban, and we screamed in horror! I’m no Buddhist, those are not idols for me, but, I enjoy antiquities. I’ve heard these same type of lunatics calling for the destruction of the Pyramids. We won’t have it! We won’t allow this! It is pure insanity to destroy ancient treasures.
ISIL has to be fought outside of Kurdish ground – the soil has to be protected, the water secured, and agriculture defended. There can be no more war here even as you’re still cleaning up land mines from the 1980s…. let the world help you back up onto your feet through whatever means – and, if this can unify a Muslim and a Jew for a moment in time – we might all refer to it as Independence Day.
