The destruction of the World Trade Center by terrorists, felt so personally by so many Americans, should teach us all that the killing of innocent people for political ends is always wrong.  Unfortunately, the leaders of the US, the UK, and Israel (just to single out a few examples) have come to a different conclusion:  that one unjustified killing should lead to another.  Such a policy can lead only to war and barbarism.

I have been struck by the extent to which even those who support the war feel the need to resort to euphemism when referring to the terrorist attacks of September 11.  I heard E.J. Dionne, an otherwise hard-boiled political analyst, give a talk in which he referred to these attacks only as “the events.”  The most common formulation I have heard has been “the tragedy” or “tragedies.”

At first I thought these usages were a case of political correctness run amok.  After all, these really were terrorist attacks on innocent people, so why not call them that?  However, I think there is something to the idea that these events constitute a tragedy.  Tragedy, let us remember, is not simply something that is very sad; it is a specific art form, in which an otherwise sympathetic protagonist is destroyed because of his or her fatal flaw.  A villain may be the instrument of that destruction, and is fully to blame for his or her actions; but that blaming does not keep up from seeing the flaw.

Goneril and Regan are horrible toward Lear; but ultimately, his destruction results from his obsessive need for effusive professions of love.   Iago is one of the most disgusting characters ever to cross the stage; but Othello falls because he cannot control his destiny.

The destruction of the World Trade Center was fully tragic. The act of villainous fanatics, whom the world has rightly condemned, it stemmed nevertheless from Americans’ abiding willingness to turn a blind eye as our government massacred innocents and propped up dictators around the world.  Whatever the outcome of the present war, the problem will not be solved until we who are Americans open both eyes, confront what has been done in our name, and force fundamental change in our government’s policies.

An editorial by John C. Berg, adapted from my introduction to the reviews section of New Political Science, volume 24, no. 1 (March 2002)..  Your comments are invited.