The
caveman obeyed the law of the jungle, where survival depended on being
strong enough to take what you needed.
As we evolved we developed the ability to discern right from wrong,
to reach out in compassion and help others, to nurture and protect the
weak and vulnerable, and to respect the environment that provides our
unique habitat. But we are the
sum total of our experiences, and we still have caveman urges.
In the 21st century those urges are kept in check by our finer
instincts, by social pressures to behave in a certain way, and by the fear
of discovery and punishment, but the caveman is always looking for a way
out. When we get an
inflated sense of our own power and invincibility, or when we feel a sense
of injustice, he emerges, wielding his club and ready to take what he
wants.
Over recent years a sense of injustice has grown in disaffected young
Muslims. They felt that the
West had fallen into decadence and was inflicting its way of life on
Islamic states. Greed and lack
of moral judgement spread to more and more levels of western society, and
leaked into the Middle East along with our US dollars, music and fast
foods as we slaked our thirst for oil.
Muslim cavemen, enraged and self-righteous, emerged and attacked
the United States on September 11, 2001.
Western caveman responded, seeking to destroy his enemy, which he
identified as Al-Qaeda. In
fact, this mission was relatively successful, and Al-Qaeda if not
completely destroyed was considerably weakened.
Unfortunately, however, President Bush chose not to differentiate
between actual terrorists and those who harboured them, and having dealt
with Al-Qaeda he thought he could destroy the ruling regime in
Afghanistan, The Taliban, and replace it with democratic government.
Even more unfortunately, he chose to take a side-swipe at his old
enemy Saddam Hussein, although Iraq had no involvement with the attacks on
US soil.
Bush launched what he called a crusade against terrorism, which was seen
in the Middle East as a renewal of The Crusades, when Christian Europe
waged war on Islam in an attempt to seize control of the Holy Lands.
Ordinary Muslims everywhere, whilst not condoning the Al-Qaeda
attacks, became alarmed. Western
invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan seemed to prove the point;
this crusade was about territory and oil, and the harder America pushed,
the harder became the resistance movement.
The West was now engaged in a costly and unwinnable war.
Lessons of Vietnam had been forgotten.
The experiences of British invasions of Afghanistan in the
nineteenth century were ignored, as were the invasion and failed
occupation of Afghanistan by Soviet troops in the late twentieth century.
Since 2001 we have allowed ourselves to be dominated by cavemen.
It is time to reclaim our rich heritage of evolution, starting with
rational thought. The West has
no right to exert influence in Middle Eastern countries, whether
commercial, political or military, and should withdraw its troops and
oilmen. Time apart is needed
before both sides can begin to learn to trust each other again.
Conflict in the Middle East will remain, between different tribal
factions and different religions, but those conflicts need to be resolved
locally. There is no role for
the West unless she is invited to act as mediator.
Meanwhile, the two sides would do well to look to their own agendas.
It is not helpful that some Muslims claim to want to convert the
world to Islam. It is not
helpful that the USA continues to lend support to Israel.
And it is not helpful that the West has such an urgent and
desperate need for Middle East oil, because the caveman will always find
justification to take what he wants.
Climate change already has a high political profile, but the issue is
usually looked at in isolation. To reduce carbon emissions the world has
to reduce the use of fossil fuels, but not only can this slow the rate of
global warming, it will also defuse the tension in the Middle East.
Without oil revenues, without the muscle of superpowers to call on,
the various tribal factions will have to learn to live together, as they
did for centuries in the past. Without
oil the Middle East will cease to be the most politically sensitive place
in the world, so let’s turn our backs on fossil fuels and embrace
renewable energy. Beat your
weapons into wind turbines, Mr President.
Of course, watching a windmill isn’t very exciting for the caveman, he
would rather wear a big hat, drill holes in the earth’s crust, and watch
the oil gush forth. But it’s
time for the caveman to go back to sleep in his cave whilst we remember
all those other things we can do.
© Harvey Tordoff
Nov 2009
|