LIFE, LOVE & TRUTH

George Orwell lived in a day of colossal empires, struggling over competing views of how to run the world. (Sound familiar?) In one of his great works, “1984,” he coined the propaganda phrase, “War Is Peace.”

“War is Peace” – More Than a Motto
Orwell cynically suggested that war is a constant, and will always be part of the human political equation. He implied that members of the intelligentsia – the political leaders who made policy decisions – were smarter than ordinary citizens. In fact, he concluded that “Big Brother” was best equipped to dictate everyone’s actions. While he wrote this book with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, there are people who believe that 1984’s fierce Machiavellian philosophy is right.

However, those believers aren’t here in America. They’re in Afghanistan, Iran and other areas of the Middle East, among extreme, autocratic regimes – most notably the Taliban and al Qaeda. These self-proclaimed “leaders” believe they know better than other Muslims (as well as non-Muslim infidels) how all of humanity should live. And they’re committed to ongoing jihad against anyone who dares to disagree with them. (”War is Peace?”)

This strong-arm approach might be OK for humans who’ve never tasted freedom and liberty. But for those of us accustomed to making decisions for ourselves, it seems horribly backward. Well, that’s because it is!

“Big Brother” Strategy – A Fatal Flaw
It’s backward not just because it sounds “wrong” to Western minds. More importantly, it’s backward because history isn’t a vicious “rinse-and-repeat” cycle, grinding around and around with different players acting out the same script. Instead, over time mankind moves forward – albeit with missteps and tangents along the way. Nevertheless, society “learns” from its mistakes and victories, and ultimately things improve. We make progress.

How Does the World Work? Two Views
Let’s examine two contrasting worldviews – the Hindu unending circle versus the modern scientific idea of evolution.

For Hindus, life is a perpetual repetition of what has already occurred in the world, and is destined to repeat itself in the future. One regime topples another, but the game remains the same. The cycle of life, death and rebirth continues unendingly. It looks the same because it IS the same – only with slight variations. Life is static until eventually we may reach Nirvana – or ultimate enlightenment. (Ironically, part of being enlightened is the realization that life’s cycles ARE all the same.)

On the other hand, there’s evolution. Modern science sees history through this lens – suggesting that life moves forward in space and time, with continuous improvement as the norm. Plants, animals and humankind are always better today than we were yesterday. It’s not just about biology, but also about society. For example, lives in Western civilization have clearly improved over the past millennium. The world is moving away from human slavery, indiscriminate torture and other social ills that once were accepted.

The Taliban Link
What does this have to do with terrorism in the Middle East? Everything. Cultures clash because they view the world from different lenses. For my part, I believe progress is inevitable. Although too often it seems imperceptibly slow – especially to naturally impatient humans.

Recently, The New York Times asked me to share my thoughts on the War in Afghanistan. I said I believe the Taliban are doomed because they stand on the wrong side of history. Let me expand on that now…

I don’t mean that the Taliban will simply stop terrorizing poor Afghans or killing NATO troops. That would be too much to hope for! (However, if any Taliban get a chance to read this, I hope you’ll put it to the test. Americans can be surprisingly forgiving!).

Afghanistan’s Choice
What I DO mean is this. Inevitably, Afghans will choose freedom rather than ongoing oppression. So eventually, the Taliban will lose. Some day, extreme, intolerant Islamic fundamentalism will be as popular as Nazism – because both depend on coercion and cruel tyranny to survive.

I also believe the Taliban will be defeated – whether NATO remains there or not.

I have no way to prove this hypothesis today. I simply believe it out of faith. I have faith because I believe in intelligence and virtue. And history shows that these human attributes tend to triumph over oppression.

When will it be Over?
Of course, I’m not naive enough to believe it will happen soon. It took more than 50 years to bring down the Berlin Wall. During that time, many Czechoslovakians, Germans, Poles and others died trying to throw off the yoke of the Soviet Union. They didn’t live to see the fruits of their labors, but communism eventually imploded of its own weight. I expect that one day North Korea will see a similar regime change, too – because an oppressive government cannot oppress its citizens indefinitely.

George Orwell wrote “1984” in 1948 – predicting a planet ruled by “Big Brother.” Fortunately for the world, his work of fiction remains a work of fiction. And for those who see oppression as a legitimate means to harness unyielding power, I suggest this: Change will come – and no one can stop it.

For those of us committed to tolerance and progress, this is good news.

Jeff

(To learn about how U.S. troops are providing humanitarian aid and protection to the oppressed people of Afghanistan, I invite you to read my book, “AFGHAN JOURNAL: A Soldier’s Year in Afghanistan.” Read an excerpt and reviews at the Afghan Journal website. Or order it at Amazon.com.)