I think we should dump our mythology, religion and our attachment to the god of the Christians, and take up a new god—one more appropriate to our mind-set in this country. The god I would like to propose is Janus.
Janus was the Roman god of gates and doors, and is most often represented by a two-headed man facing in opposite directions. He is celebrated as both the embodiment of birth and death, backwards and forwards, harvest and planting, etc. etc. etc. During times of war, the door to his temple was open and invited all in to take comfort. In times of peace, it was closed, presumably because one did not need comfort and succor. In other words, he’s the perfect representation of our hypocritical culture.
When did we become such an ambiguous people? And why?
When I was growing up, (back in medieval times,) there was pretty much one direction your life should take: that of progress onwards and upwards. If you were poor, you wanted to be rich, if you were young, you wanted to be older. There was no benefit in being a child. Children had no rights, no responsibilities, no power. Those things were granted to adults, who were, presumably, going to act in your best interests by caring for you, seeing to it that you were fed, clothed, housed and educated. When you gained experience and years, and had made all your mistakes, you were granted these things as well, to pass along to your own children. So the progress was made, and the evolution of the species ensured. We were on a track that was headed into a future that would be better because every generation was going to be learning from the errors of the previous generations, and improving the odds of survival, adding to the collective intelligence, and health, and refining the civilization.
Yet somewhere, somehow, we stepped off this track and became hypocritical, two-faced, and the direction was lost.
Why is it okay for us to watch TV shows like “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and “Will and Grace”, but it’s not okay to be gay? Why do we cluck our tongues at unwed high-school girls who get pregnant, but we think it’s okay for film stars to have babies out of wedlock? How can we listen to rap and hip-hop, yet it’s somehow not all right to actually be black? How can we reject “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” but accept “weapons of mass destruction?” Why do we constantly complain about overweight Americans, but continue to buy and eat “The Ultimate Omelette Sandwich?” Why do we protest abortions, but refuse to provide for the homeless, the abused and the orphaned? How can we justify equal pay for equal work, still pay women two-thirds of what we pay men? How can we preach Christian words, but wage war and promote prejudice against those who are not Christian? Why do we pour trillions of dollars into the military-industrial complex, and neglect basic human needs?
What’s the problem with us? What happened to our ideals? Our focus? Our desire to live in a better, more civilized world?
During WWII, we waged war against an “evil” empire, who had taken it upon themselves to exterminate an entire ethnic population. Yet to end that war, we exterminated an entire ethnic population. We dropped a bomb on Hiroshima, on completely innocent civilians, wiping out the city. We didn’t see the dichotomy.
We didn’t see the irony. We didn’t see the hypocrisy. We still don’t. It set a precedent.
George Orwell was a prophet. This isn’t much disputed, even now. But his identification of the phenomena of “doublespeak” and “doublethink” are more poignant now than ever. “Peacekeeper Missiles.” “Operation Infinite Justice.” “War against Terrorism.” “Patriot Act.” “Homeland Security.”
From a White House press conference, October 2003:
“THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, it's a one-time expenditure, as you know. And, secondly, because a secure, a peaceful and free Iraq is essential to the security, the future security of America.
The first step was to remove Saddam Hussein because he was a threat, a gathering threat, as I think I put it. And, secondly, is to make sure that, in the aftermath of removing Saddam Hussein, that we have a free and peaceful country in the midst of a very troubled region. It's an historic opportunity. And I will continue to make that case to the American people. It's a chance to secure -- have a more secure future for our children. It's essential we get it right. “
From a BBC News report, July 19, 2005:
Nearly 25,000 civilians have died violently in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003, a report says. The dossier, based on media reports, says US-led forces were responsible for more than a third of the deaths. The survey was carried out by the UK-based Iraq Body Count and Oxford Research Group - which includes academics and peace activists.
So goes “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” So goes our future. Onward and upward into the furthest reaches of hypocrisy. Janus bless us.
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