Justice and Trauma: Reflections on Terrorism and Empire

W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 43 Nor can one be engaged in constructive peace-building without alliances in solidarity with those who are suffering the direct impact of systematic violence, whether it is the violence of an unjust prison system or the weight of occupation. Those who enjoy economic, spiritual, and political privilege in a network of relationships cannot create a solution on their own. They must rely on the vision and efforts of those who suffer the pangs of systemic injustice to articulate the way forward. This insight is crucial to the work of healing and reconciliation. Frederick Douglass wrote: “This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one, or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand . It never did and it never will.” Gandhi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rabbi Michael Robinson z”l,andthousandsofotherpractitionersofnonviolencehavealso taught us that waging peace inevitably leads to nonviolent direct action.Whenpeoplestrugglingforhumanrightsattempttogain thoserightsthroughofficialchannelsandfail,activistswillturnto boycotts, sit-ins, freedom rides, strikes, and other forms of direct action. It is this kind of pressure, and not moral persuasion or armed struggle, that leads those who hold power to change. When the status quo becomes too costly to maintain, those at the grassroots, and their allies, can hold out for their demands. Only then can the process of true reconciliation begin. During this phaseofstruggleandmovementbuilding,solidarityactivistsand allies must also shift their tactics. Knowing how to be a solidarity activist is one of the most important aspects of doing the work of tikkun olam. ■ P olitical struggles marked by long histories and extensive violence are founded along two dimensions: justice and trauma. In the dimension of justice, we work to defeat the accumulated power of the oppressor and use concepts like comrade and enemy, our side against their side, winning and losing. We ask, “What must be done to overthrow thepowerfulinfavoroftheirvictims?”Herewearenotconcerned withthefateoftheoppressor.Ifmakingsocietymorejustbothers corporations accustomed to polluting without penalty, third world dictators who shoot union leaders, or imperialists destroying native cultures, so much the worse for them. In the second dimension we find mutual trauma: histories of collective antagonism, victimization, and deep loss without a clear division between oppressor and oppressed. In this dimension a too simple view of either side’s moral standing usually engendersnewinjustice,withthetraumasofviolencereproduced fromonegenerationtothenext.Hereweimplore:“Tellmeabout your pain, and please listen to mine.” We try to remember that peopleonbothsidescarrypainfulmemoriesandurgentfearsthat distorttheirperceptionofthemselvesandothersandmay lead to collective violence. Here we dare to hope that greater understanding of our common suffering might bring us together in a way that will allow us and our descendents to live without continuing carnage.Weseeknotvictorybutreconciliation—and, possibly, forgiveness. Thefailuretorecognizethewaybothjusticeandtraumashape violent social conflict is reflected in many responses to terrorism that focus solely on the aggression of the terrorists or the history of American imperialism. When this happens we may see only reasonless violence, perceiving terrorists as religious fanatics who kill innocents simply because of a maniacal hatred (as if fighters for al-Qaida or Hezbollah grew up without history), or perceiving U.S. actions as the soulless machinations of a Machiavellian American Empire whose foot soldiers could not really believe they are defending theircountryorfeeltrulythreatenedbytheriseofMuslimhostility to the United States. In both cases we will have failed to take into account the irrationalities to which trauma can give rise— traumas such as the psychological effects of a catastrophe like September 11, the ongoing presence of a foreign power on one’s soil, or the looming threat of secret bombs on airplanes or the world’s most powerful air force. The bureaucratic violence of JusticeandTrauma: ReflectionsonTerrorismandEmpire byRogerS.Gottlieb RogerS.GottliebisprofessorofphilosophyatWorcesterPolytechnicInstitute,contributingeditorforTikkun,andauthorofA Greener Faith: Religious EnvironmentalismandourPlanet’sFuture,andthe(forthcoming)EngagingVoices:TalesofMoralityandMeaninginanAgeofGlobalWarming. Visitwww.tikkun.org for an expanded treatise on trauma andjustice by Roger S. Gottlieb. 44 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 25 YEARS OF TIKKUN 25 YEARS OF TIKKUN empire may seem a stark contrast to the monstrosities of...