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hkellickThe timing of this is.. interesting. I picked up the book two weeks ago and only finished it two nights ago.
Inside the book near the end are a conversation between Arthur Penn, the President of the United States and Arnim Sandoval, a Osama Bin-Laden like terrorist.
I've reread this portion of the book a few times and I find that, by and large, I find it incredibly compelling.
And so I'd really like to share with you this portion of "One Knight Only" by Peter David.
(quote begins)
And the anger which Sandoval had been containing until that time finally kicked over the edge. "There are no innocent women! No innocent men! No innocent American people! The sooner you understand that, the sooner you'll comprehend the world you're faced with!"
*SNIPSNIP* (Yes, this is LITE commenting. No need to quote this. So.. I snipped some of it.)
Sandoval's arms were relaxed at his side as he started at Arthur and the others, but the tension in his voice belied the ease of his posture "There are no innocent Americans... because to be American means that you are part of the problem. It means you support the government that believes it can do whatever it wants, wherever and whenever it wants. A government that pretends to operate on behalf of the American people but is actually wholly catering to the interests of the same major corporations that are trying to worm their way into every part of the globe. A government so hypocritical that it pretends there is a separation of church and state, but is the only government to put declarations of religious fealty to its money. Do you have any concept of the sanctimony involved to put 'In God We Trust' on your currency... as if that automatically makes you automatically superior to every other civilized nation?"
"Civilized nations" growled Percival, "do not oppress their citizens."
"No" shot back Sandoval, "they just slaughter the indigenous people and take their land. They import people from a foreign land and sell them into slavery. They imprison thousands of their citizens on racial grounds after one of their harbors is bombed." He shook his head "Don't you comprehend that's why so many countries hate you? Because you live and breathe hypocrisy? Because in your arrogance you strut around as if the American way is the way, and every other inferior race on the planet is either with you or against you. You are hated because your citizens expect everyone else to speak English, or expect to find fast food restaurants in every country they visit. You are hated because your brands and business interests are slowly cleansing nations of their individuality, exerting influence over every aspect of day to date life. You are hated because poor people see the fat, rich American way of life flaunted in your movies and television programs and it sickens them because you continue to want more and more and more, and are never satisfied, while they have nothing and are expected to endure. You are hated because you sit in judgment of other countries as if you yourself don't have racism, or executions, or poverty. You are hated because you are no better than the least country in the world… but act as if you are the greatest. And as long as that incredible arrogance seeps from every pore of the skin of every American, you will be hated and targeted and destroyed."
The word rang out and then hung there for a long moment.
And then, very slowly, Arthur smiled "You forgot one."
*SNIPSNIPSNIP*
"One more reason America is so hated. That's all right, though… he's not the only one. Two hundred years ago it was such a given, such a taken for granted thing, that they clean forgot to put it into the U.S. Constitution until it was pointed out there might be others who don't take it for granted. So they put it in as an amendment, although they made it the first one out of deference to its importance."
"You forgot, Sandoval, how much America is hated for the very thing that you just did: the right to talk about all the things you hate about America. In America, you can talk about such things in newspapers, or in pamphlets, or on street corners, or on television, or shout it from the highest rooftops. And you can do so with impunity. You don't have to worry that the government is going to fine you or imprison you or cut your tongue out and execute you."
"Because when people are able to speak out without fear of repression, that's where ideas come from and change comes from. Yes, the indigenous people were slaughtered.. but not anymore. Yes, people were enslaved… but not anymore. Yes, Asian citizens were imprisoned… but not anymore. Practices and actions taken by the government and the people it represents are constantly changing, developing, growing as new thoughts and new ideas are presented. Sometimes they change in positive ways, sometimes negative, but they change. And change is good. Except it's not good to repressive governments. They fear change because change potentially means loss of control, and if they cannot control their people, then they fear the people will turn against them. So they hate and fear the United States because we represent the notion that change and free thought are positives, and they teach their people to hate and fear the United States because God forbid the people should get it into their heads that they should be able to think for themselves. Because if they did, they might start thinking about how their governments could be working to better the people instead of keeping them buried in fear and vicious traditions going back centuries."
"They hate and fear the United States because the United States was built upon ideas and a desire for freedom, and those are anathema to repressive societies. But ideas are not so easily extinguished. The people will find them and root them out, and to such governments, they believe they have to destroy the United States of America because they know they are on the clock. They know the longer our country exists, the greater the likelihood that their people will demand the right to determine their own destinies. And that's what they fear most of all."
Inside the book near the end are a conversation between Arthur Penn, the President of the United States and Arnim Sandoval, a Osama Bin-Laden like terrorist.
I've reread this portion of the book a few times and I find that, by and large, I find it incredibly compelling.
And so I'd really like to share with you this portion of "One Knight Only" by Peter David.
(quote begins)
And the anger which Sandoval had been containing until that time finally kicked over the edge. "There are no innocent women! No innocent men! No innocent American people! The sooner you understand that, the sooner you'll comprehend the world you're faced with!"
*SNIPSNIP* (Yes, this is LITE commenting. No need to quote this. So.. I snipped some of it.)
Sandoval's arms were relaxed at his side as he started at Arthur and the others, but the tension in his voice belied the ease of his posture "There are no innocent Americans... because to be American means that you are part of the problem. It means you support the government that believes it can do whatever it wants, wherever and whenever it wants. A government that pretends to operate on behalf of the American people but is actually wholly catering to the interests of the same major corporations that are trying to worm their way into every part of the globe. A government so hypocritical that it pretends there is a separation of church and state, but is the only government to put declarations of religious fealty to its money. Do you have any concept of the sanctimony involved to put 'In God We Trust' on your currency... as if that automatically makes you automatically superior to every other civilized nation?"
"Civilized nations" growled Percival, "do not oppress their citizens."
"No" shot back Sandoval, "they just slaughter the indigenous people and take their land. They import people from a foreign land and sell them into slavery. They imprison thousands of their citizens on racial grounds after one of their harbors is bombed." He shook his head "Don't you comprehend that's why so many countries hate you? Because you live and breathe hypocrisy? Because in your arrogance you strut around as if the American way is the way, and every other inferior race on the planet is either with you or against you. You are hated because your citizens expect everyone else to speak English, or expect to find fast food restaurants in every country they visit. You are hated because your brands and business interests are slowly cleansing nations of their individuality, exerting influence over every aspect of day to date life. You are hated because poor people see the fat, rich American way of life flaunted in your movies and television programs and it sickens them because you continue to want more and more and more, and are never satisfied, while they have nothing and are expected to endure. You are hated because you sit in judgment of other countries as if you yourself don't have racism, or executions, or poverty. You are hated because you are no better than the least country in the world… but act as if you are the greatest. And as long as that incredible arrogance seeps from every pore of the skin of every American, you will be hated and targeted and destroyed."
The word rang out and then hung there for a long moment.
And then, very slowly, Arthur smiled "You forgot one."
*SNIPSNIPSNIP*
"One more reason America is so hated. That's all right, though… he's not the only one. Two hundred years ago it was such a given, such a taken for granted thing, that they clean forgot to put it into the U.S. Constitution until it was pointed out there might be others who don't take it for granted. So they put it in as an amendment, although they made it the first one out of deference to its importance."
"You forgot, Sandoval, how much America is hated for the very thing that you just did: the right to talk about all the things you hate about America. In America, you can talk about such things in newspapers, or in pamphlets, or on street corners, or on television, or shout it from the highest rooftops. And you can do so with impunity. You don't have to worry that the government is going to fine you or imprison you or cut your tongue out and execute you."
"Because when people are able to speak out without fear of repression, that's where ideas come from and change comes from. Yes, the indigenous people were slaughtered.. but not anymore. Yes, people were enslaved… but not anymore. Yes, Asian citizens were imprisoned… but not anymore. Practices and actions taken by the government and the people it represents are constantly changing, developing, growing as new thoughts and new ideas are presented. Sometimes they change in positive ways, sometimes negative, but they change. And change is good. Except it's not good to repressive governments. They fear change because change potentially means loss of control, and if they cannot control their people, then they fear the people will turn against them. So they hate and fear the United States because we represent the notion that change and free thought are positives, and they teach their people to hate and fear the United States because God forbid the people should get it into their heads that they should be able to think for themselves. Because if they did, they might start thinking about how their governments could be working to better the people instead of keeping them buried in fear and vicious traditions going back centuries."
"They hate and fear the United States because the United States was built upon ideas and a desire for freedom, and those are anathema to repressive societies. But ideas are not so easily extinguished. The people will find them and root them out, and to such governments, they believe they have to destroy the United States of America because they know they are on the clock. They know the longer our country exists, the greater the likelihood that their people will demand the right to determine their own destinies. And that's what they fear most of all."
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-11 06:32 pm (UTC)He's a very compelling author. Funny, too.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-12 01:51 am (UTC)That said, I still really like that passage :)