NORMAN MANEA
205
this will happen in Afghanistan, as well, to speed up drastic social and
political change.
So many people who try to understand and accept the terrible habits
and deeds of closed societies in faraway countries and civilizations
should also try
to
understand the contradictions and conflicts, the errors
and disasters of a free society. It would also mean, in the end, under–
standing the unsettling potential of human beings-not only elsewhere,
but here, in our proximity, at the core of modernity.
EK: What about America's so-called guilt?
NM: Political errors and new options should be discussed more and more
in the near future in relation to the premise, cause, and consequences of
the September
I I
terrorist attacks. This must be an open and self-critical
discourse of a sort that is unthinkable in the terrorists' countries of origin.
An American military victory alone would mean another huge diver–
sion. The events of September
I I
should force us all
to
rethink major
questions about ourselves and the national and international social–
political environment.
As much as I hope for a serious debate on this matter,
I
must confess
that I sometimes find myself stupefied by the scandalously frivolous
old/new anti-capitalist and anti-American slogans. They seem
to
say,
"The attacker is always perfect." The victim, in this case America, has
taken the guilt upon itself, has done regrettably bad things, so we should
blame it for its imperfections.
We should not forget that we are under attack by the brutality and
barbarism of a deluded enemy, for whom human life does not count and
who can rely on fellow believers and other extremist ideologies. The
threats from the centers of the fanatic, mystic, murderous hate are a
serious danger
to
the entire free world. This is a fact we should no
longer allow ourselves to ignore.
I would hope, as I already said, for much more than an American mil–
itary victory. What we all expect is a more secure and open world, a
change for the better-which means a lawful and fair society-in some
of th e Islamic and underdeveloped countries, an enhanced democracy in
many other places as well as here at home. America should do its best
in this direction. I do hope this will be the case. Otherwise this unusual
battle may result, in the end, in another trivialization of tragedy.
Translated from the German
by
Eric Grunwald
and Edward Kanterian
