Poetic Terrorism

Poetic Terrorism. I came across this phrase years ago: Well before the U.S. popularized the term “terrorism” and contrived to create a “war on terror” that would find the U.S. as the most glaring example of that it claimed to be fighting. U.S. (British, Israeli ..) terror employed to fight terror which creates terror that requires employing U.S. (British, Israeli ..) terror to fight terror which …. .

I write this under the shadow of the Military Commissions Act - 2006. It is a call to resistance. Resistance to an America that is only the second nation in world history to make torture legal (Israel - our moral leader and model democracy - was first). Of course, other nations torture. They did not, however, codify it and make it law. And incidentally, does this now mean that “the rule of law” - by definition - means the rule of arbitrary and unaccountable treatment at the hands of an oligarchy?

How is one to respond to a “democracy” that legalizes torture, arbitrary detention etc.? Poetically? Many would argue otherwise. After all, doesn’t America really require a hard iron fist to its face? Repeatedly? Until it falls to its knees? (I write this without malice or hatred. It is written with love. I do not require you to understand.) The U.S. only understands violence, goes this line of thinking. Is that all one can do to respond to such a myopic nation?

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