The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?
As we close in on the ten year anniversary of 9/11, I thought it was time to reread and reflect on Fareed Zakaria’s Magnum Opus, The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us? First published by Newsweek on Oct 15, 2001, this essay was hauntingly prescient. Over the last decade, many of us have directly observed this hate, and our country remains deeply embattled in the Middle East. As we look towards where we should go in the next decade, we must figure out where we have been. Fareed wrote,
“To the question “Why do the terrorists hate us?” Americans could be pardoned for answering, “Why should we care?” The immediate reaction to the murder of 5,000 innocents is anger, not analysis. Yet anger will not be enough to get us through what is sure to be a long struggle. For that we will need answers. The ones we have heard so far have been comforting but familiar. We stand for freedom and they hate it. We are rich and they envy us. We are strong and they resent this. All of which is true. But there are billions of poor and weak and oppressed people around the world. They don’t turn planes into bombs. They don’t blow themselves up to kill thousands of civilians. If envy were the cause of terrorism, Beverly Hills, Fifth Avenue and Mayfair would have become morgues long ago. There is something stronger at work here than deprivation and jealousy. Something that can move men to kill but also to die.”
Much more at Newsweek
