By James Gordon
It’s been some time since people have used words like progressive and thoughtful to describe Jean Chrétien. His remarks about Western greed and the growing gap between the world’s rich and poor in a CBC interview regarding 9/11 were both, and his performance was a welcome departure for the coy, evasive prime minister we have come to know in these years of Liberal dominance.
Others have been less enthusiastic. Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper immediately reacted with adjectives like “shameful” and “shocking.” Right-wing political pundits south of the border branded the prime minister an uncaring socialist, and while George Bush probably still considers him plainspoken, he might be reconsidering his assertion that Chretién would make a good Texan.
The controversy surrounds comments made by Chrétien in July for a documentary aired on September 11. In it, he made reference to some of the “root causes” of global unrest and terrorism, namely the growing gap between the world’s rich and poor and Western dominance and insensitivity.
The following day the prime minister was blasted. Even former prime minister Brian Mulroney tossed in his two cents.
“The root causes of terrorism are terrorists,” said Mulroney. “It is simply a choice between right and wrong, between good and evil, and Prime Minister Chrétien should know this.”
Unfortunately, Mulroney’s and others’ ability to take a complex issue and chop it down to such a simplistic statement is the primary reason some people are now afraid to examine the deeper issues related to Sept. 11.
The root causes of terrorism may be terrorists, as Mulroney asserts, but what then are the causes of terrorists?
It’s no secret that the motive behind the terrorists’ actions was disillusionment with the West. The prime minister was not justifying the attacks or “blaming the victim,” as so many have said. He was stating what the terrorists believed the justification to be.
Simple common sense tells us that the world’s poor look upon the West (and Chrétien was careful not to single out the United States) as “arrogant, self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits.”
Some point to the terrorists’ backgrounds to refute the theory that poverty was a contributing factor. Indeed, they may have been jetting around and staying in upscale apartments while planning their attacks, but it’s important to keep in mind that their safe-haven was the poorest country in the world.
This is not to say that the Western attitude is the reason the towers fell. There are many issues such as religious fanaticism that are not so easily examined, and they had more to do with the attacks than anything. That doesn’t mean other causes are off-limits for examination.
It has been one year, and enough time to start thinking critically about what happened on September 11. Jean Chrétien showed courage and took a big step by addressing a touchy subject, and thankfully he stuck to his statements in a speech to the United Nations shortly afterwards. While it is important to consider the shaky state of the Western psyche at this time, frank, honest discussion will be the only way find a true solution to the problem of terrorism.