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'War on terrorism' and deep culture
1Department of Psychiatry and Centre for Peace Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. joanna@web.net
Medicine, Conflict, and Survival
|June 5, 2003
Summary
The US reaction to 9/11 terrorism, unlike daily preventable deaths, stems from a "deep culture" valuing American lives over others. This culture promotes retaliation rather than exploring non-violent solutions.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Political Science
- Cultural Studies
Background:
- The disproportionate reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks compared to daily preventable deaths globally.
- The need to understand the cultural underpinnings of national responses to tragedy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the cultural factors influencing the intense US reaction to the 9/11 attacks.
- To contrast this reaction with the limited response to widespread preventable deaths.
- To explore the role of American 'deep culture' and its impact on foreign policy and human value perception.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of cultural myths and their influence on societal reactions.
- Comparative analysis of responses to different types of mass death events.
- Examination of the 'frontiersman' myth and its implications for US foreign policy.
Main Results:
- The US "deep culture," rooted in the frontiersman myth, dichotomizes the world into "winners" and "losers."
- This cultural framework devalues non-US lives, leading to a focus on retaliation against perceived "enemies."
- The cultural predisposition favors violent responses, overshadowing consideration of non-violent alternatives.
Conclusions:
- The cultural mythos of the American frontiersman significantly shapes national responses to international incidents.
- This cultural lens perpetuates a cycle of violence by prioritizing retribution over empathy and alternative conflict resolution.
- Addressing preventable deaths requires a cultural shift away from ethnocentrism and towards a universal valuation of human life.