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gave expression to the unreality of American daily [[life]], exemplified in the motel room: “American motels are unreal! … They are deliberately designed to be unreal. … The Europeans [[hate ]] us because we’ve retired to live [[inside ]] our advertisements, like hermits going into caves to contemplate.” </p><p></p> <p> The Wachowski brothers’ 1999 hit [[film ]] The [[Matrix ]] brought this [[logic ]] to its extreme climax: The [[material ]] [[reality ]] we all [[experience ]] and see around us is a [[virtual ]] one, generated and coordinated by a gigantic mega-computer to which we are all attached. When the hero, played by Keanu Reeves, awakens into the “real “[[real]] reality,” he sees a desolate landscape littered with burned ruins—what remained of Chicago after a [[global ]] war. The [[resistance ]] [[leader ]] Morpheus utters the ironic greeting: “Welcome to the desert of the real.”</p> <p> Was it not something of a similar [[order ]] that took [[place ]] in New York on [[September 11]]? As we were introduced to the “desert of the real,” the landscape and the shots we saw of the collapsing towers could only remind us of the most breathtaking scenes from innumerable Hollywood disaster movies. The unthinkable had been the [[object ]] of [[fantasy]]. In a way, America got what it fantasized [[about]], and this was the greatest surprise.</p>  <p> It is precisely now, when we are dealing with the raw reality of a catastrophe, that we should bear in mind the ideological and fantasmatic coordinates that determine its perception. If there is any symbolism in the collapse of the World Trade Center, it is not that the Twin Towers stood for capitalism per se, but of virtual capitalism, of financial speculations disconnected from the sphere of material production. The towers symbolized, ultimately, the stark separation between the digitized First World and the Third World’s “desert of the real.”</p> <p> The American sphere of safety is now experienced by its citizens as being under threat from an Outside of terrorist attackers who are ruthlessly self-sacrificing and cowards, cunningly intelligent and primitive barbarians. Whenever we encounter such a purely evil Outside, we should gather the courage to remember the Hegelian lesson: In this evil Outside, we should recognize the distilled version of our own essence. For the past five centuries, the (relative) prosperity and peace of the “civilized” West was bought by the export of ruthless violence and destruction to the “savage” Outside. It’s a long story, from the conquest of America to the slaughter in Congo.</p> <p> Cruel and indifferent as it may sound, we should also, now more than ever, bear in mind that the actual effect of these attacks is much more symbolic: In Africa, every single day more people die of AIDS than all the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and their deaths can and could have been easily minimized with relatively small financial means. The United States got a taste of what goes on around the world on a daily basis, from Sarajevo to Grozny, from Rwanda and Congo to Sierra Leone. If one adds to the situation in New York rape gangs and a dozen or so snipers blindly targeting people who walk along the streets, one gets an idea of what Sarajevo was like a decade ago.</p> <p> Now, we are forced to strike back, to deal with real enemies in the real world … but whom to strike? Whatever the response, it will never hit the right target, bringing us full satisfaction. The spectacle of America attacking Afghanistan would be just that: If the greatest power in the world were to destroy one of the poorest countries, where peasants barely survive on barren hills, would this not be the ultimate case of the impotent acting out? Afghanistan is already reduced to rubble, destroyed by continuous war during the past two decades. The impending attack brings to mind the anecdote about the madman who searches for his lost key beneath a street light; asked why he searches there, when he actually lost the key in a dark corner, he answers: “But it is easier to search under strong light!” Is it not the ultimate irony that Kabul already looks like downtown Manhattan?</p> <p> To succumb to the urge to retaliate now means precisely to avoid confronting the true dimensions of what occurred on September 11—it means an act whose true aim is to lull us into the secure conviction that nothing has really changed. The true long-term threats are further acts of mass terror in comparison to which the memory of the World Trade Center collapse will pale—acts less spectacular, but much more horrifying. What about biological warfare, the use of lethal gas or the prospect of DNA terrorism—the development of poisons that will affect only people who share a determinate genome? Instead of a quick acting out, one should confront these difficult questions: What will “war” mean in the 21st century? Who will be “them”?</p>

<p> There It is precisely now, when we are dealing with the raw reality of a partial truth catastrophe, that we should bear in [[mind]] the notion of a “clash of civilizations” [[ideological]] and attested here[[fantasmatic]] coordinates that determine its [[perception]]. Witness If there is any [[symbolism]] in the surprise collapse of the average American: “How [[World]] Trade Center, it is is it possible not that these people display and practice such a disregard the Twin Towers stood for [[capitalism]] per se, but of virtual for their own lives?” Is capitalism, of financial speculations [[disconnected]] from the obverse sphere of this surprise not material production. The towers [[symbolized]], ultimately, the rather stark sad fact that we, in [[separation]] between the digitized First World countries, find it more and the [[Third]] World’s more difficult even to imagine a public or universal cause for which one would be ready to sacrifice one’s life?“desert of the real.”</p> <p> But a brief look at the comparative history The American sphere of safety is now experienced by its citizens as [[being]] under [[threat]] from an [[Outside]] of Islam terrorist attackers who are ruthlessly [[self]]-sacrificing and Christianity cowards, cunningly intelligent tells us that and [[primitive]] barbarians. Whenever we [[encounter]] such a purely [[evil]] Outside, we should gather the “human rights record” (courage to use an anachronistic [[remember]] the [[Hegelian]] lesson: In this evil Outside, we should recognize the distilled version term) of Islam is much better than that of Christianity: In our own [[essence]]. For the [[past ]] five centuries, Islam was significantly more tolerant toward other religions the (relative) than Christianity. It prosperity and peace of the “civilized” West was through bought by the Arabs that, in the Middle export Ages, Western Europeans regained access of ruthless [[violence]] and [[destruction]] to the ancient Greek legacy“savage” Outside. It’s We are not dealing with a feature inscribed into Islam as suchlong story, but with from the outcome of modern socio-political conditions. This notion conquest of America to the “clash of civilizations” has to be thoroughly rejected: What we are witnessing today are rather clashes within each civilizationslaughter in Congo.</p> <p> IndeedCruel and indifferent as it may sound, we should also, every feature attributed to now more than ever, bear in mind that the Outside actual effect of these attacks is already present much more [[symbolic]]: In Africa, every single day more [[people]] die in of AIDS than all the very heart victims of the United States. Murderous fanaticism? What attacks on the World Trade Center about and the rightistPentagon, populist “fundamentalists” who also practice and their deaths can and could have been easily minimized with relatively small financial means. The [[United States]] got a terror taste of their ownwhat goes on around the world on a daily basis, legitimized by (their understanding of) Christianity? from Since America is in a way “harboring” themSarajevo to Grozny, should the Ufrom Rwanda and Congo to Sierra Leone.S. Army If one have punished its own country after adds to the Oklahoma City bombing? And what about the way Jerry Falwell [[situation]] in New York rape gangs and Pat Robertson reacted to the attacks on September 11, perceiving them as a sign that God had dozen or so snipers lifted his protection because of the sinful lives of Americans, putting blindly targeting people who walk along the blame on hedonist materialismstreets, liberalism and rampant one gets an sexuality, and claiming that America got [[idea]] of what it deserved?Sarajevo was like a decade ago.</p> <p> It is still too early Now, we are [[forced]] to strike back, to deal with real enemies in the real world … but whom to tell how strike? Whatever the events of September 11 will response, it be symbolized or what acts they will be evoked to justifynever hit the [[right]] target, bringing us [[full]] [[satisfaction]]. Even now, in these moments The [[spectacle]] of utmost tension, this link is not automatic America attacking Afghanistan would be just that: but contingent. We already see If the greatest [[power]] in the first bad omens, like world were to destroy one of the sudden poorest resurrectioncountries, in where peasants barely survive on barren hills, would this not be the public discourse, ultimate [[case]] of the old Cold War term impotent [[acting out]]? Afghanistan “free world”: The struggle is now the one between the “free world” already reduced to rubble, destroyed by continuous war during and the forces of darkness and terrorpast two decades. The question impending attack brings to be mind the anecdote about the madman who searches for his lost key beneath a street light; asked why he searches there, when he actually lost the key here in a dark corner, he answers: “But it is: Who then belongs easier to [[search]] under strong light!” Is it not the unfree world? Are, say, China or ultimate irony that Kabul already looks Egypt part of this free worldlike downtown Manhattan?</p> <p> The day after To succumb to the attacks, I got a message from a journal that urge to retaliate now means precisely to avoid was just about to publish a longer text confronting the [[true]] dimensions of mine what occurred on Lenin, telling September 11—it me that they decided means an act whose true aim is to postpone its publication—they considered it inopportune to publish a text on Lenin immediately after lull us into the secure conviction terrorist attacksthat [[nothing]] has really changed. Does this point toward ominous ideological rearticulations The true long-term [[threats]] are further [[acts]] of mass [[terror]] in comparison to comewhich the [[memory]] of the World Trade Center collapse will pale—acts less spectacular, with a new Berufsverbot (prohibition to employ radicals) but much stronger and more widespread than horrifying. What about [[biological]] warfare, the use of lethal gas or the prospect of DNA terrorism—the [[development]] of poisons that will [[affect]] only people who share a determinate genome? Instead of a quick acting out, one should confront these difficult questions: What will “war” mean in the Germany of 21st century? Who the ’70swill be “them”? </p>

<p> These days, one often hears There is a [[partial]] [[truth]] in the [[notion]] of a “clash of civilizations” attested here. [[Witness]] the phrase that surprise of the struggle average American: “How is now it possible that these people display and [[practice]] such a disregard for their own lives?” Is the one for democracy—true, but obverse of this surprise not quite in the way this phrase rather is usually meant. Already, some leftist friends of mine have written me sad fact thatwe, in these difficult momentsthe First World countries, we had better keep our heads down find it more and not push forward with our agenda. Against this temptation more difficult even to duck out the crisis, imagine a [[public]] or [[universal]] [[cause]] for which one should insist that now the left should would be ready to sacrifice one’s life?</p> provide <p> But a better analysis. To not do so is to concede in advance brief look at the left’s political comparative [[history]] of [[Islam]] and ethical defeat in [[Christianity]] tells us that the face “[[human]] rights record” (to use an anachronistic term) of acts Islam is much better than that of quite Christianity: In past genuine heroism on centuries, Islam was significantly more tolerant toward [[other]] [[religions]] than Christianity. It was through the part of ordinary people—like Arabs that, in the passengers Middle whoAges, in Western Europeans regained access to the ancient Greek legacy. We are not dealing with a model of rational ethical actionfeature inscribed into Islam as such, apparently overtook but with the hijackers and provoked outcome of modern socio-[[political]] [[conditions]]. This notion of the early crash “clash of the fourth plane over civilizations” has to be thoroughly rejected: PennsylvaniaWhat we are witnessing today are rather clashes within each [[civilization]].</p> <p> So what about Indeed, every feature attributed to the phrase that reverberates everywhere, “Nothing Outside is already [[present]] will be in the same after September 11”? Significantly, this phrase is never further elaborated—it’s just an empty gesture very heart of saying something “deep” without really knowing what we want to saythe United States. So our reaction to this phrase should be: ReallyMurderous fanaticism? Or is it rather that What about the only thing effectively changed was that America was forced to rightist, populist “fundamentalists” who also practice realize the kind a terror of world it is part their own, legitimized by (their [[understanding]] of) Christianity?</p> <p> Such changes Since America is in perception are never without consequencesa way “harboring” [[them]], since should the way we perceive our situation determines the way we act in itU.S. [[Army]] Recall have punished its own country after the processes of collapse of a political regime—say, Oklahoma City bombing? And what about the collapse of way Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson reacted to the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe. At a certain momentattacks on September 11, people all of perceiving them as a sudden became aware [[sign]] that God had lifted his protection because of the game was oversinful lives of Americans, that putting the Communists had lost. The break was purely symbolicblame on hedonist [[materialism]], nothing [[liberalism]] and rampant changed “in reality”—and[[sexuality]], nonetheless, from and claiming that moment on, the final collapse of the regime was just a question of days.America got what it deserved?</p> <p> What if something It is still too early to tell how the events of the same order did occur on September 11? will We don’t yet know be symbolized or what consequences acts they will be evoked to justify. Even now, in economythese moments of utmost tension, ideology, politics and war this event will have, but one thing link is sure: The United not automatic Statesbut [[contingent]]. We already see the first bad omens, whichlike the sudden resurrection, until nowin the public [[discourse]], perceived itself as an island exempted from this kind of violence, witnessing these kind of things only the old [[Cold War]] term from the safe distance of a TV screen, “free world”: The [[struggle]] is now directly involved. the one between the “free world” So and the forces of darkness and terror. The question is: Will Americans decide to further fortify their sphere, or risk stepping out of it? America has two choices. It be asked can persist in or even amplify its deeply immoral attitude of “Why should this happen to us? Things like this don’t happen here,” leading is: Who then belongs to even more aggression toward the Outside—just like a paranoiac acting out. Or America can finally risk stepping through the fantasmatic screen separating it from the Outside unfree world? Are, accepting its arrival say, China or into the desert Egypt part of the real—and thus make the long-overdue move from “A thing like this should not happen here” to “A thing like this should not happen anywhere!”free world?</p> <p> Therein resides the true lesson of The day after the attacks: The only way , I got a [[message]] from a journal that was just about to publish a longer [[text]] of mine on [[Lenin]], telling ensure me that it will not happen here again is they decided to prevent postpone its publication—they considered it from going on anywhere else. America should learn inopportune to humbly accept its own vulnerability as part of this world, enacting the punishment of those responsible as publish a sad duty, not as an exhilarating retaliation. Even though America’s peace was bought by the catastrophes going text on elsewhere, Lenin immediately after the predominant point of view remains that of an innocent gaze confronting unspeakable evil that struck from the Outsideterrorist attacks. Does this point toward ominous ideological rearticulations One needs to gather come, with a new Berufsverbot ([[prohibition]] to employ radicals) much stronger and more widespread than the courage to recognize that one in the seed [[Germany]] of evil is within us too.the ’70s? </p>

<p> In his campaign These days, one often hears the phrase that the struggle is now the one for democracy—true, but not quite in the way this phrase is usually meant. Already, some [[leftist]] friends of mine have written me that, in these difficult moments, we had better keep our heads down and not push forward with our agenda. Against this temptation to duck out the presidencycrisis, George Wone should insist that now the [[left]] should provide a better [[analysis]]. Bush named Jesus To not do so is to concede in advance the left’s political and [[ethical]] defeat in the face of acts of quite Christ as genuine heroism on the part of ordinary people—like the most important person passengers who, in his lifea [[model]] of [[rational]] ethical [[action]], apparently overtook the hijackers and provoked the early crash of the fourth plane over Pennsylvania. Now he has a unique </p><p> So what about the phrase that reverberates everywhere, “Nothing will be the same after September 11”? Significantly, this phrase is never further elaborated—it’s just an [[empty gesture]] of saying something “deep” without really [[knowing]] what we [[want]] to say. So chance our reaction to prove this phrase should be: Really? Or is it rather that the only [[thing]] effectively changed was that he meant America was forced to realize the kind of world it is part of?</p><p> Such changes in perception are never without consequences, since the way we perceive our situation determines the way we act in it seriously. For him[[Recall]] the [[processes]] of collapse of a political regime—say, the collapse of the [[Communist]] regimes in Eastern [[Europe]]. At a certain [[moment]], people all of a sudden became aware that the [[game]] was over, that the Communists had lost. The break was purely symbolic, nothing changed “in reality”—and, nonetheless, from that moment on, the final collapse of the [[regime]] was just a question of days.</p><p> What if something of the same order did occur on September 11? We don’t yet [[know]] what consequences in [[economy]], [[ideology]], [[politics]] and war this [[event]] will have, but one thing is sure: The United States, which, until now, perceived itself as for all an island exempted from this kind of violence, witnessing these kind of things only from the safe distance of a TV [[screen]], is now directly involved. So the question is: Will Americans todaydecide to further fortify their sphere, or risk stepping out of it? America has two choices. It can persist in or even amplify its deeply immoral attitude of “Why should this happen to us? Things like this don’t happen here, “Love thy neighbor” means “Love ” leading to even more [[aggression]] toward the MuslimsOutside—just like a [[paranoiac]] acting out.Or America can finally risk stepping through the fantasmatic screen separating it from the Outside world, accepting its arrival into the desert of the real—and thus make the long-overdue move from “A thing like this should not happen here” to “A thing like this should not happen anywhere!” Or </p><p> Therein resides the true lesson of the attacks: The only way to ensure that it means nothing at allwill not happen here again is to prevent it from going on anywhere else. America should learn to humbly accept its own vulnerability as part of this world, enacting the [[punishment]] of those [[responsible]] as a sad [[duty]], not as an exhilarating retaliation. Even though America’s peace was bought by the catastrophes going on elsewhere, the predominant point of view remains that of an innocent [[gaze]] confronting unspeakable evil that struck from the Outside. One [[needs]] to gather the courage to recognize that the seed of evil is within us too.</p>

http://www<p> In his campaign for the presidency, George W.inthesetimes[[Bush]] named [[Jesus]] [[Christ]] as the most important person in his life. Now he has a unique [[chance]] to prove that he meant it seriously. For him, as for all Americans today, “[[Love]] thy neighbor” means “Love the Muslims.” Or it means nothing at all.com/site/main/article/1588/