The Real Terror

When the US announces a policy such as pre-emptive war, it doesn't ring out in the world as strength and resolve, it comes across rather as a threatening articulation of empirical global rule. This is the real terror that is igniting, not extinquishing, the so called war on terror. If we want to truly fight the war on terror, we must change the image of America. If the US is perceived as controlling and tyrannical, this will only reinforce the already negative view much of the world has of us.

One way to difuse this problem is through cultural exchange. Currently, there is an exhibition of Islamic art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Do the politicians in power recognize the significance of this? Do you think the Islamic political leaders are aware of this? And what if they were?

What if this exhibition were used as a platform for initiating dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures. What if art could be a mechanism for resolving human differences, healing wounds and misunderstandings that ultimately lead to war.

As William Burroughs said, "Weapons that change consciousness could bring the war game into question."