Noble ideals blunted by stupidity

Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day! - President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), Independence Day

I saw the movie Independence Day with my friend Dan when it premiered in 1996. We both thought it was way too dumb and contrived for its own good and neither of us liked it. The speech above, recited by Bill Pullman as the President, just before the climactic battle of the movie, is often cited as a high point of the movie and I saw several mentions of it on the Internet (calling it inspirational) over the 4th of July holiday a few weeks back.

While discussing the movie, Dan cited the speech as particularly bothersome to him. I didn’t fully understand why it bothered him at the time, but with age and the events of the last eight years, understanding has dawned.

The first part of the speech, about how mankind (or what’s left of it) can no longer be consumed by petty differences makes sense given the events of the movie (or anytime really). The end is good as kind of a “hell no we won’t go” cry of defiance against the aliens. It’s the section on fighting for our freedom that’s problematic.

“Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist.”

The American Revolution, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the event that inspired the Independence Day holiday, was not about the survival of Americans; the British weren’t exterminating Americans. The Colonists were fighting for independence from Great Britain to secure their rights, universal human rights they felt were being violated by England. The colonists could have chosen to live as they were, safe and secure under British rule. But they viewed the cost of their rights as too high a price to pay. The Declaration of Independence and the Revolution was a recognition that some rights are worth dying for.

This concept is distilled most succinctly in the slogans, “Live Free or Die!” and “Give me liberty, or give me death.” and even the more recent refrain “Better dead than red.” These may be overused slogans, but they represent a sophisticated political and moral idea: that without freedom, life isn’t worth living.

In the speech in ID4, the President takes this concept and reduces it to the less noble matter of pure survival. The sacrifice of life for the liberty of others is too noble an ideal to be equated with mere survival. Every creature on Earth will fight (with varying success obviously) to survive. Fighting to survive is something that requires no intellect, no political philosophy, no moral decision. It’s the base instinct of everything that lives. The President’s speech rallies the ragtag air force he’s put together, but insults American ideals in the process.

Over the last eight years, we’ve seen this very issue played out in front of us. Many, many people were so shocked and frightened by the events of 9/11 and the Administration’s subsequent fear mongering, that they were willing to give up their rights for perceived security. Long terrorist “watch lists”, labeling anyone unpatriotic who didn’t agree with the government, suspension of habeas corpus, warrantless wiretapping, indefinite detention of unconvicted persons, torture of prisoners - all of these were accepted and even applauded by those who don’t value their liberty enough to fight for it when things are bad. I have been distressed to discover how many Americans would rather be perceived safe than actually free.

The other frustrating thing about the last eight years is that as portrayed by the Administration, the choice between liberty and security is a false choice. The Bush Administration made it a zero sum question. You either got security, which entailed limitations on rights, or you were at risk and the terrorists won. That’s wrong.

We can stop terrorism without giving up our rights. We can stop terrorism without bowing to barbarism and treating our prisoners (none of whom have actually been tried and convicted) in violation of international and moral standards. We can be safe and still safeguard our most cherished beliefs.

This is a timely question that Americans must ask of themselves. Is liberty worth dying for? Are my civil rights and the rights of others worth the risk of being killed in a terrorist attack?

I would answer yes to both questions. I would rather uphold our principles of freedom and take the risk of potential terrorist attacks than lose the very essence of what makes us Americans. If we lose who we are in the face of Al Qaeda’s attack, then Al Qaeda has won. They can’t possibly destroy us. What they can do is to scare us enough so that we give up who we are.

In Pixar’s excellent movie, Wall-E, the Captain of the Axiom understands the concept and states it plainly to the Autopilot as they discuss whether or not to return to Earth.

AUTO: Sir, orders are do not return to Earth.

CAPTAIN: But life is sustainable now. Look at this plant. Green and growing. It's living proof he was wrong.

AUTO: Irrelevant, Captain.

CAPTAIN: What? It's completely relevant. Out there is our home. *HOME*, Auto. And it's in trouble. I can't just sit here and-and-do nothing. That's all I've ever done! That's all anyone on this blasted ship has ever done. Nothing!

AUTO: On the Axiom, you will survive.

CAPTAIN: I don't want to survive. I want to live.

That’s a statement the Founders would understand. It’s why they fought and why they sacrificed. In these days of fear, we would do well to remember that.