I’m an autumn. That’s according to my wife, who had her colors done and, after unsuccessfully urging that I do the same, pronounced that I’m best when clad in the earth tones — light browns, deep greens, other hues along the drab spectrum. She didn’t use the word "drab," but I’m comfortable with it. I’m no Tom Wolfe, buttoned up in a white double-breasted suit with a florid handkerchief in the pocket and florid prose on the page. A style a bit more restrained, closer to the earth, better fits me. As does an acknowledgment that winter, inevitably, will come.
It’s my season, then, and I have a few words to say. But first, today’s news. I write this on Sept. 12, a day after the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and the accompanying media barrage. Words from President Bush should not be forgotten in the clutter. I wouldn’t call them autumn thoughts. "The war is not over," Bush said about Iraq, "and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious."
Our president, often described as the leader of the free world, seemed to be pouring oil on the flames of his conflict with enemies abroad. He said Islamic radicals seek to build an empire "where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations."
And he labeled his war on terrorism "the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century."
Let’s ponder this for a moment. What, exactly, does it mean to "emerge victorious" from an "ideological struggle"? Does it imply that we must convert everyone to our way of thinking before the battles end?
In my springtime, on a college campus, I could debate late into the night for such a victory. But I don’t recall winning everyone over to my side of the argument. Perhaps I could have put them, one at a time, into a choke hold until they all cried "Uncle!" — or "Freedom!" — but wouldn’t they have turned against me as soon as I let loose?
The fall guy in me rejects the notion that we’re in a them-or-us battle to the end. I see leaves beginning to drop from the trees, days shortening, the need to gather provisions for the solstice. In the heat of the summer we can stand alone in the night; the winter forces us to come in from the cold, where community carries us through a time of limited resources.
Wise men do not wage war in winter. They do not remain exposed to elements they’re less able to control. Desperate men do this — and ask it of others.
Wise men take stock of seasons past and ask: What have I learned?
I do not see a prospect of such reappraisal in President Bush or his inner circle. I see more flexible, realistic thinking in others — even, perhaps, in those we might call our enemies. Such a person is Sheik Hamza Yusuf, one of the most prominent American Muslim leaders. On that same morning after the fifth anniversary of 9/11 when Bush said it was us or them, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition aired a long segment about Yusuf, a Washington state native who converted to Islam as a teen and changed his name from Mark Hanson.
Once known for intolerant stands — he, for example, denounced Jews for their belief that they are God’s chosen people and, days before 9/11, declared that America stands condemned — Yusuf now speaks in a more measured voice. He says Muslims must "drive anti-Jewish rhetoric out our mosques, and out of our living rooms." And he preaches more coexistence among religions.
Yusuf takes exception to the characterization by Bush that the U.S. is "at war with Islamic fascists." The extremists Bush refers to, he says, though admittedly dangerous, are on the fringe of the Muslim world. "It’s not a dangerous ideology," he told Morning Edition. "It’s a pathetic ideology that’s been utterly a failure in the Muslim world."
Is it possible that Yusuf — and most in his faith — foresee a winter of discontent and seek some coming together of peoples now at odds with one another? Could it be that we — and our leaders — do not?
Yes, it’s autumn. The days grow shorter, and we must consider how to best weather the coming winter.
