NP: Postcard from LA

[Thomas Eckhardt]

"You picked a weird time to come to the US." my
temporary landlord in Los Angeles told me when I
arrived two weeks ago, just before the attacks on
Afghanistan began. True, but I'm in love with the
Pacific ocean and the beaches, it has turned out that
there are far more interesting places to be visited in
the LA region than I thought there would be, and the
people I meet are open and friendly. 

There are, of course, quite a lot of US-flags to be
admired around here, as I am sure there are everywhere
else in the country. Couldn't help but notice that the
number of flags in windows seems to grow significantly
in the more well-off communities. A false impression,
perhaps. As a German who would immediately start to
prepare for exile if his compatriots started to wave
the national flag I find these expressions of
patriotism in a way slightly amusing. I am also
wondering whether the flags and the omnipresent signs
of patriotism are not, on a deeper level of the
collective psyche, expressions of the same fear I am
feeling when I drive past LAX and can't help thinking
of exploding airplanes.  

Relatedly, and perhaps a little contradictory: If I
were among those addressed in President Bush's
addresses to the "American people" I should certainly
feel insulted. Mr. Bush speaks to the US-American
public as if he was indeed talking to a frightened
child, and his permanent use of the phrases "the evil
one" and "the evil-doers" would certainly make me
laugh out loud if the whole situation wasn't so
fucking serious. Which raises the questions: Does Mr.
Bush perceive the attack of September 11 as a plot
point in a pulp fantasy novel? Or is he talking like
that because he assumes that the US-American people
are in desperate need of being told that they are the
heroes of such a novel? In which the forces of light
always prevail over the army of darkness, in which the
good guys are all good and the bad guys are all bad
etc. 

I am opposed to the bombing of Afghanistan, because I
think it is ethically and politically wrong. I am not
sure whether I am right and, in fact, I believe nobody
with half a brain or conscience can be absolutely sure
whether his or her position on this is the right one.
But apart from this: From an ethical POV the only
reasonable justification for the bombing would be that
the killing that is being done now and will be done by
the US and their allies in the near future serves to
prevent even more killing by terrorist attacks.
Although I doubt that this will be the case,
especially not in the long run, I nevertheless hope
that this is the basic assumption behind the attacks
on Afghanistan. If so, why don't they just tell us,
instead of resorting to this kind of trite and
dangerous propaganda?  

While driving on the interminable boulevards and
avenues of the City of Angels I regularly listen to
KPCC which I believe is a very, very good radio
station. They are providing background, news,
discussions to the current events, they are
broadcasting press conferences, briefings and speeches
from the White House, and recently they also had an
interview with V.S. Naipaul. I was quite astonished to
hear from my temporary landlord, who is also a regular
listener, that this program was considered "leftist"
by many people. If this is "leftist", then what does
qualify as "liberal"? 


Best wishes,
Thomas

P.S. Of course, I also went to the movies. If you like
David Lynch: "Mulholland Drive" is one of his best.






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