Actually, not having read your book, I think I just drew on the universal unconscious or something to come up with Ghost Dance. And perhaps it is something in my own history. I grew up in a (then) sparsely populated (by whites, that is) Southern California, and went to a public elementary school attended in large proportion by “Mexicans”, which may have included local Indian tribes so designated by the ignorant. The treatment of them by Midwestern school-teachers was interesting — I cannot get the sullen faces of some of the boys out of my mind. In fact, they look a lot like “al Qaeda” suspects. My first thought of the “attack” on 9/11 was of being beset by “Indians” attacking “civilization.” This was where my American mind lived in deep denial of its origins. So my Ghost Dance analogy may have come as a feeble attempt on my part to acknowledge our own power of destruction and stupidity, as a nation.

I won’t go as far as Reverend Wright of Obama fame. But I will say with Michelle Obama that if I am proud of something America does, the occasions for pride are few and far between. Like a Midwestern schoolteacher, I might just say that right now “I am very disappointed” in her (my country’s whites and their suck-ups like Gonzales and John Yoo). Owning up to the bad stuff is going to be rough sledding, but if this is to be an “ownership society” we must (pace Obama’s nomination speech).

This was my reply:

What a fascinating account, Dianne, reminding me of how many different Americas make up the United States. I agree with you about how difficult it will be to address all the injustices of the past seven years, but it is, of course, absolutely imperative for all of us. I can, however, see how taxing it is for the many Americans who simply cannot bear to look in the mirror, and look at their country’s warmongering history, with any honesty. We have the same problem in the UK, of course, which is why it’s easier for people to criticize America than wondering why “terror suspects” are being held without charge or trial in the UK too.

This was my reply to Dianne’s second comment, above:

Hi Dianne,
”If truth is the first casualty of war, skepticism must be the grieving relative.”
Nicely put. Your dinner sounded disturbing, but I find all reports of professionals turning a blind eye to what’s going on to be so. Throughout history, tyrants need their workers – even those on the frontline of horrific experiences – just to get on with their jobs and not raise murmurs of dissent in their minds that would lead to corrosive self-doubt and sleepless nights. It’s why the mission of those combating the cruel and illegal practices of the “War on Terror” has to constantly focus on humanizing the prisoners involved. It appears, unfortunately, to be far too easy to abuse a dehumanized enemy.
With best wishes,
Andy

The three men were found dead in June, 2006. In October, 2005, I happened to be at a friend’s induction into the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. On one of the days of the ceremonies, there was a luncheon held for doctors who were interested in the problem of physicians at Guantanamo. I cannot remember exactly how the invitation to the sign-up for the luncheon put it – certainly no admissions of facilitating torture by anyone in the medical profession. At any rate, this gathering confined its interest to the cases where physicians assisted in force-feeding of “attempted suicide” hunger strikers. I recall that one elderly fellow, with a Southern accent, stated that if force-feeding was torture, he had, in his medical practice, done it (presumably on anorexics – nobody asked him when or why). At the time, as a guest, I felt it was out of order for me to say anything. I just wanted to find out what was going on. And I found the group more interested in consuming their lunches than in asking questions of this man or others, even though everyone there had self-selected to be there. Clearly, force-feeding was regarded as a problem to be reckoned with. Even if the doctors were not activists, it may be that they had begun to balk at their role in Guantanamo, or the perceived roles of those serving there. I am not a doctor myself and I have declined to return to these annual affairs in Washington, nor do I know what this committee is up to these days.