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Can Ideas and Words Be Useful?


by Michele Emmer, Editorial Board member
E-mail: emmer@mat.uniroma1.it

In May 1999, I wrote an editorial which was published on LEA and then on Leonardo; at that time there was the war in Kosovo, which was called the humanitarian war. Today, 1st October 2001, there is about to be a response to the terrorist attack of the 11th September 2001 of the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. The war, the international police action, the operation, has changed names a number of times, it is ready to begin, even though some actions have already been carried out, which have remained secret. Undoubtedly it is difficult to respond with a sort of absolute pacifism to actions that call for a strong response to actions that are violent, illegal, inhuman. Was it not impossible to react to Hitler's attacks? How not to answer the Japanese at Pearl Harbour, the invasion of Asia and Europe? Just to mention two examples which no one has any doubts about. The war was necessary so far as it was not possible to block the expansionist ambitions of Nazism and the Japanese militarism in any other way. Millions of persons died all over the world, men from all over the world fought, died, were taken prisoners, fighting in countries that perhaps they didn't even know. I was also able to discover at a show in Venice this summer that the Maori soldiers from New Zealand fought and died to conquer the Abbey of Montecassino, one of the most famous battles fought in southern Italy during the second world war. My uncle participated in the Russian campaign, a cousin of my mother died in a concentration camp, my parents were able to escape to Switzerland, my wife's father was made a prisoner in Africa. All over the world, a number of families counted members who were dead, or missing, or wounded. Most of the dead were not soldiers but defenseless civilians. And entire populations were wiped out, the extermination of 6 million Jews. All this took place in Europe, in the centre of Europe sixty years ago, two generations ago. At the end of the war, it was thought that after that unending destructive war there would be no more wars. There had been too many tragedies, too many dead persons. Actually the following war had already begun. And wars have always continued, the more important ones, the less important ones, some were highlighted, some were forgotten. However Europe, after the Nazi and Fascist folly, thought it had become a happy island, apart from the "local" conflicts in Ireland, in Spain, in Hungary, in Corsica, in Poland, in Yugoslavia... Apart Germany divided into two parts by the wall, besides the concentration camps which continued to exist. But everyone thought, we thought, that after all Europe was in peace, development would be infinite. It could only improve our way of living, and bit by bit the idea of the besieged city was born, of a happy Europe with the USA, Japan and few others, and the mass of all the other men and women looked at the besieged city as towards a mirage of happiness. To succeed reaching there. As if the phenomenon of immigration was not perhaps the most important phenomenon of the entire history of mankind. Men and women, who since the beginning migrated, got married, merged with other populations, fought, killed, loved. Does history always repeat itself in the same way? I do not know if history is repeated, but it is never the same. Every period, every population every man and woman encloses a different story. These are all reflections, which I may say are obvious, that anyone might think when he or she is in a situation in which it is difficult to understand what we must expect in the future. For us, for our children, for our friends, for our country. It is certain, in this American tragedy there have been some tragically new elements. which obtained the maximum tragic result, perhaps even greater that the expectations of those who planned that attack, with a very modest financial investment, and with very small losses for the authors of the attack. 7,000 dead against less than twenty suicide terrorists.

Another great novelty, the CNN effect. Nowadays in the world, anyone, from the statesmen to the terrorists, plan their initiatives so as to be on CNN at the right time. The power of television of the digital media has become so great that such an important tragic event would surely have been less "traumatic" if no one had filmed those planes crashing into the towers. The deaths would have been less "visible" without the CNN and the world television networks.

It will be a great demonstration of intelligence if the response to the attack will take place without the media knowing anything about it. It will mean that the results will be more important than what can be seen. Starting from the war in Kuwait and Iraq, the war has become mediatic. Also our reactions beat in time with the media. Do we want to say that everything is a show? Undoubtedly the immediate diffusion of the images of the New York tragedy have had an enormous effect on men and women all over the world. To see those persons jumping out of the buildings, not wanting to be burnt to death, without even knowing for what reason they were dying, has strongly upset millions of persons.

Someone noted that many tragedies are not seen in the television, that since the televisions and those who control them, decide the strategies of entire countries, the participation of humanity to the great dramas of the planet, is fundamentally just watching the television. A great instrument for information, a great instrument to gather consent. In any case a media that has its own language.

And psychologists are worried about the children who must be told that those images were "true", they were different from the video games and the films about catastrophes. Because behind those images there was humanity, men and women who were suffering and dying. And at the same time the television was making all this "bearable", just because we had experienced those nightmares a number of times in our dreams at the cinema. And when fiction becomes reality, then the tragedy becomes greater than all the special effects, however spectacular, the cinema has decided to stop showing images of virtual catastrophes, as if there could still be some confusion between reality and fiction. Perhaps too little has been explained that when a film is made, there is a movie camera that provides the theme and the time of action for the virtual reality, that what one sees is "invented" and cannot be confused with reality, that it is a scenic language in order to provide entertainment. A language that was so effective that the terrorists made use of it. Language, images, cinema, virtual reality. In 1999, I wrote that "the responsibility concerns everyone. No-one has more insight into the truth than anyone else so there's no point in asking scientists or artists what they think about war. But perhaps there is one question worth asking: do we believe that artists produce art, mathematicians mathematics, scientists science and soldiers war? Therefore, each one of us deals with their own specific field and should not waste time in discussion? In recent years, much has been said about globalisation and complexity. Now, in May 1999, we are faced by an enormously complex problem which is extremely difficult to solve, while at the same time safeguarding all the people involved. And do we still have nothing to say? Since we are artists and scientists? This is not to suggest the absurd idea of creating the art of war, the aesthetics of war, nor is it out of a sense of guilt, and to exorcise our fears. It is simply that in today's world there are artistic and scientific communities who are able to converse with the whole world, who have access to all the means of communication, who are responsible for educating entire generations of young people. Have we nothing to say? In order to understand, to try to let tolerance and comprehension prevail?"

However it must not be forgotten that notwithstanding what some politicians with a poor cultural background have said, this is not a war between cultures and religions in order to affirm that what must be affirmed is that one prevails over the other. Some of these words were said in Berlin, and much irresponsibility was required to speak of the Western civilisation prevailing, in those places in which it was decided to exterminate entire human populations in a scientific and industrial manner, because they were considered inferior. Not a fight between cultures, but a fight for culture, as the German premier Gerhard Schroeder wrote ( published in La Repubblica, 18/9/2001). Without forgetting the injustice in the world, the poverty in the world, the atrocities in the world. Knowing that mankind has never succeeded in reaching that Eden of happiness and brotherhood that all of us say we are dedicated to. Nothing is forever on this earth. But in our DNA we have some genes that tell us that what we are doing tends towards immortality, infinity, otherwise we would not be able to live. And therefore it is right to fight and struggle to make justice triumph, to stop hunger and poverty. I do not know if we will ever succeed. Because globalisation means that the cover, as it is, is narrow and it does not cover everyone. Some pull it more to their side, and some remain uncovered. I obviously do not have any answers, I still have some hopes, and I hope, that as for all the future generations, they will have the "new hopes". Our task is to give them the instruments in order to understand, to try to be just, to look for the solutions. Our mistrust will not affect them, the surviving instinct will push them further, and overcome the dark moments. There are moments, after great tragedies, in which man, for a short time, humanity, feels closer, it feels it can carry out great praiseworthy actions, these rare moments must not be ignored. Even if they last a very short amount of time. Then our immune defense system gets back to work, and we become egoists again. Without any illusions, but trying to affirm that the global economic government must serve to try to find a solution to the great problems of the world. Will this save us from the wars, from massacres? Nobody knows, but humanity has always tried to, and will always try.

I wanted to be short in my new editorial, I only wanted to say few things. Instead I have let myself be carried away by the collective and personal tragedies, by war, and death, by civilisation, up to global economy, by what is in store for us ahead.

When I wrote the other editorial, I received answers from persons in many countries, only few from the USA. Now, unfortunately, many come from the USA. It is natural, it is normal, it is our surviving instinct. However I believe that all, also the artists and the scientists in the world, should always bear in mind that "when a person is killed, all of humanity is killed".


Art & War Project Description and Call for Papers




Posted 25 October 2001
Updated 31 October 2007

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