As I read the article "What They Hate About Mumbai" this morning in the NY Times, I was reminded of one of my favorite episodes of the West Wing - "Isaac and Ishmael."
The episode aired right after 9/11 and was written by Aaron Sorkin immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center. The story line includes a possible breach in White House security that occurs as a group of high school students are visiting. My favorite scene, found below, discusses why terrorist organizations hate America. The answer, which is given toward the end of the clip, basically suggests extremist groups find America's pluralism to be unpalatable.
I certainly don't believe anyone is able to analyze with certainty the emotional components of a terrorist group's actions. But Suketu Mehta's NY Times article basically makes the same argument as the writers of the West Wing. In it he states: "There's something about this island-state that appalls religious extremists, Hindus and Muslims alike. Perhaps because Mumbai stands for lucre, profane dreams and an indiscriminate openness."
Much like President Bush's call, after 9/11, for Americans to "fight back" by supporting the airlines, rather than avoiding traveling altogether, Mehta makes the same plea about Mumbai. He plans to book a flight and grab a beer at the Leopold Cafe. Since I share his desire, maybe my earlier post wasn't as strange as I thought. Maybe I'll see if Mehta wants a travel partner.
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2 comments:
hi - i encourage you to go; thanks for caring about bombay
Thanks for stopping by Suketu. I enjoyed your article and will likely plan a trip there in the near future.
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