ALIT 402 - FINAL TERM PAPER
September 11, 2001 (A Tuesday) and How I Became Interested in Timothy McVeigh and Vice Versa from Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated by Gore Vidal
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m a conspiracy analyst,” explained one of the most controversial writers, Gore Vidal. Gore Vidal was not labeled as a journalist alongside with his accomplishments as a great American writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and actor. Most commonly known as an essayist, he is notorious for his shocking and brutally honest opinions. He voiced many of his opinions on socio-political, sexual, historical, and literary subjects. However, his provocative and controversial opinions sold his books. It is …show more content…
The title of the book originates from American historian Charles A. Beard’s claim that the the foreign policy of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman and the nation’s affairs could best be described by the phrase “perpetual war for perpetual peace.” Vidal utilizes this phrase in order to draw attention on the war fought over drugs and terrorism. He believed that this power and authority had been abused by the government of the United States to engage in unnecessary military aggression and domestic oppression. He disagrees that the United States is run by a fair democracy for all but instead, plutocratic which seems very understandable from a foreign standpoint. His main focus was also in the title of his publishment, “How we got to be so hated”, where “we” stands for Americans and how and why their government became hated by so many countries in the world and even quite a large number of people who are actually Americans. His self-consciousness makes him a open minded writer and he did not try to sugar coat the reality despite the negative reactions his own nation received. The two short essays, September 11, 2001 (A Tuesday) and How I Became Interested in Timothy McVeigh and Vice Versa from the collection of articles highlighted the flaws of the United States government in …show more content…
The attacks made by Bin Laden and McVeigh are considered as “counter attacks” by Vidal because it was their response to the United States government. They were not exactly crazy in Vidal’s defense, and he seems to understand their motives. He therefore explained in the introduction that “With both Bin Laden and McVeigh, I thought it useful to describe the various provocations on our side that drove them to such terrible acts…”, inferring that the United States could definitely learn from the two instances. Also, he makes it clear that it was possible for the United States to foreknowledge the occurrence of the 911 attack especially after Oklahoma. It is no surprise that after both the 911 attack and the Oklahoma City bombing, American civilians especially the lower and middle classed no longer have respect nor trust in the United States government. Such terrorists understand the potential and power that the United States government holds and made attempts to mend their ways. The most taboo theories was President George W. Bush and the United States’s government’s involvement with the Al Qaeda in 911 and how the United States government was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombings. Vidal was a savage with his writing and very critical, refusing to be silenced by shamefully committing the sin of publishing such offensive claims in
September 11, 2001 (A Tuesday) and How I Became Interested in Timothy McVeigh and Vice Versa from Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated by Gore Vidal
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m a conspiracy analyst,” explained one of the most controversial writers, Gore Vidal. Gore Vidal was not labeled as a journalist alongside with his accomplishments as a great American writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and actor. Most commonly known as an essayist, he is notorious for his shocking and brutally honest opinions. He voiced many of his opinions on socio-political, sexual, historical, and literary subjects. However, his provocative and controversial opinions sold his books. It is …show more content…
The title of the book originates from American historian Charles A. Beard’s claim that the the foreign policy of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman and the nation’s affairs could best be described by the phrase “perpetual war for perpetual peace.” Vidal utilizes this phrase in order to draw attention on the war fought over drugs and terrorism. He believed that this power and authority had been abused by the government of the United States to engage in unnecessary military aggression and domestic oppression. He disagrees that the United States is run by a fair democracy for all but instead, plutocratic which seems very understandable from a foreign standpoint. His main focus was also in the title of his publishment, “How we got to be so hated”, where “we” stands for Americans and how and why their government became hated by so many countries in the world and even quite a large number of people who are actually Americans. His self-consciousness makes him a open minded writer and he did not try to sugar coat the reality despite the negative reactions his own nation received. The two short essays, September 11, 2001 (A Tuesday) and How I Became Interested in Timothy McVeigh and Vice Versa from the collection of articles highlighted the flaws of the United States government in …show more content…
The attacks made by Bin Laden and McVeigh are considered as “counter attacks” by Vidal because it was their response to the United States government. They were not exactly crazy in Vidal’s defense, and he seems to understand their motives. He therefore explained in the introduction that “With both Bin Laden and McVeigh, I thought it useful to describe the various provocations on our side that drove them to such terrible acts…”, inferring that the United States could definitely learn from the two instances. Also, he makes it clear that it was possible for the United States to foreknowledge the occurrence of the 911 attack especially after Oklahoma. It is no surprise that after both the 911 attack and the Oklahoma City bombing, American civilians especially the lower and middle classed no longer have respect nor trust in the United States government. Such terrorists understand the potential and power that the United States government holds and made attempts to mend their ways. The most taboo theories was President George W. Bush and the United States’s government’s involvement with the Al Qaeda in 911 and how the United States government was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombings. Vidal was a savage with his writing and very critical, refusing to be silenced by shamefully committing the sin of publishing such offensive claims in