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A Chaotic Iraq

by Larry Hawes

The current chaos in Iraq is either intentional or an accident of ignorance. Either way we as Americans and citizens of the world are witness to the wholesale collapse of a country’s culture. What will arise from the ashes of the anarchy gripping Iraq? Can the Iraqis rule themselves, or will the inherent instability in a country's people who have depended upon the strong imposition of control simply require another Saddam in different clothes? And what can we learn about our own society and indeed ourselves as we observe the Iraqi society in chaos?

The history and social order of the middle east is one that has evolved from its ancient roots in tribalism, religious absolutism and the structure of its strictly defined families and clans. Those ancient, unseen institutions are what has defined the nature of government in Iraq and many of its neighbors, for thousands of years. The Shiites, the Sunis, the Kurds and every other class of people know those structures as a part of their very being.

The illusion of that seemingly stable social hierarchy grown from those ancient structures has been revealed in no uncertain terms. Without a very strong leader such as Saddam we witness the cracks in their society become fractures, then chasms, anarchy, and finally a societal mechanism disintegrating before the world’s eyes.

This understanding of the nature of middle eastern societies is not new or unknown to even the least curious middle eastern scholar. So the ensuing chaos in Iraq should come as no surprise as the head of Saddam is cut off the body of Iraqi society that so desperately depended upon it for its guidance and stability. Of course there were tortures. Of course there was brutal control and repression and of course the imposition of that control took freedoms from the people. But where did that control begin? Did it begin at the top with a brutal dictator? Or did it begin within that same societal hierarchy that demands its power structure culminate in the strong imposition of repression?

The reason this question is relevant is the solution to the problem we now see in Iraq will form itself depending upon how we answer as a world, as a country, as a society and ultimately as individuals.

If our answer suggests that both the problem and the solution emanates from the top, then the elimination of Saddam should simply do the trick. Cut off the head, the body dies. He is gone - problem solved. That’s true, but exactly what problem is solved? The problem of Saddam is solved, but there still remains a societal body that is now dying. Do we now look for ways to establish a new head in the likeness of Saddam in a different suit and tie so the same imposition of order and repression takes its Baathist place in their society? Do we continue to look to the top to solve our problems? If so then we can expect a ruler to emerge that will impose a very similar reign of repression, not because of an undefined evil but more because the society has not learned to control itself and will demand that same level of control.

On the other hand, what happens if we begin to look within the Iraqi society itself for the answers? Is it possible that the very nature of the society in Iraq demanded that someone similar to Saddam rise to power or was the population simply a victim of a brutish individual? Is it possible that a society that depends entirely upon a strong leader for its direction is actually a society unstable and ultimately weakened by that dependancy?

Our own federal government is becoming stronger with each passing day. Is our society beginning down a very similar road, hoping beyond hope for that same illusion of stability imposed by a so-called strong leader? Or is it time we look within our own society and our own souls for the answers to begin forming a truly stable society that will last long into the future?

If the current chaos in Iraq does nothing more than allow us to look at our own direction as a society then it will have served a greater good. If we instead choose to ignore that current direction and continue to live under the illusion that a so-called strong leader can fix it for us, then we can expect the same remarkable chaos if our leaders prove to be somehow less than our delusional definition of ‘strong’.

Is it time we begin to create the same foundation of self-government here at home that we hope can be formed in Iraq? If so, then it may also be time we stopped looking outside ourselves to leaders who do nothing more than insist we remain dependant upon them for guidance, hoping all will be made right by those leaders who may indeed intend the chaos we are now witnessing. It may also be time we looked within our society and ourselves for the strength and answers that can truly create the foundation of our society defined in a new way; the way we would like it to be, and not the way others would insist it become.

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