Which Founding Father Are You?
[Previous entry: "More on Voluntary Simplicity"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Syria and WMD"]
04/13/2003 Archived Entry: "Iraq Hours"
Which Founding Father are you? I took the quiz...a few times...and, when I answered the questions by chosing the worst alternative offered, this is what I received back
The war has been raging for a little over three weeks and, yet, it seems to have gone on for months and months, without the footage really changing -- the loops seem to repeat themselves through the TV screen with the same words coming from talking-head, tank-straddling, in-bed journalists who begin to resemble each other. The non-stop broadcasting of "non-news" has made time elastic so that stretches. I think in terms of "Iraq hours" now which, like dog years, are 7x as long as regular ones. The major media coverage has accomplished something remarkable; on-the-scene journalists have taken a live war and made the most significant events in the world boring. Perhaps my reaction is partly info overload and emotional exhaustion. But it feels like boredom. People no longer wish endlessly to watch the war (ratings are down) or to discuss it (posts on sites like the NoWarBlog are down). It is natural and healthy for people to resume "real" life and turn some of their attention away from what has been presented almost as the ultimate reality show. But turning away altogether and allowing the ennui to rule is dangerous because it gives a blank check to prowar advocates. With the prospect of the US invading Syria becoming more likely with every Iraq hour that passes, this conflict may be just beginning. Hang in there!
If you need anger to stoke your determination to continue speaking out, think of the jokes Rumsfeld cracked about the looting of Iraq. that is how Rumsfeld views the human misery the ordinary Iraqi and one of the greatest archeological disasters in modern history-- the virtual destruction of the main museum in Baghdad, one of the most significant historical records known to man. Think of Texas-on-the-Potomac. Read Daneil Patrick Welch's commentary, "The picture of the American GI lounging in Hussein's chair, plastered on front pages everywhere, sent the disturbing signal: it's ours....it's ALL ours. I can't imagine that image spun quite the way it was intended around the globe--or maybe that's just the point: we're comin' to getcha!"
Get angry if you must but hang in there. The closening ties between the US and Israel -- which do not go unnoticed by the Arab world, will make matters much worse -- not better. "Two of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's senior aides will go to Washington for separate talks this week....Israel will suggest that the United States also take care of Iran and Syria because of their support for terror and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction."
Best to all,
mac
