I'm currently reading Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilization" and to balance the effect of reading page after page of the gruesome and horrifying things that humans do to one another, I'm also reading Roald Dahl's the BFG.
I can't help but say I'm truly disappointed, to the point of being fully ashamed, because of the United States Government's role in perpetuating pure evil in the Middle East.
Some think that it's their own fault, you know the peoples of the Middle East and that they should stand up and make things right for themselves. And I'm all for that, but I'm not sure that, if I were in Iraq anytime in the last decade, for example, and wanted to speak out against the mass killings of thousands with poison gas, for another possible example, I would be terribly effective. Certianly, my progress would seem to stop when they imprison and cook my husband alive on a grill, while dipping him in acid that eats away his flesh, shocking his genitals and slicing of his hands off like they were bacon, then executing him. Then, after that, I watched 2 of my children get shot in the head in front of me, and my infant smacked so hard against a wall that her brains are bashed out, then being forutnate enough to be thrown out with the trash instead of geting killed myself. Now this is a purely hypothetical situation. This hasn't actually happened...to me.
But pretending that it did, I would certainly keep trying to fight for freedom in Iraq. And I don't think I would hold it against the US one bit that they help put Saddam into power - that their CIA advised him and his own on torture techniques and that the US provided chemical weapon technology and logistical support and even at least partially manned or supervised a chemical weapons factory in Iraq. Nor would I mind that they seemed to support Saddam on his invasion of Iran and didn't seem to notice when he killed Iraqi kurds and Iraqi Marsh Arabs by the truckloads and anybody who didn't look right to him.
I would have had the clairvoyance to realise that several years later the US would come in and oust their chosen dictator and create a climate of chaos, disorganization, revenge killings, sectarian violence and the possibility of an extremist religious government almost totally aligned in philosophy to Iran as well as inviting terrorist intimidators of a more pan-Arab variety. The wonderful USA, friend to Iraqis.
So do I blame America for all the problems in the Middle East?
No, not specifically - just because we(the USA), in metaphor, load a gun hand it to them point to to their enemy and then say shoot, (and then proceed to hand guns to their enemies as well) doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't some serious dysfunctional psychology inherent in Middle Eastern, particularly Muslim culture. And don't get me wrong, this isn't a commentary specifically on the religion of Islam - but on the culture - much of which I think pre-dates and somehow magically supercedes to this day Mohammed's miraculous revelations. You know an eye for an eye - a daughter for honor - the leveling power of revenge and killing seems to have become holy practice throughout the Middle East.
On the other hand - the fictional giants in the BFG snatch people from their bedroom windows and gobble them up. It is certainly barbarous. These sorts of things leave us asking why?
Probably because people are much tastier than snozzcumbers and some people are making a lot of money off of chaos in the Middle East.
That's all for today. The next installment will discuss - the wonderful USA - a brilliant and shining bubble of ambivalent democracy - may it never pop.
I can't help but say I'm truly disappointed, to the point of being fully ashamed, because of the United States Government's role in perpetuating pure evil in the Middle East.
Some think that it's their own fault, you know the peoples of the Middle East and that they should stand up and make things right for themselves. And I'm all for that, but I'm not sure that, if I were in Iraq anytime in the last decade, for example, and wanted to speak out against the mass killings of thousands with poison gas, for another possible example, I would be terribly effective. Certianly, my progress would seem to stop when they imprison and cook my husband alive on a grill, while dipping him in acid that eats away his flesh, shocking his genitals and slicing of his hands off like they were bacon, then executing him. Then, after that, I watched 2 of my children get shot in the head in front of me, and my infant smacked so hard against a wall that her brains are bashed out, then being forutnate enough to be thrown out with the trash instead of geting killed myself. Now this is a purely hypothetical situation. This hasn't actually happened...to me.
But pretending that it did, I would certainly keep trying to fight for freedom in Iraq. And I don't think I would hold it against the US one bit that they help put Saddam into power - that their CIA advised him and his own on torture techniques and that the US provided chemical weapon technology and logistical support and even at least partially manned or supervised a chemical weapons factory in Iraq. Nor would I mind that they seemed to support Saddam on his invasion of Iran and didn't seem to notice when he killed Iraqi kurds and Iraqi Marsh Arabs by the truckloads and anybody who didn't look right to him.
I would have had the clairvoyance to realise that several years later the US would come in and oust their chosen dictator and create a climate of chaos, disorganization, revenge killings, sectarian violence and the possibility of an extremist religious government almost totally aligned in philosophy to Iran as well as inviting terrorist intimidators of a more pan-Arab variety. The wonderful USA, friend to Iraqis.
So do I blame America for all the problems in the Middle East?
No, not specifically - just because we(the USA), in metaphor, load a gun hand it to them point to to their enemy and then say shoot, (and then proceed to hand guns to their enemies as well) doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't some serious dysfunctional psychology inherent in Middle Eastern, particularly Muslim culture. And don't get me wrong, this isn't a commentary specifically on the religion of Islam - but on the culture - much of which I think pre-dates and somehow magically supercedes to this day Mohammed's miraculous revelations. You know an eye for an eye - a daughter for honor - the leveling power of revenge and killing seems to have become holy practice throughout the Middle East.
On the other hand - the fictional giants in the BFG snatch people from their bedroom windows and gobble them up. It is certainly barbarous. These sorts of things leave us asking why?
Probably because people are much tastier than snozzcumbers and some people are making a lot of money off of chaos in the Middle East.
That's all for today. The next installment will discuss - the wonderful USA - a brilliant and shining bubble of ambivalent democracy - may it never pop.
posted by She-burtsy at 10:23 AM
3 Comments:
You're a really good writer.
that was tremendously hard to read, though, and I'm sure you know why.
Wow.
PS - Let me know if you would like for me to link to you; if not, I'll understand.
ah, my sparkly lady, you can link to it if you want. It's only anonymous-ish. I don't expect I'm going to be disappearred for anything I've said...yet. At least until I get a powerful movement going or something. Oh by the way. I know it's a day late but here is a link to some pirate enjoyment:
http://www.gocomics.com/arrr.phtml?ref=hpswf
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