International Politics and clashing of cultural values is a bit like the game "Prison Dodge Ball" we played in grade school. In theory there were only two teams pitted against each other but we all knew there were clicks and personal favorites within each team and there were the kids who just got sacrificed because they were in the way. I find it fascinating that all of Nato, led by the United States is so quick to get involved in Lybia and so reluctant to address Syria. China has a huge presence in Lybia and Iran influences what goes on in Syria. Most of the Arab world doesn't like Ghadafi and has a fear of the Nuclear capabilities of Iran.
It is interesting to watch all of this from a distance and a bit frustrating that I have really no idea of what is going on. These are not terrorists with an agenda against the United States but they are not "freedom fighters" as we know the term. It is clear however that the United States has supported repressive regimes,
some for over forty years because they support our policies and for one reason or another are "on our side" in this game of dodgeball.
Times are changing and it is difficult for me to understand Middle Eastern Cultures. I have my background and they have theirs. I live in a country with a "rule of law" and a purposeful separation of Church and State.
Theirs is a Tribal Society and the current unrest is a battle of supremacy, one tribe above another. They all seem to want a Religion backed government and the rule of Shea Law over individual rights and responsibilities. I don't understand a culture that would condone mass rape of a young woman as some kind of tribal justice. We have gotten in trouble many times in the past with the attitude of "supporting the devil we know" as opposed to the devil we don't know.
What bothers me the most is we are not being told the truth about anything, by anyone. We see something on T.V. or read an article and think we understand it but we don't. We are being given limited information with a narrow scope about a culture we examine through our microscope, not theirs.
It makes me wonder how we really choose our battles? It is certainly not an indignant scream for justice.
We allow Darfur to continue. We did nothing in Rwanda. The Kamer Rouge killed off their intellectuals, teachers and civil servants and set their country back in time a hundred years and we did nothing. Horrible things happen every day and made even more horrific when they become institutionalized, a policy of government. Sometimes we intervene and sometimes we don't.
Revolutions do not necessarily make the world a better place. I think Egypt was the first and now the latest polls say that over 70% of them want to do away with the Peace Accords agreed to with Israel.
How is this going to bring about world peace and make the region more stable?
This is all important to me because I like to know what is going on. It affects me because my country is going deeper in debt and threatening to cut social services in an attempt to fund our involvement in these issues. It is all borrowed money and I just wonder why, what is the truth to all of it? To say I am helpless and surround myself in my art is to bury my head in the sand. If there really is a judgement day, what am I supposed to say? Gosh, I didn't know? or, crap, I just didn't give a damn! I know I have such little power but I know what I won't say: "I did nothing". I am talking to you, aren't I? and you in turn can talk to others,
enough of this and eventually some kind of truth will emerge. The path we are on is dangerous, expensive and dark.
HERE is where I hide out!
It is interesting to watch all of this from a distance and a bit frustrating that I have really no idea of what is going on. These are not terrorists with an agenda against the United States but they are not "freedom fighters" as we know the term. It is clear however that the United States has supported repressive regimes,
some for over forty years because they support our policies and for one reason or another are "on our side" in this game of dodgeball.
Times are changing and it is difficult for me to understand Middle Eastern Cultures. I have my background and they have theirs. I live in a country with a "rule of law" and a purposeful separation of Church and State.
Theirs is a Tribal Society and the current unrest is a battle of supremacy, one tribe above another. They all seem to want a Religion backed government and the rule of Shea Law over individual rights and responsibilities. I don't understand a culture that would condone mass rape of a young woman as some kind of tribal justice. We have gotten in trouble many times in the past with the attitude of "supporting the devil we know" as opposed to the devil we don't know.
What bothers me the most is we are not being told the truth about anything, by anyone. We see something on T.V. or read an article and think we understand it but we don't. We are being given limited information with a narrow scope about a culture we examine through our microscope, not theirs.
It makes me wonder how we really choose our battles? It is certainly not an indignant scream for justice.
We allow Darfur to continue. We did nothing in Rwanda. The Kamer Rouge killed off their intellectuals, teachers and civil servants and set their country back in time a hundred years and we did nothing. Horrible things happen every day and made even more horrific when they become institutionalized, a policy of government. Sometimes we intervene and sometimes we don't.
Revolutions do not necessarily make the world a better place. I think Egypt was the first and now the latest polls say that over 70% of them want to do away with the Peace Accords agreed to with Israel.
How is this going to bring about world peace and make the region more stable?
This is all important to me because I like to know what is going on. It affects me because my country is going deeper in debt and threatening to cut social services in an attempt to fund our involvement in these issues. It is all borrowed money and I just wonder why, what is the truth to all of it? To say I am helpless and surround myself in my art is to bury my head in the sand. If there really is a judgement day, what am I supposed to say? Gosh, I didn't know? or, crap, I just didn't give a damn! I know I have such little power but I know what I won't say: "I did nothing". I am talking to you, aren't I? and you in turn can talk to others,
enough of this and eventually some kind of truth will emerge. The path we are on is dangerous, expensive and dark.
HERE is where I hide out!
