It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of
a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into
privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing
algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the
planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times. Washington Post is streaming a video from the Abu Ghraib prison. This is what the dehumanizing experience of war does to people. If you supported the war, you are morally obligated to watch the outcome of your choice. If you can't bear to watch it, you shouldn't have been able to bear to support it in the first place. Comments:
Should the WP stream the vid? Mitch Albom, writing for the Detroit Free Press (the emphasis is mine): So I don't get it when [Oklahoma Republican Senator James Inhofe] is "outraged by the outrage." Americans can be outraged by bad conduct without hating the military. They can be outraged by Abu Ghraib without joining the enemy. They can be outraged by one act and still be outraged by another, such as the beheading of Nicholas Berg. Outrage is not mutually exclusive. Quite the contrary. It is our anger at cruelty that defines us -- as a caring, human people. Maybe politicians like Inhofe should stop making speeches when they're supposed to be asking questions. Personally, I don't worry when the country is outraged over bad behavior. I worry when it isn't.Full editorial: http://www.freep.com/sports/albom/mitch16_20040516.htmMr. Albom expresses the feeling I've had for a year now ... that the silence from the American public is more ominous than the actions of our leaders. That silence is finally ending ... but there are still far too many people who believe it is not their place to question authority. Yes, yes it is ... for Americans, that is the burden we bear if we wish to defend our own freedom. You defend ALL your freedoms by using them ... the more often, the better. Post a Comment Here
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