War of the worlds
This article articulates in summary what many feel about 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq (let's stop calling it the war on terror - it's no such thing - since when did America mind a bit of terror), and what I know I feel. Whether the plan is as set out in the RW wishpiece that Meacher cites or something a little more nebulous that has been thrashed out in a hundred committees, it's clear that this framework makes a lot more sense than any idea that we are defending ourselves against terror. If we wanted to do that, we'd be building schools, not bombing them.
We - by which I mean our governments on our behalf - have been fighting to retain ownership of the resources of the third world for, what is it now, 500 years - since Columbus, trying to find a quick passage to the Indies (so we could trade there more cheaply, using gunboats and amphibious troops as backing), stumbled across natives wearing gold.
There's a fundamental dichotomy for anyone who lives in the rich West, which we ought to face up to. We all consume the power that is bought with blood. Our rich lives are built on the backs of the world's poor. We can pretend it isn't so, we can even try to make a "minimal impact" (whatever we think that means), but it's still true that the "war" is being fought for us, and we benefit from it.
posted by Dr Zen @ 6:35 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home