Luxuries

Another adventure for Scott D. Meyer at 8:42 PM

It's an interesting time to be a peace student. I watch the tv and listen on the radio as people discuss and debate the current situation in Lebanon. What strikes me as ridiculous is how every tv network immediately lands someone onto the battelfield to bring the bloodshed into our homes. It seems unfair that we have the luxury of not only evacuating thousands of US citizens at the drop of a hat, but also that we have the luxury of sending someone into the battlefield at our own behest. For millions of people in the region, it is their life. They didn't choose to enter a conflict situation and they don't have the option of getting on a huge Greek cruiser to leave the battlefield. It is the same problem I've been having with Nicaragua and other places I have gone. How can I live with the fact that I can be airlifted to the safety of home while others simply have to deal with it? I started thinking more about this while reading Silje's blog. I think everyone should read her thoughts (click this link) because she has been to both Lebanon and Israel and is much more knowledgeable than me, and she again begs the question of inequalities and indifference. I don't have a thought or solution, but I just hope that are people are grappling with some of these questions and trying to understand what is happening...

1 Comment:

  1. Silje said...
    1:21 AM
    Thank you Scott. When it comes to the ME conflict, solutions is a scary topic to go into, especially if you haven't read alot about it in the first place. Thinking of what's happening now in terms of solutions tends to make you feel small, unknowledgable and powerless. A solution seems so inconceivable that you just feel like giving up right away, and it is tempting to leave the whole matter for someone else to think about.

    Instead, what we can do is start seeking out alternative information and learn more about what's actually going on. Ask questions. Be critical. Dare to admit that there's a hell of a lot that we don't know, and try to fill the gaps when you see them. No question is too stupid to be asked. The news, not surprisingly (and especially so in the US I figure), is not portraying the whole thing very accurately. The media is obsessed with blood, horror and everything that makes great headlines. Even more disturbing, they tend to serve the power more than they serve the powerless - that is, it's more often than not balanced in favor of those with the power of definition over the situation. And those are definitely NOT all the millions of civilians suffering - who are the ones who really deserves our attention...

    So - I encourage everybody reading this who wants to know more to seek alternative sources of information. Alternative Information Center (www.alternativenews.org) and Electronic Intifada (www.electronicintifada.net) are good places to start. The list of good books is endless (not to mention the list of bad ones!), but a particularly good one that is very easy to read and that gives you a pretty clear picture of the conflict (even if you know nothing from before) is Susan Nathan's "The Other Side of Israel". A really eye-opening personal account of life in Israel that no tv-channel would report.

    I find it very useful to constantly remind myself of the fact that power is what governs this world. The powerful want more power, and they fight for it at the cost of those who have less. The moment you start to look at the world in this way, everything immediately makes more sense.

    But above all, Sapere Aude!
    Dare to use your own reason, dare to know.
    Ask questions and think for yourself.
    And remember that nobody expects you to come up with a solution, what will help the world a great deal more is critical thinking. And that everbody can do! :)

    silje

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