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There is nothing more frightful……
February 19, 2007 | 1 Comment
than ignorance in action. So said Johann von Goethe.
Yesterday’s headlines illustrate this.
1. At least 66 killed in India-Pakistan train blast
What do people who perpetrate such acts think if they ever face themselves in the mirror?
“I killed 66 people today and maimed scores of others. I made my point and I am proud“. Is that what they say to themselves?
They failed, ‘cos most people don’t get the point they were trying to make.
While they admire their ghastly handiwork, we reflect on Tertulian’s words written in the 2nd century.
“The first reaction to truth is hatred.”
Indeed. Over the centuries, there have been thousands of such acts of wanton and pointless violence. The world remembers the deeds, but rarely the perpetrators. They are not worth our collective thoughts and efforts. They turn to hatred and violence because they can’t face the truth about their own pathetic, insignificant existence.
We’d rather remember those who leave positive emotional footprints around them – those who tried to pull others out from the wreckage and the emergency personnel who came to aid the innocent victims. Every act of violence and cowardice like this one generates a hundred heroes.
2. Baghdad car bombs leave 60 dead
Shias and Sunnis in Iraq are bent upon wiping each other out. More hatred, more violence.
Hey, not to worry. Our commander-in-chief had it all under control six months ago.
He said,
“You know, I hear people say, Well, civil war this, civil war that. The Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box.”
This, when a U.N. report had pointed out that about 100 Iraqis are dying in sectarian violence each day.
Great minds think alike. Shortly after that, came another gem from a member of the Republican establisment. Senator Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) seemed truly mystified at the turn of events:
“It’s hard for Americans, all of us, including me, to understand what’s wrong with these people….. Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me.”
Speaking shortly after a meeting with President Bush and Vice President Cheney, Lott added that Iraq wasn’t among the White House’s priorities.
“No, none of that,” Lott told reporters after the session when asked if the Iraq war was discussed. “You’re [the media] the only ones who obsess on that. We don’t and the real people out in the real world don’t for the most part.”
These are the draft dodgers who want to send more troops to Iraq. 21,500 men and women. Makes one wonder. How many of our Congressmen and women, and our senators have close relatives in Iraq? Two, the last time we heard.
3. One-third of Iraqis are now living in poverty, according to a new UN study, with 5% in extreme poverty, a sharp deterioration since the 2003 invasion.
As Paolo Lembo, United Nations Development Programme Iraq Director points out:
“A country like Iraq which is blessed … with the largest potential of natural resources [and] the highest quality of human resources, has been brought to its knees by human hands.”
Frightful ignorance in action.
Filed Under: MUSINGS, Politics
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One Comment
Dear Bee,
First time at your blog. Thanks a lot for your support.
I have posted the
Event.
It will be on March 5th. Let us spread the word. Thanks a lot.