Freedom is an elusive thing. It can be viewed as applying to an individual or to groups of people. In most countries no one has complete freedom to do as they wish. There are laws which regulate society and ensure it works smoothly. People cannot assault another in the park or drive madly on the streets but they can move freely from work to home or, in many countries, can choose jobs or travel overseas when they please.
Some people do not have these freedoms. The Palestinians for example. Their lives to all intents and purposes are completely controlled by the IDF and the Israeli Government and have been for four decades. The resultant stress that that creates is captured in the above photograph when a breach in their prison wall allowed them to escape into Egypt to buy badly needed food, medicines, and fuel. Their euphoria is evident!
In 2008, why are groups of people kept in confinement? Why is invasion and occupation still occurring? Why isn’t there a powerful World Body which prevents such atrocities, which curbs the selfish ambitions of some nations?
After thousands of years of human existence, why haven’t we yet managed to achieve peace?
Many questions. Few Answers.
America backs Israel and other nations fall meekly in line. Bush claims he wants to spread freedom and democracy to the rest of the world but that is just another filthy lie.
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Israel has forgotten the Holocaust and the “Jewish Problem”. Now they find their own solutions to the “Palestinian Problem”, another form of Holocaust.
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America and Israel between them are responsible for a great deal of misery and death in the world, Worried. Yet they see it as ‘good’ misery and death.
They care not what they do!
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Your concluding questions are compelling, especially: “Why isn’t there a powerful World Body which prevents such atrocities, which curbs the selfish ambitions of some nations?”
The neoconservative movement in the United States claims to be just that. Like Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, imperialist America uses the promise of a better world to mobilize and pacify its citizens. Even now that the Iraq/WMD myths have been debunked, many Americans cling to the notion that the means (i.e., our military adventures in the Middle East and all over the world) are justified, as long as the ends shall be a system of world peace.
Regarding your concerns about “the selfish ambitions of some nations” I find the selfish ambitions of individual, elite minorities to be much more frightening. The powerful elites who run my country feel no sense of loyalty toward “peasants” like me. Nor does the average American benefit from the wars waged in our names.
By the way, love the new site. I’ve been meaning to part with the generic WordPress/Blogspot designs myself, but can’t find the time to learn how. I do hope the title-change doesn’t mean you’re no longer “seeking utopia”, however.
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Frederick, thanks for calling. Be assured that my seeking of utopia, in common with most humans, is still alive and well.
Regarding selfish individuals and elite minorities, they still require a lot of gullible people to fullfil their ambitions. I think that changing gullibility (if possible) is the way to go given that unprincipled people will always exist.
My fifteen year old son set up the new site. He and I are very proud of it! Cheers.
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It’s dominance! Whether it be humans, animals or vegetation, there’s dominance.
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Unfortunately, we may ‘dominate’ ourselves out of existence, Frank! Cheers.
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