I think the politicians should now really be brought to account and made to
fact the fact that a lot of world problems are self made by themselves and
their predecessors.  How can someone who was a product of the United States
military machine, now be cast as a bogyman by the same people?  The list is
endless here:

The role of politicians/the military in Chile
the role of politicians/the military in Terry Waite's case
the role of politicians/the military in the current situation in Palestine
etc., etc., ...


It was also very sad over the weekend to see church services which did not
put this most recent horror alongside Bosnia, Rwanda, Shatila, etc., etc.

Getting rid of terrorism is a fine ideal but politicians have not proved
themselves equal to the task in the past, nor I suspect/fear in the present
and future.  What will happen next is probably the settling of old scores
which will impact (as usual) on innocent people around the globe.

The world is now too small a place to allow this to happen.

Rob


-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Cresswell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 17 September 2001 09:39
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: the crusade


dear people

I am horrified by recent events - certainly not elated but stunned.  The
pornographic video wallpaper that appears on the TV daily has colonised my
mind and I resent that deeply.  I do not want images of airplanes crashing
into buildings to be my daily thoughts.  Notice how the TV crews are
desparate to show suffering.  That poor woman in CNN who was asked by a
brainless interviewer if she had seen any blood - she then showed him her
bleeding leg and said - "if you want blood there it is".  How absurd!  I
cannot help but think how this contrasts with the complete absence of blood
(and suffering of any kind) in the carefully self-censored Gulf War.  And
all those horrendous phonecalls - why do we need to hear them all?  What
are we being prepared for?  And now Bush calls this the "First War of teh
21st Century" which would be true a) if this was a war and b) if there
hadn't been numerous other ones all over the world though I suppose
Macedonia, Nepal, Iraq, etc do not count anymore.  And now we are involved
in a crusade.  I simply cannot believe that the most powerful leader in the
world can use such a word innocently with no knowledge of history and
geography.

At the same time all these sounds and images do bring tears to my eyes and
a sense of deep saddness (I know this sounds corny).  I realise that I have
not been similarly haunted by the many other horrendous losses of lives
that happen on  a yearly basis but not so cinematically.  There is no way
to film thousands of Iraqi children dying from fifteen different angles.
The lenses are not focussed there. I have to question my own response here.
Why am I not equally sad?  Why aren't my dreams full of violence all the
time?  How well have I been indoctrinated?

I am glad that some of you are finding resources to begin a struggle in the
classroom against these kinds of civilisation vs the rest statements. I
will do my best to do likewise.

Tim

Tim Cresswell
Senior Lecturer
Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion SY23 3DB
United Kingdom
Tel: 44 (0)1970 622782
e-mail [log in to unmask]
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