21 years late...
Jeff points out that the Thought Police are alive and kicking and right here in America. Apparently Eric Arthur Blair (a.k.a. George Orwell) was right in 1984, he just got the year wrong. Some kid in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (yes, the birthplace of manned flight) is being investigated by the Secret Service after Wal-Mart directed them to a high school student who had taken photos of himself denouncing President Bush as part of a school assignment on constitutional rights. Wal-Mart's actions don't trouble me in the slightest, or at least they don't surprise me; I have refused to shop at Wal-Mart for about two years now, in general protest of their numerous deplorable actions. But what is the Secret Service thinking? Surely there are greater threats to our president than some kid giving him the "thumbs down". What's next, are they going to go after Roger Ebert for giving thumbs down to Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo?
In other news, I read a quote in the Newsweek "Perspectives" section that caught my eye. Army Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan said the following in an email to reporters: "The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives."
The quote bothers me for two reasons. First, it is extremely callous in its "yeah yeah, so what, someone else died, whoop-de-do" attitude. But what disturbs me more is I absolutely agree with it. The number 2000 is nothing special. It truly is an artificial mark, and a number that can be easily manipulated by war opposers. Personally, I much prefer the number one. As in the notion of each individual death as a milestone. People are dying every day for a cause that seems almost lost, with a purpose that our leaders still have yet to come clean about. The first person who died was a unique human being, the same as the 2000th. As those who oppose the war continue to keep tally of the total number of casualties, they must not lose sight of the fact that these are not just statistics.
On a lighter note, there's a new issue of The Slant out today. Yes, I'm still keeping up with my old humor mag, and yes, they're still putting out quality articles. Some articles are Vandy-specific, but others are good general satire or have national scope. I highly recommend non-Vandy folk check it out.
Song lyric of the day:
"I'll admit I'm full of shit
It's how I know I love you
It's how I know I trust you
You're not sure if there's a right or wrong
But it feels like there is"
- the Arcade Fire, My Heart is an Apple
In other news, I read a quote in the Newsweek "Perspectives" section that caught my eye. Army Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan said the following in an email to reporters: "The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives."
The quote bothers me for two reasons. First, it is extremely callous in its "yeah yeah, so what, someone else died, whoop-de-do" attitude. But what disturbs me more is I absolutely agree with it. The number 2000 is nothing special. It truly is an artificial mark, and a number that can be easily manipulated by war opposers. Personally, I much prefer the number one. As in the notion of each individual death as a milestone. People are dying every day for a cause that seems almost lost, with a purpose that our leaders still have yet to come clean about. The first person who died was a unique human being, the same as the 2000th. As those who oppose the war continue to keep tally of the total number of casualties, they must not lose sight of the fact that these are not just statistics.
On a lighter note, there's a new issue of The Slant out today. Yes, I'm still keeping up with my old humor mag, and yes, they're still putting out quality articles. Some articles are Vandy-specific, but others are good general satire or have national scope. I highly recommend non-Vandy folk check it out.
Song lyric of the day:
"I'll admit I'm full of shit
It's how I know I love you
It's how I know I trust you
You're not sure if there's a right or wrong
But it feels like there is"
- the Arcade Fire, My Heart is an Apple
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home