Politics anyone?
"You can't politicize a war--because wars are political to begin with. Political leaders decide to fight them; elections determine what course they take or if they are fought at all."
"...Why, after more than three years, are images of coffins returning from a war controversial at all?"
"Families, pundits and pols can disagree on what the flag that shrouds those coffins stands for. But that flag is not, and should never be, a blindfold."
Interesting statements. Read what James Poniewozik has to say in last month's Times magazine. I didn't know that pictures of flag-draped American coffins of soldiers were not allowed by the government to be published/shown. I remember when I was a kid and in India, coffins were shown on TV, in papers and the military funeral services were aired on some channel or the other. And as far as I know, they do so in a couple more countries too, but the rule being enforced strictly since the Iraq war is appaling. A friend directed me a link to the CNN website, which has a list of all the soldiers killed in Iraq. It goes back to Poniewozik's statement of the flag not blindfolding you. Maybe it's just me, but it relieves me to think that there are people out there who are risking fame, fortune and who knows... even lives, to make the general public more aware of what's happening outside the country. It's sad to find your friends or even strangers you meet or someone on a web discussion page, say, "Oh, that. Like I care" or tossing news that supposedly doesn't affect their lives with a "Anyway..."... or even people acting ignoring and preferring to stay that way, or even worse, not accepting the truth and using that ignorance to justify arguments (which can never be won).
Is it that tough to sit and listen and be open-minded to other people's perspectives or even the truth? Maybe... but unfortunately the world does not go 'round that way. When there is information out there for you to read, READ it. Don't form opinions on just ONE thing you read or because the author thought of one thing in one particular manner. Read, read, READ! It may not affect you as of now... but when it does, who knows. It might just be too late to get that information and use it appropriately. What's the harm in knowing a little more about something? I'm not sure if this phrase even exists, but I've heard someone say little bit of knowledge is dangerous (so best not to have any knowledge?). I say sure it is -- if you ACT based on that knowledge. As it turns out, most actions/decisions people regrettably make are on little knowledge of something. And I'm not making it up, it's a fact. I've done it before, you have, ... everyone has at one point in their life hastily made a decision. A guy I knew online believes that if there is no proof, it doesn't exist. You can't argue that... but how much do various forces in your environment want you to know something? Yes, it comes back to the government. How much does the government want us to see? To learn? Having a father who's a govt. official, administrator, economist and a bureaucrat, I think I've learnt quite a bit about how much is kept from the people.
Ah, I'm rambling again... so before I spend the next 15 minutes typing about something like this, I'll take leave and wish you all a good day and an even better week. Stay safe and be good.
"...Why, after more than three years, are images of coffins returning from a war controversial at all?"
"Families, pundits and pols can disagree on what the flag that shrouds those coffins stands for. But that flag is not, and should never be, a blindfold."
Interesting statements. Read what James Poniewozik has to say in last month's Times magazine. I didn't know that pictures of flag-draped American coffins of soldiers were not allowed by the government to be published/shown. I remember when I was a kid and in India, coffins were shown on TV, in papers and the military funeral services were aired on some channel or the other. And as far as I know, they do so in a couple more countries too, but the rule being enforced strictly since the Iraq war is appaling. A friend directed me a link to the CNN website, which has a list of all the soldiers killed in Iraq. It goes back to Poniewozik's statement of the flag not blindfolding you. Maybe it's just me, but it relieves me to think that there are people out there who are risking fame, fortune and who knows... even lives, to make the general public more aware of what's happening outside the country. It's sad to find your friends or even strangers you meet or someone on a web discussion page, say, "Oh, that. Like I care" or tossing news that supposedly doesn't affect their lives with a "Anyway..."... or even people acting ignoring and preferring to stay that way, or even worse, not accepting the truth and using that ignorance to justify arguments (which can never be won).
Is it that tough to sit and listen and be open-minded to other people's perspectives or even the truth? Maybe... but unfortunately the world does not go 'round that way. When there is information out there for you to read, READ it. Don't form opinions on just ONE thing you read or because the author thought of one thing in one particular manner. Read, read, READ! It may not affect you as of now... but when it does, who knows. It might just be too late to get that information and use it appropriately. What's the harm in knowing a little more about something? I'm not sure if this phrase even exists, but I've heard someone say little bit of knowledge is dangerous (so best not to have any knowledge?). I say sure it is -- if you ACT based on that knowledge. As it turns out, most actions/decisions people regrettably make are on little knowledge of something. And I'm not making it up, it's a fact. I've done it before, you have, ... everyone has at one point in their life hastily made a decision. A guy I knew online believes that if there is no proof, it doesn't exist. You can't argue that... but how much do various forces in your environment want you to know something? Yes, it comes back to the government. How much does the government want us to see? To learn? Having a father who's a govt. official, administrator, economist and a bureaucrat, I think I've learnt quite a bit about how much is kept from the people.
Ah, I'm rambling again... so before I spend the next 15 minutes typing about something like this, I'll take leave and wish you all a good day and an even better week. Stay safe and be good.
