At times like these, there are many things that could make a person weep - the state of the environment, extinction of God's beautiful creatures, the vast chasm between the rich and the poor of the world, terrorism...
"The spring of 2004 has brought forth monsters. The Madrid bombings, Gaza assassinations, Kosovo killings, Ugandan massacres, Iraqi depredations, Sudanese persecutions remind the world – if it was ever tempted to forget – that the defining issue of the 21st century is the question of political violence and its causes.Much of this political violence can be categorised as “terrorism”, and all of it is a recognisable exemplar of that toxic, multi-layered, and ultimately indispensable term. Its employment demands extreme care and discrimination, as well as awareness of its potential for misuse, but the pressing realities of our time force on us the responsibility to make it an instrument of enlightenment and understanding."
Since the times of our forefathers, the world was never a pretty place. Wars, natural disasters, plagues, have all been part and parcel of life. Whether everyone was fully aware of what was going on was a totally different story.
While I won't discuss terrorism specifically, the question I'd like to raise here is: When did we become a cynical society?
My guess is that the answer lies with the introduction of the information superhighway (now under construction and choking from over-capacity!).
In today's society, where almost every Malaysian has access to multiple channels of information, it's not hard to be over-exposed and under-prepared for the flow of data that is funnelled through our eyes and ears. We are inundated with multiple channels worth of news on public TV, with more channels dedicated to news on Astro, various hard copy newspapers (some for free), more free internet news sources and of course... blogs.
Unfortunately, most of the news we get nowadays is bad. Unfortunately, all these news are vividly described to us - more often that not with graphic imagery, gory details and emotive commentaries, which all adds to the shock effect of said news. One could say that news have become our daily consumption of entertainment - the ultimate in reality shows!
In the face of all this, what do we do?
Do we cry? Do we wail? Do we tense up into an 'anger ball' and scowl at the world? Do we lash at the villains in the story that angered us so and hurl abuses into the void?
Or do we digest the news, as bad as it is, as a lesson for us to learn? Do we analyse the perspective in which the news was delivered (with "truths" coming from these type of sources... *sigh*) and continue to search for answers to why events have unfolded in such a way? Do we question where our contributions may lie? Do we internalise these lessons?
Do we make sure that we don't let history repeat itself?
Readings: What is Terrorism?Posted by Najah Nasseri at 2004年04月23日 21:11 | TrackBack
from OpenDemocracy.com - "We should never forget that it was Europe which led the world in the uses of political violence." Fred Halliday surveys the history and character of terrorism
We're not necessarily cynical, perhaps only desensitised. Things that used to be swept under the carpet are now out in plain view for all and sundry. One could say it's a natural progression.
What we choose to DO with this information, is highly subjective (although mathematically predictable, if you subscribe to Isaac Asimov's writings in his Foundation cycle).
As for making sure history does not repeat, it is difficult to say the least. History is one cycle that INSISTS on its right to repeat itself. Perhaps for our own good.
Posted by: Ash.ox at 2004年04月25日 02:05the world is far worse place when our agendas clash. each professing to be clean and righteous. remember what gandhi said - "the world is enough for everyone's need but not for one man's greed". or something like that. put that beside what michael milliken said to a bunch of mba's - "it's alright to be greedy". if that bunch of mba's take his word lock, stock and barrel and set forth to implement it, we are in trouble. no, slightly bigger trouble, as the world we live in already is.
Posted by: cimabue at 2004年04月26日 12:10