by darkbeforedawn » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:32 am
The Theater of the Absurd<br><br>Bernard J. Fine <br><br>[Bernard J. Fine is editor of Fiatlux.info, a bi-monthly web journal. Dr. Fine, now retired, was a senior scientist at a U.S. Army Medical Research Institute.]<br><br><br>It should be a field day for editorial writers with all that’s going on in the world, but I find myself barren of new, creative thoughts. After reading so many news articles and think pieces everyday in preparation for publishing this website, it is obvious to me that almost every aspect of what is going on in the world has been covered many times over. One struggles to maintain one’s sanity as the news and the informed and uninformed observations of experts and would be experts trickles in in a constant stream. <br><br>The world has gone topsy-turvy, it seems. Bad people take over governments and destroy precious lives and social institutions with impunity while Good people say “Oh dear,” and pluck lint from their navels. <br><br>It’s like watching performances of a Theater of the Absurd. <br><br>The Democrats, justifiably, I think, belittle the Republican administration for being Chicken Hawks, meaning that the latter advocate military action and slaughter (of other people’s children) without themselves having experienced military service and, consequently not knowing what death and maiming in battle is like. At the same time, the Dems themselves act as Chicken Littles, meaning that they don’t have the courage to stand up to the Chicken Hawks, thereby defining for all time the meaning of “Wishy-washy.” <br><br>Or, perhaps more understandable in baseball lingo, the Republicans offer to play a ball game with the Democrats saying “we’ll bring the bats and you bring the balls.” But the Democrats don’t show up; they have no balls. <br><br>Meanwhile, back at the Gaza , the flour supply runs out and there is no bread. Then, apparently realizing that the PR wouldn’t be too good if Palestinian kids starved to death because Israel had shut down all means of access to the territory thus preventing delivery of flour and other commodities, the Israeli’s magnanimously allow supply trucks in, at least for a period of time. How long? How often? At whose whim? Who knows? Absurdly, the US government and the US Congress condones this? <br><br>A Theater of the Absurd indeed. Here we have Israel brutalizing Palestine over an extended period of years, destroying lives, homes, crops, fields, building ghetto walls, depriving people of food, water and dignity and using starvation as yet another tool of terror and justifying this behavior as retaliation for Palestinian aggression. The point has been reached where an Arab kid throwing a stone at a tank now appears to be justification for his being shot and killed by the Israeli military. One wonders why Palestinian aggression isn’t justified when one sees photos of what Israel has wrought in Palestine . I know that Palestinians have done their share of terrorizing Israelis, and I certainly don’t condone that, but doesn’t one have to have a sense of proportion? A sense of justice? A sense of decency? A sense of when retaliation has reached the point when further action becomes a progrom? Even in a Theater of the Absurd should one consider presenting the rape of a country as the main feature and then, as an extra added attraction flood the victim country with random patterns of sonic booms from high-speed aircraft to psychologically disturb the population? What is the terminal point of an eye for an eye?<br><br>When do we reach the point of the blind fighting the blind, neither side being able any longer to see what is really happening; the disintegration of humanity, of the quality of being human. As a Jew I find that smothering. Stifling. “Never again” has become “Now We are doing it.” The absurd has become reality. <br><br>Considering absurdity in Palestine brings us to Iraq . One wonders why Iraqi aggression against Americans isn’t justified when one sees photos of what America has wrought in that country. We’re not particularly bashful about our obscene military adventures either. “Operation Shock and Awe.” As our Attorney General might say: “How quaint.” <br><br>One wonders why Americans, seemingly a people who admire David and Goliath stories. aren’t cheering for the Iraqis, fighting as they are with Kalashnikovs against helicopters, tanks and attack planes all using ammunition containing depleted uranium. We always seem to love it when the underdog beats the big, bad bully. Now we’re the bully, shocking and awing the underdog while the audience in our Theater of the Absurd screams their approval egged on by our swaggering President and his honchos. The whole lead up to the war, starting with the election of George W. Bush, was an exercise in absurdity; millions of American patriotic lemmings following a phony leader over a cliff. And the band played on. <br><br>Finally, one mustn’t forget the UN, when discussing absurdity. Ten years of sanctions against Iraq that resulted in the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of five? 500,000? Surely, that’s an absurd action and an absurd statistic. Yet, Madeleine Albright, erstwhile Secretary of State during many of the sanction years, acknowledged that number and defended it as “worth it” in an interview with Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes <br><br>(<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1084)">www.fair.org/index.php?page=1084)</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <br><br>Nominee for Most Heartless Performance by a Female Public Servant in the Theater of the Absurd: Madeleine Albright. She can now take her place alongside the leading Most Absurd Man of the Era; Nobel Peace Prize Winner Henry Kissinger. <br><br>(<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=8104)">peacejournalism.com/ReadA...leID=8104)</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <br><br>One expects that John Bolton, U.S. Representative to the UN will be next in line for some sort of absurd prize. Perhaps Obstructionist of the Century. <br><br>One can’t entirely blame the UN for its errors, lack of strength and vigor, failure to intercede when it should have, etc. The absence of support from its one-time major supporter, the United States of America , One Nation Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All, has rendered the once potentially effective peace organization relatively impotent. But it has, for the most part, been at least as effective as the Democrats in Congress. Which is like saying that Warren Harding was at least as effective as Calvin Coolidge. <br><br>Rather amazingly, two Democrats have recently taken rather brave stands, particularly in contrast to their fellow Dems. I speak of Congressman John Conyers who is primary sponsor of an impeachment movement against G. W. Bush and Senator Russ Feingold, who is sponsoring a bill to censure Bush. Feingold, at this writing, is being subjected to a barrage of Republican “dirty” ads in his home state of Wisconsin . Instead of coming to his aid, the majority of the rest of the Dems are sequestered in the Theater of the Absurd (they have free passes, courtesy of Jewish lobby AIPAC) and are busy trying to ignore Conyers and Feingold. <br><br>Can we try to cut out some of the absurdity by doing our small part? I urge all readers to contact both John Conyers [2426 Rayburn Bldg., Washington, DC 20515; phone 202-225-5126, FAX 2002-225-0072] and Russ Feingold [506 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510; phone 202-224-5323, FAX 202-224-2725. <br><br>Try to break away from the Internet Theater of the Absurd for a bit and either call each of these courageous men or write a letter to each, yes, a letter in your own handwriting, and give them some encouragement. If enough people do small important acts, perhaps we will wake up some morning without the cloud of absurdity hanging over all of us. I know that seems like an absurd possibility, but that’s all there is folks, that’s how we are going to take our country back. “Inch by inch, Rove by Rove . . . .”<br><br> <br><br> <p></p><i></i>
