 london diary // war dialogues # 4 Why I place faith in the ongoing protests... [1] [2] [3] [4] I certainly agree that the war will not be stopped at this point. Most people agree, in fact over three quarters of a million people in London at least. Yesterday's demonstration (22nd March) was a barely a fraction of those we had seen prior to the official declaration of war. This is not to say that further demonstrations are fundamentally pointless. Why? It is difficult to accept that so many millions have been ignored by those we elect to represent us, and likewise those who maintain power illegitimately (in the case of both Bush and Hussein). Nevertheless, the short-term failure of opposition runs the risk of being considered a long-term renunciation of protesters' beliefs. I do not believe that those who are against the war should suddenly return home with their tails between their legs. Seizing the opportunity to continue voicing our anger towards our political leaders is equally intended to fulfill long-term objectives. What are these long-term objectives? First of all, both the United States and the United Kingdom are currently in clear breach of international law. We need to inform our governments that they cannot have one set of rules for themselves and another for everybody else. I reiterate that the rules by which the international community is expected to abide are indeed our rules. The least we may do is stick to them ourselves before punishing others on the grounds of non compliance. In my opinion this is a crucial factor in earning the respect of the international community, and an issue which need not be underestimated. At present we are doing nothing but undermining ourselves, and what we stand for. In the long-term we need to hold our politicians accountable for the crimes and injustices they carry out on our behalf. Otherwise, how can we hope to endorse Western democratic values if we demonstrate a complete loss of power over our own administration? As we have seen in UK, our prime minister has shown as much disregard of the views of his people than any leader who might conceivably be labeled a dictator. In other words, we cannot preach democracy when we clearly send out signals of how ineffective it really can prove to be. This is something we have to face up to in order to secure our future world positioning and justify the exportation of democratic rhetoric (which I don not unconditionally agree with). It also needs to be said that political and economic dominance are not inherently permanent. On the contrary, for the World to remain a progressive and evolving place we must, to an extent, accept the implausibility of world peace. I shall not deny that this is a highly cynical perspective, especially since the temptation to strive towards achieving permanence (peace and stability) is in our nature. Nevertheless, such a notion serves too often as a ruse on both sides of the debate. It is inevitable that there will be repeated challenges to the United States for many many years to come. However, it is, to a certain degree, our choice whether these attempts to de-thrown the US occur economically, militarily, as a result of terrorism, or ideally in a peaceful manner. We absolutely must comprehend that our Western civilisation will remain under serious threat as long as current attitudes prevail. Western hypocrisy and double standards are the most important factors contributing to the pool of resentment in which we are currently bathing. This is also one of the easiest concerns to rectify. The question needs to be posed as to why more and more people are turning to acts of terrorism against the US. An answer along the lines of: "they're being brain washed", is just not good enough. Instead of pursuing a policy of seek and destroy (and by that I am not denying anybody the right to retaliate, i.e. the US following 9/11), how about delving into the roots of the problem and attacking it from there -- not simply burning away that which lies above the surface and leaving the roots to grow back. Or, fertilizing the roots with the blood of the innocent and thus enabling the problem to become widespread beyond imagination. The point to the continuing protests is yet a further warning that any one power cannot simply take a highlighter pen to a map of the world titled 'The Axis of Evil', and then designate who is, and who is not going to get an ass kicking. Understanding that millions upon millions perceive us as the 'Axis of Evil' seems to be something to which far too little thought is spared. I will optimistically carry on believing in the continuation of anti-war protests in the hope that they may serve as a strong cup of coffee. One that will finally awaken the senses of those who have let too much money and power numb their brains. If you ask me why I blindly support the divergent anti-war movements, my answer would be the mere hope that I have inside me. The hope that we will not one day witness World War III unravel on our television screens. I continue to protest because I hope to warn our political leaders that their actions are not suffered gladly. I hope to send a sign to our muslim neighbors that such wars fought between power crazed leaders (theirs and ours) are not fought on our behalf. I hope to help our current enemies understand that we, the people (however tacky that sounds), are not their enemies. I hope to make them understand that we are not actively engaged in a religious and cultural crusade. Luke. [1] [2] [3] [4] |
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