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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Death & Importance

I was reading a couple of blogs that were talking about various things such as the UK soldiers, Iraq war. They seemed to be focused on the lives being lost, and something needing to be done. I noticed that these people care about those lives for various reasons that I don't know. what caught my attention had nothing to do with that. I got to thinking about how tragic the loss of any life is. So I made another observation. We in America, possibly other countries as well, often devote ourselves to the hot button issuses. Iraq war, Scooter libby, Walter Reed, The firing of 8 attorney generals, and so on. What about the things the are not constantly on CNN of Fox News. I am not saying that these things are not important, because they are. So are many other things. AIDS is ravaging the Black community in America others too, but majority of the cases in America are black people. How often do you hear about this. Every now and then 20/20 wil do something or Dateline, even craptastic BET does a special about it once in a while. People are dying are high rates there is no cure, What do we do? I don't know, but this should be an issue that is talked about much more. Politicans should assure us that something will be done. It can't be an ignored issue. Gang warfare, I have heard reports that put the yearly death tolls of gang fighting as hight as some wars. That is happening right here on our soil, to Americans. You should care. It doesn't matter about race your fellow Americans live through this. The innocent die needlessly, and no major news organization covers this. Awareness is key. The govn't is fighting by producing special gang units in police, and harsher punishments. This is not going to work, because prison is a right of passage for gang members. Death is a part of everyday life for them. Coming into the community guns blazing send what message. The police to them might as well be another rival gang. Again I don't know how to alivate this, but it should be and issue. Muslims are persecuted very much in this country for the actions of a few. Muslims are beat to death on Americans streets. Some who are not even muslim or even from the middle east, they are Indians. Some are American citizens. So now we have racist people in this country killing people based on race and who are viewed as inferior out of fear and a feeling of superiority. I guess history does rhyme. So these soldiers go to Iraq because they want to kill Iraqis. A while back a group of soldiers killed a family and raped the female members of that family. It looks like we are fostering hate against them and then letting them have a outlet for it. Innocent people are killed for no reason by American soldiers and citizens, yet this is not an issue. Again I have no answer, but one needs to be formed. It seems to me really important issues are only the ones that the media deems important. I will admit I fall prey to this. I am not excused from this. I want all problems addressed in the media, by the people, and by politicians. We cannot let the media and govn't decide what is news. We control it, and when we let other people do that for us we are giving up our freedom to knowledge of of the world and in that same respect our power to affect policy for the better.

If the past, and the present exist only in the
mind, and the mind is controllable, then what?

Goerge Orwell "1984"


I read this quote on my father's nightstand when I visited him two years ago and it stays with me to this day . Thanks Remorji for the tip on the quote.

11 comments:

Enemy of the Republic said...

I don't know the quote. Maybe X-Dell does. I couldn't agree with you more. Military recruiters hunt out poor people to do Bush's killing, Bush's oil friends are getting richer, the bankrupcy laws now favor the rich even more and the suicide rate is climbing. Keep talking about what needs to be said.

Robert E. Morgan, Jr. said...

This quote is from the classic novel "1984", by George Orwell. Orwell might have wrote "1984" as fiction, but it is literally being transformed in to non-fiction by those who seek ultimate power over the masses.

Enemy of the Republic said...

Love the red!

X. Dell said...

Remorji beat me to the punch, Enemy. Great book. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

I don't agree that loss of life is always a tragedy. Death is simply a part of life. My 91-year-old grandmother will be gone in (the doctors tell us) two or three years. But I wouldn't consider the death a tragedy. I would be pissed, because I will miss her and would prefer that she live longer than I. But that's the way it has to be.

On the other hand, I would say that violent death, the willful taking of life is more than a tragedy. It's an outrage.

DirkStar said...

Wow!

Hot new look, Dude. I dig it.




Now, off we go into the wild blue yonder...

Muhd Imran said...

It is incredible what the media can coax the masses to think.

The phrase "I believe it when I see it" is no longer true with today's technology which can be subtly edited or totally fabricated true-to-life images that are believable to the man on the street.

It will take people with dire conviction to show the truth which usually involves sacrificing a lot of themselves throughout their life, to let the public see the whole truth.

Not many are built that way...

Yet the voice of one can somehow bring truth to the power of thousands or maybe millions of supporters... showing the truth and demand for action.

Helene said...

interesting post. I read a blog recently that was all about cruelty to animals (specifically horses) It talked about how people ignore the issue and act as if its not there.

I commented that I was one of those people... sad to say, but in reality I cant advocate for every cause I believe in. I can keep abreast of the issues, but... at some point I feel that if everyone takes an interest in some area then we all should have the basis covered.

idk if its the right way, but I just cant take on all the negative energy out there. I myself focus on homeless women and children. Its something I have done passionately for 7 years!

Oh and I love the red too! I may have to switch! =]

DirkStar said...

I really like the new digs...

Good post to kick it off with too.

Unknown said...

I agree with a lot of the sentiments, and I agree that a lot more people need to be talking about these things. I don't believe that it's important for politicians to be talking about these things more. Frankly, the idea of politicians working to "fix" these things really scares me. I confess that I am more than a little cynical of many of the people that reach high levels of politics. I also think that high level legislation is a "big hammer" approach to things that can often be handled better at much smaller levels. I really believe that no government program is really capable of tackling things like AIDS or gang violence on anything more than a symptomatic level. The causes lie within the communities, and that's where it needs attention. The only thing the government can do is send money, which will probably be misused to a great degree. Communities can provide support. Churches and volunteer groups can be right there to strengthen families and provide alternatives and encouragement. I just don't think government can, or should, be in that line of work.

The Future Was Yesterday said...

Super excellent post, C-Dell!! Lot's of good ground covered.
AIDS. It may be a majority of blacks affected by it; we all better start caring, or it'll be all of us! Gangs. Anyone that has lived in a city with a major gang problem, knows they are not to be taken lightly. I lived with the very real M13 gang in Durham; the only reasonable counter was to carry a weapon at all times: we both did.

As for the "hot button" issues, all of what you mentioned were a hot button, at one time or another. The problem is, we can only juggle so many pots on the fire at once, and we have SO many deep seated problems in this country that it's hard to tell what fire to put out first. Damn good post, once again!!

billie said...

the thinking cap on i see! great post. i think that what you are seeing is the decline of a once great superpower. i agree with you that all of these issues are relevent and should be addressed- but i think it needs to happen on the community level. i think many of these issues have risen from the ashes of government oversight. we are too used to taking big government's money to fix things- but it really needs to be dealt with by the people for the people. we need less governmental involvement- not more. does that sound conservative? :) racism is alive and well here in america and the chickens are coming home to roost for white bread america. aids doesn't discriminate nor do bullets. large chunks of our population are dying- from disease and violent death. talk about a brain drain. it saddens me but it gets me to thinkin' too. i think that kate is right- we need to form citizen groups to tackle these issues- but we all have to be on board to help. there is no one solution- but we had better do something. inaction is far worse than rolling up the sleeves and digging in.