The linked column, from Wired News columnist Tom Long, sums up, almost verbatim, what I've been saying (off and on) since 2001.
"What If They Gave a War...?"
And I'll bet dollars to donuts that you'll forget the content of said column within a day, thus proving the point being made. Not that I think you're all dullards or incapable of caring about such things. Quite the opposite. What I think is that you and I are no more or less succeptible to the "Situation: Hopeless"-apathy that those capable of making necessary changes appear to be afflicted with. We create microenvironments, where we're making the best of a bad situation and letting the rest of the world fend for itself. We're not uncaring, uncompassionate people, but we really don't believe that we can effect lasting change, and so we sit in our bunkers, riding out the storm till it's our turn for the Big Sleep.
I'm afraid, for all my sound & fury, that I've no assignment for you. I'm as guilty of said behavior as the rest of society, and my hypocrasy does have it's boundries. Instead I leave you to your own rebellious, revolutionary and anarchistic devices. Be creative. Answer the question posed in the article, and show everyone exactly where the Hell you are.
(Thanks to Melissa A. AKA the Idea Maven for directing me to the article in the first place. She rocks the Casbah.)
One last thing: When I first read the title of the article, I immediately heard the full quote in my head. I'm sure you're familiar with it. If not...
"What if they gave a war, and no one came?
It's a lovely thought, often used as an anti-war sentiment. Carl Sandburg's direct quote was "Sometime they'll give a war, and no one will come." Recently, I came across the "What if..." version in its entirety, attributed to Bertolt Brecht, a German dramatist. It read:
"What if they gave a war, and no one came?
Why then, the war would come to them."
Food for thought.
Portlandia Prevails.
"What If They Gave a War...?"
And I'll bet dollars to donuts that you'll forget the content of said column within a day, thus proving the point being made. Not that I think you're all dullards or incapable of caring about such things. Quite the opposite. What I think is that you and I are no more or less succeptible to the "Situation: Hopeless"-apathy that those capable of making necessary changes appear to be afflicted with. We create microenvironments, where we're making the best of a bad situation and letting the rest of the world fend for itself. We're not uncaring, uncompassionate people, but we really don't believe that we can effect lasting change, and so we sit in our bunkers, riding out the storm till it's our turn for the Big Sleep.
I'm afraid, for all my sound & fury, that I've no assignment for you. I'm as guilty of said behavior as the rest of society, and my hypocrasy does have it's boundries. Instead I leave you to your own rebellious, revolutionary and anarchistic devices. Be creative. Answer the question posed in the article, and show everyone exactly where the Hell you are.
(Thanks to Melissa A. AKA the Idea Maven for directing me to the article in the first place. She rocks the Casbah.)
One last thing: When I first read the title of the article, I immediately heard the full quote in my head. I'm sure you're familiar with it. If not...
It's a lovely thought, often used as an anti-war sentiment. Carl Sandburg's direct quote was "Sometime they'll give a war, and no one will come." Recently, I came across the "What if..." version in its entirety, attributed to Bertolt Brecht, a German dramatist. It read:
Why then, the war would come to them."
Food for thought.
Portlandia Prevails.
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