Saturday, July 15, 2006

on the brink

I'm glued to the CBC and CNN - again. It's been awhile though. I've been so good lately not obsessing over the news...or maybe it's that there hasn't been anything really 'new' to obsess over. Sadly, we can get used to almost anything. The fact that we have troops in combat roles rather than on peacekeeping missions was unique for a little while, but we so easily get desensitized to war. I think the last time I couldn't stop watching television was with New Orleans. Before that there was the London Bombings, the Tsunami, Iraq, Afghanistan, 911, Gulf War, the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters, assassination of Rabin, Beslan school hostage taking, Columbine, Air India Bombing, and the OJ Simpson police chase and trial (ahem...GUILTY). The list goes on. There were other natural disasters, insurgencies, plane crashes, and crimes mixed in that demanded attention as well. I apologize as I'm sure I left out some important events. See how easy it is to forget? Then there was the list of things that should be making (or should have made) the news more: Sudan, Rwanda, Bosnia, Haiti...but they barely make it on the radar.

So now we have the situation in the Middle East. My fear is that this is going to escalate. Everyone against Israel. Israel against everyone: Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Syria... Now they're talking of a linkage developing between all of the extreme Islamic militant groups. They're even throwing around the possibility of Iranian nuclear warfare. This brings me back to one of the first times I was glued to the news - the cold war. It brings me back to the childhood panic attacks, my fear the world would end. With a slightly more adult stance, I'm afraid again. I worry for my relatives in Israel. I worry for everyone. I find it frustrating that I never know what sources to trust, yet here I am, soaking it all in. It’s 2 AM and I can’t close my eyes. Like I said, I might have forgotten some crucial events, but sometimes I wonder how anyone could live at all if they had to soak everything up. Perhaps the desensitization is more about self-preservation than ignorance. Either way, I'm going to sleep.

3 comments:

(S)wine said...

don't forget Europe's harsh stand on Israel. The U.S. is about its only ally right now. Putin pussyfooted around the subject at G8 this morning. It's going to be a big fucking mess; watch the energy prices soar, too. Big fucking mess. I've always maintained that the shit is gonna come out of the Middle East...when it finally does all come out. And a distant second: Southeast Asia. It all sucks bollix

RONIN said...

I don't pretend to know all the intricacies of who attacked who and why.

But if you think things are bad now, just wait until oil reaches $100/barrel and higher...

(S)wine said...

word is Hezbollah "started it." and we all know those boys are supported via a pipeline from Iran. tough situation; will probably escalate, no doubt. U.S. is calling for restraint from Israel...although something tells me that the second some fucko launches a missile into our airspace all hell would break loose. and so, it's quite laughable to hear the R-word coming from this administration.