Today I was surprised to receive an email from a popular anti-war group stating that the majority of its members are IN FAVOUR of military action in Iraq and that this organisation will not be campaigning in either direction. It just goes to show that if you throw enough mud at something and it shall, eventually, stick. Talk about a coalition of the willing... Today’s vote is, once again, a spectacle of monumental yet ornamental theatrics. The decision to go to war, in reality, is not made by parliamentary vote, it is made by an Order in Council under the executive’s prerogative powers, which would be unconstitutional for the Queen to refuse. Yes, the vote symbolises democratic debate, but it is also unconstitutional for front-benchers to negate the PM’s motions under the convention of collective responsibility. Furthermore, in the eaves of Westminster, government whips will do their utmost to the majority plays ball. Such is the democracy we live in. In recent weeks, I have seen posts from numerous (usually) intelligent and peace-loving people calling for war, even the nuclear extermination of ISIL and their ilk. I find this as distressing as the terrible videos and the thought of countless more innocent lives taken away needlessly. It disappoints me to see so many people who have stood up for a peaceful way of life, as oft expressed through our forward-thinking music and artisan cultures, drop like flies to the information war on national psyche. The killings are undoubtedly genuine and dreadful beyond words; there is no doubt about it. I cant imagine what the families of those individuals have been going through. Yet, however such atrocities make us feel, do we REALLY know who these mysterious IS people are? They have seemingly burst into the scene soon after the US withdrawal (and we are told they have been there all along). Some report that they have been recruiting Saddam’s former military men, who have been fortified by amalgamating military and ‘terrorist techniques’, and are now recruiting youngsters from all nations, thus threatening us all. Others report, even in the same publications, that Iraqis widely believe that the group is a creation by the US and Israel. Some have publicised that that the ginger-bearded ISIS commander is actually Georgian; whilst others suggest he is a Chechen agent provocateur receiving support from the CIA. Maybe all the above are factual, maybe none, but stranger things have happened in all cases. Read the sources below, find your own, then make up your own mind. The only truth is that we know very little about what is really taking place on the ground, which is why need to be objective and not let our emotions—triggered only by the images we get to see—get the better of us. We live in ethereal times, wherein reality is turning into a shadow play of sorts with ever more complex and tenuous links to the various agendas at work. The last 13 years have seen a sharp intensification in the media against Muslims. Whilst I have my own non-religious personal beliefs, I have lived in numerous countries, travelled far and wide, and grown up around countless Muslim friends and families. Not a single individual I have met believes the views or lives in accordance to the lifestyles splattered across endless front pages and documentaries. The actions of a few bad apples, real or fictitious, simply must not be confused with a right-thinking, peace-loving, community. Yet programmes continue to blaze hatred into millions of homes, slowly but surely, devaluing a sector of society as reprehensible, deleterious and expendable. Remember the last time that happened in the Western world? Hatred starts in the mind, but has no end. But what is being decided today is out of our hands. The harsh reality is that we, as citizens, have almost no control over such matters. We can petition, march the streets, even revolt, but like it or not, we will not succeed in changing anything this way. What we do have control over is our capacity to decide whether we want war as a mindset. Can we let these sentiments permeate our lives, and to what extent? If we believe in war, don’t we become part of the war? Personally, I say we are far more useful as promulgators or a more evolved, peaceful mode of life. Surely, it is a more effective use of our energy. So please, can we all make an effort to stop allowing the things we watch and read get the better of us? The answer isn’t to cut ourselves off from the news. Every bit of content in the media, including social media—wittingly or otherwise—is designed to produce an emotional response: from and anger and sadness to comfort and elevation. Yes, that includes this post. We just have to ensure that we keep watch of our emotional responses, read between the lines, and ask ourselves why a particular piece of journalism has been transmitted. Reading more perspectives, likeable or otherwise, and checking sources also helps the cause. There is no more reliable source of than a sum of sources. Only then should we start to consider what we take on board as fact. We live in an age of information technology, yet this far from guarantees the avail of useful information. Reality is ever more distorted, with ever-refining sophistication and ever-deviating intent. If our minds can be won, our lives can be won and thats no commodity that any of us want played with. Mud is being flung at us from all angles, and it really is up to each of us alone to keep it from sticking. End of Friday rant! ps. a few sources for what Ive said above: findlaw.co.uk/law/government/constitutional_law/citizens_guide_to_government/500456.htmlfindlaw.co.uk/law/government/constitutional_law/citizens_guide_to_government/500456.html theguardian/politics/2014/jun/08/rules-cabinet-collective-responsibility-need-review-cheryl-gillan nytimes/2014/08/28/world/middleeast/army-know-how-seen-as-factor-in-isis-successes.html nytimes/2014/09/21/world/middleeast/suspicions-run-deep-in-iraq-that-cia-and-the-islamic-state-are-united.html?_r=0 nytimes/2014/09/21/world/middleeast/suspicions-run-deep-in-iraq-that-cia-and-the-islamic-state-are-united.html?_r=0 rt/op-edge/168064-isis-terrorism-usa-cia-war/
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 13:44:30 +0000
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