The existential dilemma facing Hamlet in Shakespeare's play is not too dissimilar to my predicament. Ofcourse, Hamlet's choice to act or not act is more intensely personal and its urgency is more immediately relevant to his historical context.
My choice is to believe or not to believe what I see and what I read. Let me give an example......
Here is another example of a depiction of Gaddaffi's rule.
Now have a look at these depictions of his rule.....
and this one ......
The question is, what to believe ?
I could have an opinion on this issue but as a wise spokesperson once said,
"Opinions are like arseholes ; everybody has one ."
I know propaganda is at work here but how to unravel what people living in Libya actually thought of the man and the general consensus of him ? And why should this matter to me ? Living on the other side of the planet ?
And how is my dilemma linked to Hamlet's " To be or not to be " ?
Well, I have to function in my every day life as a citizen and I need to make certain internal judgements about what I see or hear or understand in my world.
To believe or not to believe what I am exposed to is the challenge I face in my own world of, to be or not to be.
The metaphor that comes to mind is ;
I can be a mushroom living in the dark and being fed bullshit and be comfortable with the state of affairs; or,
I can be a tree cultivating my own growth and feeding off the sun with the wild, unpredictable rhythms of nature.
What do you think ?
I have blogged a fair bit on Gaddafi and Libya
ReplyDeleteDid he have his issues?
Don't all political leaders
Check out the quality of life stats on Libya under Gaddafi's rule
The literacy rates, the length of their lives (life expectancy)
Watch it drop like a stone from here on in.
Read about the sovereign fund and the project to green the desert
The gold dinar
Then you will understand Gaddafi was not crazy, but "crazy like a fox"...
I can't be both.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think ?
Well, it's your blog, WJJ, so what do you think?
Firstly, thanx for checking out my Blog and
DeleteThanks for your comment, James. I obviously adhere to the second analogy.
I love your enticing question. What do I think ?
Well, it seems that your sentiments lie with politics and exposing the
institutionalised injustices of American Imperialism.
So if I may.....
the world has always been subject to the struggles of domination and power.
The Greeks, the Romans, the British...to name just a few obvious examples.
Exposing and toppling one injustice to replace it with another was beautifully
illustrated by George Orwell in Animal Farm. This process of changing and replacing
society based on the impulse of social justice changes the
outward form and structures , but essentially remains the same.
And we know the consequences of this search for Utopia.
So I believe that the world of power and politics
is the way it is because it cannot be any other way.
The people who rise to the top of these governments are themselves governed by
the principles of self interest.How else do you think they got
there? An image of ambition is a person standing threateningly
on the person below him whilst
kissing the feet of those above him. That's the hierarchy
of business and government.
I don't agree with it; and I don't support it. And I am
pretty sure I can't change it.
So where do I stand in all of this?
Well the simple truth James is I don't want to end up like George Orwell,
a bitter and broken man
unable to make sense of my role in a world abandoned
by Hope and Misfortune.
Seriously speaking, from my point of view
and my personal understanding, I don't think that conspiracy theories,
especially targeting the Jews and Americans will have any social or
lasting significance in the great scheme of things. It will
only make you enemies and
You should never underestimate your enemies.
And to be quite honest living under an American regime, with all
of its imperfections isn't that bad for me, and I presume for you as well.
So I hope you are not offended by my reply to your boomerang question.
BTW...I love your blog.
Im new to this game and I will
adapt and improvise as time goes on.
And Im on holidays at the moment and have loads of time up my sleeve..:-))
Hey William
ReplyDeleteConspiracies are merely two or more people planning something together.
It is generally best not to engage in the propaganda terminology that it has become.
No real conspiracies are being created involving America or Israel except the ones they are creating themselves.
By conspiring together against others
Be it Iran or most recently Thailand
Did you notice the perception created of the "terrorist" in Thailand.
That he was Lebanese, hence Arabic?
Except he was a Swedish national.
Who conspired to create a specific perception?
Why?
Orwell understood the importance of language.
We must always be aware of how language is used and abused to create a certain perception of reality.
Enjoy your time off.
Hi Penny,
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have a lot of experience in exposing the lies instigated by
the political spinners in the daily investigative news. I suppose the perceptions you speak about being created by these
manipulators of the press in spinning their web of deceit in current world affairs is
frightening because of its insidious innuendo and I am well aware of the problems this last episode has caused for
the Thai government. It's as if the bullying tactics of these players of perceptions in the battle for political supremacy
leave no stone unturned and anybody caught in the crossfire can be effectively jettisoned, just so long as they can appease their appetite for power and control. Justice becomes a word of convenience in the shadow of these powermongers.