Sunday, May 1, 2011

THE LAND OF THE FREE & THE HOME OF THE BRAVE.

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA.

No, congratulations to the world, hey.

Osama Bin Laden is dead.

A soldier shot him in a sting attack and he is as dead as doornails.

I turned on Fox News (I know- such a reliable source) and viewed the celebrations outside the White House.
People were "woo-ing" and drinking our of red cups and i thought,

"by golly, how american."

I dont know how I feel about this.
I can only think of one word to describe the vibe:

MORBID.

I just cant seem to think of it as a relief or a triumph.
But then again I am not downplaying the significance of this event in the western world's history.

It just seems so brutal.
And eye for an eye never really sat that well for me anyway.

I understand that 9/11 was a horrible tragedy where many American and not so American people died for no reason.
Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters were lost that day and I acknowledge the absurd nature of the incident.

I kind of see it as hickish and can practically hear the "yee-ha's" from Texas right here in Australia.

Maybe it is because I am from a country other than the "greatest country on earth" and have the ability to be subjective about the matter.
Maybe I just do not know the loss that people realised that day in September 2001.
I wasnt there, I didnt know anyone who was killed, I have no ties to it at all.

But I do get that it was fucked up and awful and I was shattered at the thought so many people perished at the hands of the terrorists who were involved.

The war then became all about finding Bin Laden and taking him down.

Fast Forward 10 years later.
The people I have spoken to about the death of OBL have all expressed their gratitude to the soldiers who did it, and yet still can not see an end to the war.

Have we been exposed to too much through the media that now even children (because thats what we were when it all went down) have become so cynical about peace, and so jammed full of "knowledge" and fear that the war has just become background noise to the materialistic and jaded world we now call home.

I am slightly ashamed- and I can not tell you why.
I am cringing at the people flying the American flag and hollering in high spirits- and I can not tell you why.
I am thinking about the 10 years and the lives we have lost from this earth (on both "sides" whatever the sides are...) just so one man is dead.

Is that what it was all about?
Killing this man?

Well its done, so now what?
How much longer are people going to die for nothing?

And dont tell me its about freedom,
Because we do not have the freedom to do anything.

Freedom has become a word that is used in such a non chalant context that is holds no meaning anymore.

You cant say anything you want about others,
You cant do anything you want if you dont have the money or the money to get the education you MUST have in order to do what you desire.
You cant be who you want to be without ridicule or a stupid law that denies you from being legally bound to the one you love if they are the same sex as you.

No one is killing the people who keep our mouths shut.
No one is killing the people who increase petrol prices and education costs.
No one is killing the Prime Minister because she says that religion states that gay people just "shouldnt" be married.

Because its not "right"

So tell me- do you feel right with this?

3 comments:

  1. your last two paragraphs, spot on! what happened to our country?? we got "coca-colonised" by american television. and we have blown everything out of context. if we had "freedom of speech" i wouldn't have people telling me to quieten down or lable me a racist for saying black around a coloured person or believing people should go about the proper procedures when migrating here . i wouldn't be called ignorant because of my beliefs. i could grow certain plants i wish, but because the government (labour and liberal) cant tax me i become a criminal and i could drive my car with bio diesel but yet again the government cant tax me so i and many other people who believe in not getting ripped off or helping the environment (in this instance minutely) . we certainly do have freedom in all aspects, don't we?

    thats my little rant.. but ur spot on jess!! whats it all for?? who knows?? probably so all the blokes in charge can say "hey my dicks bigger than yours"

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  2. Completely agree with the comment above, couldn't have written it better.

    I think there are many Americans (generalising - yes I know) that are very narrow minded, hypocritic, stupid people.

    On a different, note, great blog I read your Techno Cold Turkey piece in Cleo and am now following your blog!

    Feel free to check mine out, not anywhere near as good as yours, mainly just fashion likes and dislikes; www.ohosgossamer.blogspot.com

    Natasha, x.

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  3. Hi again Jessica,
    You are more than welcome, your blog is insightful and interesting, I only follow blogs I like, which has turned out to be a lot haha including yours! :)
    Glad you like my blog and the photos, I try to post of things that I like but also ask my audience their likes and dislikes. It is mainly about fashion but I do try to write about things.

    Natasha, xxx

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