You find yourself trapped in a lose-lose situation; if you condemn the war [the resistance], you will be accused by the majority of Iraqis as advocating the oppressor, and if you support the war, you will be supporting the occupation! The Iraqi issue is obscure--unlike the situation in Lebanon.
We have Arab intellectuals questioning where they are in the world, how to come out from under the insanity and oppression; what should they be writing, what could they be thinking: what should be next on the road away from oppression toward freedom? There seems to be no right way to go, and hardly a way to speak without shame or worse.
While the Arab nations are dealing with how to go about becoming free, we infidels in the US are trying to figure out what the best steps are on the road to our new oppression.
Hi Rus, Adonis is mentioned every year as a possible Nobel winner. He's got my vote - though I guess Pamuk will make them turn from the Middle East this year. As for the Atlanta decision, remember that scene in The Life of Brian when Brian tells the crowd, "You're all individuals." And they respond in unison: "We're all individuals." Then he tells them, "You can think for yourselves." And they all shout all at once, "We can think for ourselves." That says it all.
Hi Frank,
ReplyDeleteI love the conversation, though. A sane voice is needed from the Middle East, and Adonis is sane, even if not worthy of the Nobel (Peace Prize now?).
This article--Asharq Alawat: Where is the Iraqi War Literature?--shows the type of soul searching that is going on as applied to Iraq:
You find yourself trapped in a lose-lose situation; if you condemn the war [the resistance], you will be accused by the majority of Iraqis as advocating the oppressor, and if you support the war, you will be supporting the occupation! The Iraqi issue is obscure--unlike the situation in Lebanon.
We have Arab intellectuals questioning where they are in the world, how to come out from under the insanity and oppression; what should they be writing, what could they be thinking: what should be next on the road away from oppression toward freedom? There seems to be no right way to go, and hardly a way to speak without shame or worse.
While the Arab nations are dealing with how to go about becoming free, we infidels in the US are trying to figure out what the best steps are on the road to our new oppression.
Hi Rus,
ReplyDeleteAdonis is mentioned every year as a possible Nobel winner. He's got my vote - though I guess Pamuk will make them turn from the Middle East this year.
As for the Atlanta decision, remember that scene in The Life of Brian when Brian tells the crowd, "You're all individuals." And they respond in unison: "We're all individuals." Then he tells them, "You can think for yourselves." And they all shout all at once, "We can think for ourselves." That says it all.