Monday, October 26, 2009

What a boring tv night...

What a boring tv night...

Sunday, 30. September 2007, 00:31:27
Thank goodness for Foyle's War!

I can once again slip into a fantastical past. Second World War Britian...When Captain Jack was in his element. I know of course that I'm crossing two very different tv series...but I can't help myself. A dashing lead man, in an elegant time period.

Hmmm, was Britian any more elegant then? Perhaps not. They did speak the King's english, wear suits, and dance women off thier feet. A war time sense of what was right and what was wrong.

I have a romanticised sense of the armed forces, and I'm afraid the diggers (and i'm not refering to aussies with a capital 'D', but the general army men who had to fight in the trenches) come out more than a little tarnished, when compared with my notion of Airmen and Navy boys. I argue that because the boys in blue were further removed from the blood and gore that the khaki boys faced on a daily basis, they were able to retain thier sense of 'right and wrong' longer. I think the fact that the Khaki boys were actually able to see the kids they were killing, would tear down any social niceties we pretend to have around killing another human. Leaving those boys, more susceptible to killing without asking "Is it right that I do this?", or "Am I lowering myself to the same level as the Enemy?"...I do realise that basic training in any armed force is designed to break those thoughts away from the man enrolling. That those men, have it drilled into them to obey without thinking. Which is all very well and fine, when you're faced with the concept that you'll be punished as a unit if you fail to meet the expectaions of your leader...but when it comes to a real, live war situation, where the consequence of not following orders could end up killing you.

Another thought on the matter is that, airmen, and navy boys are given coordinates, and intel that tells them where to go and what to bomb, and unless the intel is faulty they are only bombing 'the enemy'...whereas, army boys not only have to bomb and shoot thier way to the target, but then have to face all the people they've killed along the way. It must be far more damaging to the psyche. PTSD aside, i think it would have to take a certain kind of man to sign up for that in the first place.

Do I appreciate the job the boys have done on my behalf? Facing all those things so that I can live in the world that I do now...I honestly can't say. Genocide is abhorent to me, but surely a well placed espionage agent before the war would have achieved the same ends? Were all dipolmatic avenues explored? I can't say. No matter what I may think went on, there will always have been more to the story. If the Japanese invaded, would my world be that different? I'm inclined to believe that any world power has a limited time frame that it can operate in. The fall of communisim in the USSR is an example. Eventually, the little people end up living the life they want to live, no matter what the people in power think.

I suppose that I am glad the Allies, won against the Axis. I've grown up in a climate where i'm free to experience other cultures, instead of one where differences could lead to the extermination of sections of what is now my society. I like the fact i've got the ability to choose for myself.

Do I believe that we should go to war with anyone else now? No. Although, if the opportunity arises where we can surepticiously bump off a leader who is restricting their people's choice to choose...well that might be another matter. I'm a little at odds with that option. What if the 'people' willingly elected to have that person in power? I think leave them to thier choice, as long as they have a way of ousting the leader if they so choose...and that they have full knowledge of what that leader is planing for them.

I mean if Hitler had stated up front that he intended on 'killing' anyone who wasn't Arayan, perhaps the german public would have thought twice about letting him become leader. On the other hand, I think that the world should welcome with open arms all those displaced citizens, who are unable to live in a country that discriminates against them.

Hmmm, what to do if a country is split down the middle, and both sides are greedy to have what the others own. Greed is disgusting! Genocide is equally so! If you can't achieve what you want without causing distress to other's then move somewhere where you can. You want a piece of land and can't afford it, move somewhere where land is cheaper. You can't get a job here because 'x' group of people have a monopoly, move somewhere else. Want to buy a new porche, and can't afford to without ripping people off who are buying your product, find a product that is more saleable. Don't choose to kill someone to feather your own pockets...and don't support a leader who does the same said thing!

When you're out in the world, wheeling and dealing, ask yourself "Would you like it if someone treated your best friend the way you're treating your customer?". If you can honestly reply yes, then continue with your transaction. If your job is shifting stocks on a computer, or sewing an electric blanket, ask yourself that same question...you don't have to see the end user to know they are a human being just like yourself.

That brings us back around to the airmen and navy boys...they are more able to retain thier view of 'right and wrong'...the bodies that they don't have to face enables them to hold onto what thier view of a human being is. A body retains it's individuality, rather than becoming another lump of decaying flesh that you have to clamber over to reach your objective.

*sigh* of course there will always be individuals who believe that everyone they can't see deserves to be either ripped off or killed. It's up to us to remove them from positions of power. Exercise your vote. Exercise your voice when around people who have lost the ability to see all the humans around them. Step up and say "Don't kill this person." ...it's only when you do that, that people can see what is truely 'right and wrong'.

Here endeth the Lesson.

Sorry, I couldn't resist ending my latest soapbox diatribe with a religious reference. It wasn't because I felt any less strongly about my subject matter...just that I realise I sound a bit preachy.

Personally i've rarely attended a church service. I imagine that if i was a 'hell fire and brimstone' preacher, i'd come across a little like that...although i'd be cursing the whole lot of you to an eternity in hell if you didn't take my sermon to heart. Good thing i'm not, hey?

I'll just leave you with a cheery bye, for now...and wish you a happy day tomorrow, and peace and good will to all
Kate

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