Our world today is a crazy one, in many ways. It is so different to what it used to be. The advancement of technology, coupled with such things as HIV/AIDS or terrorism and America’s retaliation (and the Iraq War), combines to form a mind boggling, and somewhat depressing environment for one to live in.
With DVD’s and DVD players, Playstations 1s and 2’s, and even ‘old fashioned’ things such as videos, cd’s, and computers, technology easily confuses the innocent bystander.
Then there is the bad side of technology (although some would argue that computers and DVD’s are the bad side): chemical warfare, weapons of mass destruction and so on. Why do people create such things? I suppose the answer is greed. As a perfect example we have Saddam Hussein. He kills and suppresses his own people presumably because of greed) and then openly ‘defies’ America (I say sarcastically).
Then on the other hand there’s Bush. He’s not exactly evil (or is he?), but he is greedy and moronic. He announces that America is ‘gonna’ kill Saddam and free the Iraqi people, meanwhile he’s thinking that he has Iraq and it’s resources, and is one step closer to global domination. There are rumours of his belonging to the Illuminati, a secret organisation which ‘controls our thinking’ and is aiming to take over the world.
So, who does one support in the Iraq situation? Which incoherent miser? My answer to that is rather than side with anyone, one can either totally ignore it, or decide to side with peace.
The wonderful thing is that, being neither an Iraqi nor an American (I am in fact South African), I am able to express my distaste for these two particular people without being shot, as Iraqis would have during the war, or possibly outcast as an American.
However, Americans would have no reason to ostracize me unless they actually like and support Bush, for I don’t dislike Americans, I dislike greedy and lying people who exploit a situation to their own good.
Just look at the situation: big powerful Bush gives Iraq a whole bunch of weapons of mass destruction (to his own advantage) and then a few years later he complains that Iraq is a threat so he decides to play soldiers and take it all back again, killing a few people in the process.
All that negativity about Bush probably makes me sound pro-Saddam, which I am definitely not. To me, he is the epitome of evil. If it came down to it, I think I would be happier if Saddam was killed rather than Bush.
Of course there is also the deeply depressing part of our crazy world, HIV/AIDS.
While we know for sure that someday Saddam and Bush will ‘hit the bucket’, AIDS may never go away (not to be pessimistic or anything).
Unless a cure is found, it seems the only way to stop AIDS is education in prevention. And then people actually have to care enough. It may seem strange to some people, but living in Africa I know what can happen. Some witch doctors actually prescribe having intercourse with a virgin to cure AIDS.
One thing that really gets to me is when people say ‘Oh, AIDS isn’t that bad, it’s good population control.’ I then usually ask them if they would have the same view if someone close to them contracted AIDS. Would they simply tell their dying loved one that they are sorry she/he has AIDS, but there are simply too many people on this planet and her death is not really that much of a loss anyway? That usually gets them thinking.
So, what are we to do, with all this confusing and depressing…’stuff’ (for lack of a better word)? It may not sound so wonderful, but I guess we should just plod on and hope it all gets more understandable and less depressing!