Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, January 01, 2005
"Nothing changes on New Year's Day"
Before I make my first post of 2005, here are two links that just arrived:
This blog has been drawing together a few political threads from all over with contributions mainly from readers and supporters of Green Left Weekly and among the membership of the Australian Socialist Alliance:
http://asiantsunami.blogspot.com
Also, Patrick Bond read our discussion of the animal situation in the tsunami-affected areas and suggested this:
http://www.hsiasia.org
And now, we return to my regularly scheduled post…
====
Aid is pouring in, medical care is being doled out, bodies are being burned or buried, tourists are returning to their native countries...in a matter of weeks or maybe even days, the media’s notoriously fickle focus will aim elsewhere as we hear stories of South Asia slowly returning to normal.
“Normal” is the problem.
This is what “normal” breeds...Jesus freaks cheering on tsunamis because they “kill gays”: http://rawstory.rawprint.com/1204/westboro_tsunami_statement_1230.php
“Normal” means, without the presence of a massive natural disaster, 29,158 children under the age of 5 dying every day from preventable causes...while the U.S. continues to spend $1 million a war.
“And so we’re told this is the golden age
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
Though I want to be with you
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year’s Day”
“Normal” is not a logical or compassionate goal for anyone...rich or poor.
We need a new, ever-evolving “normal” and a big part of that involves us pampered Westerners accepting the need to alter our perspectives, our lives, our lifestyles.
As Zack de la Rocha sang about the Zapatistas:
“Everything can change on a New Year’s Day.”
Zack
“Everything can change.” What does this mean to you? What steps will you take...what changes will you make in your own life in the name of creating a new idea of “normal”?
I’m trying to figure that out for myself...your answers are most welcome.
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
