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In the moments before Mordred accused Lancelot and Queen Guinevere of high treason, Gawaine warned King Arthur of the tragedy his brother was about to set in motion: “It is a trouble, that will aye destroy the flower of chivalry in all the world: a mischief to our noble fellowship: and all by cause of two unhappy knights!” Now, in the midst of war, our Round Table shattered, the same question that turned to water and bore Arthur to Avalon persists. What are we to do with this terrible, terrible machine? In Arthur’s case, the machine was the series of feuds and passions that forced him to wage war on his best friend, Lancelot, and allowed Mordred to seize control of Britain and eventually bring the entire nation to its ruin. Today, there seem to be too many machines to count: the government hawks who have pushed for war since before I can remember, the diplomats on all continents grinding each other’s words into a foul newsprint paste, the protesters cascading into police barricades, the journalists fanning the flames. The hallmark of these machines is a grand obviousness, a refusal or inability to deal with the nuances of an issue. Mr. Bush does not take questions. A group of college kids breaks through a police line in Portland, Maine holding signs that say “No Blood for Oil.” The New York Times keeps us abreast of diplomatic efforts with half-page articles that end with saucy quotes from foreign officials. People seem so eager to make devils, hawks, and doves out of their opponents. In such a world, the easiest course of action is to never pick a side. To form a belief
requires that you have knowledge, the prime motivator. In this situation,
as in many, our knowledge is of a meager kind. At the most extreme point,
I would dare say you have no idea whether any nation called Iraq has ever
existed. On a more practical level, we have no idea of Mr. Bush’s
motivation for war. We cannot read Mr. Hussein’s mind or know what
does or does not lie hidden in his country. Most significantly, we do
not know the future. Perhaps more Iraqi civilians would have died in the
coming decade due to inaction than will perish in this war. Perhaps America
will soon find itself afire with terrorist attacks and isolated in the
new, broken international order. Taking one course of action guarantees
that we will never see the results of our other options. Coming to such
strong convictions and acting upon those convictions based on so little
information becomes an arbitrary exercise. The machine creates a sense of inevitability, which then feeds apathy and inaction. The answer must lie in changing the machine. But hoping to temper the mechanisms in motion is like trying to stop a tank by spreading peanut butter on the ground: it gets complicated. Arthur tried to make Might work for Right only to find that Might has a will of its own; it can wait for centuries. Engaging the machine on its own terms will only come to ruin. There must still be a course of action. Lack of opinion or investment in any one matter does not preclude you from its solution. In fact, those on the periphery of a conflict offer its greatest hope of never being repeated again. Obviously this solution must arise outside the scope of a machine. Therefore the solution will not come in the form of a movement, or a publication, or any other entity that has the power to shift the meanings of a debate right out from under our feet. I sincerely hope to see an abandonment of standards. Not in entirely dramatic fashionæI do not imagine a world without adjectives. However, the present situation can be attributed to a mass confusion of terms. As soon as we begin to see newspapers as sheets of paper, their ability to provide us with an over-inflated sense of knowledge will diminish. Presidents are just people. The standards by which we act and evaluate are just thoughts. Facts are just sentences. And most importantly, lives are lives. The language of discourse becomes much clearer once certain terms do not come loaded with impregnability. The ability of any one machine to move the discussion away from the issue at hand would become that much more limited and overt. The problem with
claiming to have no opinions or standards is that you end up a liar. Even
if you feel defeated, it is only because you once strove for some ideal.
What can we do now that our efforts have either failed or come to fruition,
though not because of anything we have done? Hope. Find everyday ways
to defuse the machine. Even the King, hours before he rode to slay his
bastard son and lose his own life, had reason to hope: “If people
could be persuaded to read and write, not just to eat and make love, there
was still a chance that they might come to reason.” Robert Lange The List of
War Protests Saturday, March 22 Sunday after Day
1 Ongoing Window Lights: “One simple way to show your continued commitment to this vision is to put a light in your window. It could be a Christmas string or candle, a light bulb, or a lantern. It’s an easy way to keep the light of reason and hope burning, to let others know that they are not alone, and to show the way home to the young men and women who are on their way to Iraq.” For details: http://moveon.org/windowlight Masturbate For Peace: Sign the pledge “I pledge to masturbate, in my own time and my own way, for the cause of peace.” Then, join the others who say “War is wrong, whack your schlong” and “I cum in peace.” For details: http://www.masturbateforpeace.com Impeachment Campaign: Some groups are pushing for a motion of impeachment against President Bush. For more details: http://www.votetoimpeach.org (by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark) and http://www.impeach-bush-now.org (by law professor Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois). News Campaign: “Network newscasts, dominated by current and former U.S. officials, largely exclude Americans who are skeptical of or opposed to an invasion of Iraq, a new study by FAIR has found.” To protest slanted coverage, call ABC (212-456-4040), CBS (212-975-3691), NBC (212-664-4971), or PBS (703-998-2150). For details: http://www.fair.org Other Info To learn more about
protests/demonstrations in your area over break, look at: If you’re
away from Providence and want to learn about events in your area, check
out: To express your views
to Rhode Island senators: |
copyright © 2002, The College
Hill Independent
last updated 02 13 03