Monday, September 17, 2012

Common denominators

I sometimes look at The Atlantic's In Focus section. The photos are compelling and represent a random snap shot of the world as it is and was.

This week there's a spread of photos on the protests in the Muslim world over that American nutter's video.

There's also a collection of photos of the US/NATO dead returning from Afghanistan.

The common denominator of between the two is the overwhelming presense of young men. Angry young Muslim men. Grieving young Western men. Another group of photos begins to reveal that which unites these two groups.

As a global society we are still ruled by old men with old ideas. These old men are monsters and destroy youth.



It needn't be this way.

3 comments:

Gareth said...

Parable of the Old Man and the Young



So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
and builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

-Wilfred Owen

Steve said...

Dylans Masters of War comes to mind.
And so does Toronto run by the Ford Brothers, Immortalized here.

Lorne said...

Unfortunately, until people are willing to think for themselves instead of allowing themselves to be told or manipulated by others, expect no changes in the world.