The War on War?

A funny thing happened last week. Prime Minister Stephen Harper referred to the war in Afghanistan, only to have the Opposition parties decry his use of the word "war". Apparently, referring to Canada's commitment in Afghanistan as a war is politically incorrect, notwithstanding the fact that our soldiers are killing -- and being killed by -- Afghan/Taliban rebels.

In part, this must have something to do with my country's love affair with peacekeeping -- a nebulous concept that many Canadians seem to believe consists of standing between warring factions protected by the UN flag, blue berets, and idealistic intentions. There is something gritty and dirty about the Afghan reality that many of my countrymen are uncomfortable with.

Ultimately, though, I think it has something to do with the way the meaning of war has transformed itself in the popular imagination. War is a campaign to be waged against an ideology, not an entity. We have wars on drugs and poverty and terror. We declare some programs to be the moral equivalent of war. Ironically, we do not actually seem to declare war against countries we are fighting.

Last I looked, the United States had not declared war on Iraq. I suppose the situation is a bit different in Afghanistan, where Canada is involved at the request of the government, but I don't remember NATO declaring war on Afghanistan when the US first stuck the Taliban regime. People still die and money is still spent, but not, apparently, on war.

Watching Clouds

I have been noticing clouds lately.

That is to say, I have been paying attention to clouds in a deliberate way. Previously, they were background scenery. Now, they have become front and centre in my vision.

There is something beautiful about the transitory nature of clouds. They change from one minute to the next, merging and separating and taking on new forms with each gust of wind. Sometimes, they form row upon row of soft, wet furrows, as if someone plowed the sky with a cosmic blade. Sometimes, they form towers of grey cotton.

There is solace, I suppose, in their constant reinvention.

Movie Review - Hollywoodland

Last weekend, I took in the movie Hollywoodland. The movie examines the death -- and life -- of the actor George Reeves, the original Superman.

I have to say that the movie was a very pleasant surprise. While I had been familiar with the story, the movie brought a dimension of sadness that I had never really considered before. The performances were excellent -- especially those of Dianne Laine and Adrian Brody. Ben Affleck, who has never been my favouriate actor, did a very good job portraying a man who felt imprisoned by his own success.

Given the mediocre quality of movies on the market today, I am surprised at how poorly the film is doing in the box office, but I suppose it is to be expected. Younger audiences may never have heard of this particular Reeves and may not be interested in his story. (Certainly, the eight people in the theatre with me were all over the age of forty.) Unfortunately, they are missing a powerful, if sad and disturbing, film.

The Day That Didn't Change the World, Part III

The real question we should ask ourselves is, "Why did anyone think the world would change?" This is not to dismiss the enormity of the acts -- or of the aftermath. It merely raises the question of what people's expectations were.

Immediately after the attacks, we saw an outpouring of support from throughout the entire world: America's traditional allies, Arab countries, and even the French! There was a great opportunity for the United States to step back from their self-described "hyper-power" politics and re-integrate themselves into international co-operation. Unfortunately, the response of the U.S. government was, "You are either for us or against us", as if other countries do not have their own self interests.

Instead of rooting out the causes of disaffection that led to the attacks, we saw a traditional pattern of punitive expeditions. The imperium initiated regime change in Afghanistan -- whose Taliban government had direct ties to Bin-Laden and Al-Quaeda -- and in Iraq -- despite the lack of ties between Saddam Hussein and the Bin-Laden bunch -- but has done nothing to address the inequity between rich and poor that, I feel, lies at the root of religious extremism and terrorism.

And so life goes on.

And so life will go on.

The Day That Didn't Change the World, Part II

Of course, the world did change in horrible and permanent ways for many people.

The world changed for every person who died in the attacks, and for their families, friends, and co-workers who survived them.

The world changed for every person who survived the collapse of the buildings or who offered succor to the survivors.

The world changed for the service men and women who died, were wounded, or otherwise served in the military operations against Al Quaeda that followed the attacks.

The world changed for the victims of subsequent acts of terrorism, and for their families, friends, and co-workers.

The world changed for the tens of thousands of people who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq since the attacks.

(To be continued)

The Day That Didn't Change the World

Five years ago today, terrorists committed the greatest act of mass murder ever to occur in the United States. Most of us remember where we were and what we were doing when the planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

The days, weeks, and months that followed the events of 9/11 were filled with hyperbole. "The world has changed forever" was one common phrase to make its way into the consciousness of North America. Things, we were told, were going to change. Somehow, though, nothing much has changed.

We still drive around one per car in gas-guzzling behemoths that ensure our continued dependency on (relatively) cheap Middle Eastern petroleum. North Americans are still becoming obese in large numbers, while people in other nations go hungry. Coalition soldiers, enemy combatants, and innocent civilians have died in the thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan, while "nation building" seems stalled. Life in Afghanistan was lousy five years ago; it does not seem much better today.

Perhaps I am just feeling jaded. I may have expected to see a change in people's attitudes - especially my own. When I lived in Vancouver, my next door neighbour would reminisce about his service in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II. It was clear that the War was both the "best of times" and the "worst of times" for him. I suppose, it was the time in his life when he felt the strongest about having a sense of purpose.

Things have not changed for me since September 11, 2001. I would not be surprised if they have not changed for you either. Maybe that is the lesson to be learned. External events cannot - and should not - change our lives for us. We should decide to change things ourselves, for our own reasons.

(To Be Continued)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I am not a huge sports fan, but I enjoy going to the occasional baseball game. For some reason, though, I have not made it out to see a Jays game this year. This is a real shame, because they have been entertaining this year, even if they are not in serious contention.

I don't know why I enjoy watching baseball. Perhaps it is because it is a game I played as a child (unlike hockey). Perhaps it is because baseball seems more civilized and less violent than football (which I played, reluctantly and poorly). Perhaps it is because there is an element of poetry to the game.

My New Mistress

I have spent a lot of time recently with my new mistress -- my new camera. It has been great getting back into photography, even if it has taken up every free moment since I bought the camera.

I took it with me when I went to British Columbia two weeks ago. I returned with over 300 photographs of different subjects, ranging from kayaks to swimming pools to train cars. Since I've been back, I've gone on several photography expeditions. The net result is that I have over 1,000 digital images that I have taken in the past month.

Not all of them were taken on my new camera, however. I have also discovered the beauty of low light photography using the Night Vision feature on my video camera. A sizeable portion of the 1,000 photographs were taken using this camera.