The kids were in the back seat of the car, my daughter still unwinding from basketball practice and my son just nodding off in the warm, dark, closeness of the car.

The BBC news is on NPR.  They are reporting on the murder of the aide worker Hassan and the shooting of an Iraqi prisoner in a mosque.

Two sides of the same hideous coin.

Fortunately, my son was too dozy to hear the report; fortunately, I turned down the volume before my daughter got fully settled into the car after pick up from practice.

I don't have the heart tonight to tackle the next part of this horrible lesson.

The murder of Hassan was truly evil; it was a sign that they'll trash the treasures; they'll burn the seed corn.

The murder of an unarmed and badly injured prisoner in a place of worship was equally evil; it was a sign that the occupying force has lost its way and may goad the further burning of seed corn out of fear, out of angry spite.

It's a vicious cycle begun that only the most noble, the bravest will be able to stop.

Only by breaking out of the cycle, busting out of this circle of madness.

We wanted Arafat to be most noble, to be the bravest; his life was compromised in so many ways that nobility and bravery were never possible.

And yet we are not noble ourselves, permitting a so-called trusted partner to wall in impoverished peoples, not standing up to this bullying.  We are not noble ourselves, failing the starving and tormented ones in Sudan, adding further degradation in Abu Ghraib, ignoring the pleas of those dying of AIDS in the third world because they cannot pay us.

We cannot lead others when we have difficulty leading ourselves. 

We cannot expect nobility, bravery, magnanimity, generosity, when we are unable to show it ourselves.

This part of the lesson must wait for now.

And so must the other part, the language that accompanies ignoble behavior and cowardice.  Words and phrases like "soft target", "insurgent", and "collateral damage" must be pointed out for what they are - tools to dehumanize a victim, to make them easier to wipe off the face of the earth.

Like so much ashen seed on the ground or blood on the tile floor, merely something to be swept and wiped away.

The lesson plan has been written for a long time.  It will have to keep a bit longer, until I have the strength for it.

But I hope and pray I have far fewer examples with which to teach between now and the delivery of the lesson

10:42:51 PM    comment []

Somebody asked me today what we were doing for Thanksgiving.

I have no clue.

It will involve a turkey, I'm sure.

With the house under construction and the weirdness of our schedules, it's hard to say what will happen this week let alone next week.

In the mean time, assuming you have a clue as to what you're doing for Thanksgiving and it also involves a turkey or at least cooking, give the Bookslut a visit on this subject.

What the heck.  You'll enjoy the snarky review of this month's cooking magazines even if you aren't going to be cooking.

One can never have too big a helping of snark, yes?

6:57:24 PM    comment []