At some point, you start saying ah, fuck 'em, they're not worth our time. Or the 116 lives (and counting), for that matter.
I think some point is right...about...now.
I know, this is not the sort of thing I should be feeling, as a Canadian who claims to care about the wider world. I used to deride those who called for our troops to come home by saying what, so only Canadian women can have rights? But when a supposedly democratically elected government comes up with laws completely contrary to the spirit of democracy, what are we to do?
I had this question vis-a-vis Hamas last year. We vote to expunge the Zionist filth. All in favour, face Washington and raise your middle fingers.
I have to admit, I didn't come to much of an answer beyond "well, some places don't deserve democracy." That sounded lame to me then and still does: everybody deserves democracy, just like everybody deserves food, potable water, and shelter.
But some places don't seem to want democracy. Some places--quite a few of them, actually--pervert it beyond recognition...Mugabe's democratically elected every time, don't you know.
I'm still struggling with this now that Afghanistan has decided to legalize rape between husband and wife and require that females seek a male relative's permission before engaging in such activities as, uh, leaving the house.
We've been in Afghanistan for seven years now. I can't say our values are catching on, can you?
So what do we do? Push harder and create more resistance? Or back off and leave them alone, condemning women to a life of slavery (and giving the impression we no longer care)?
Some days I just want to throw up my hands and say enough, already.
Some days I just want to throw up.
2 comments:
I'm with you. It is a very tough conundrum and we have religion to thank for this one. The first thing that comes to mind to resolve the problem is economic prosperity but them Saudi Arabia comes to mind and women there are shat upon daily, it's religion in the Afghani situation.
Throughout history religion has regarded women as second class citizens (even in the western world Catholicism still does). The vagina is a dirty and vile thing don't ya know and the temptation of women is unstoppable and all the womans fault. Show an ankle and they deserve to be raped.
Hi Ken,
Great post. I agree it is a tough conundrum. But I think the reality is that ultimately, it is up to a people to decide how they want to live. Remember, 100 plus years ago Canadian women had no rights. They couldn't vote or own property. Neither did First Nations. It took the courage of individuals within those communities to rise up and make changes.
Now saying that, I'm not trying to equate legalized rape to a lack of voting rights. They are degrees different - but history has proven that trying to force your culture on another group doesn't work out too well. If the Afghani's want a more progressive, western culture, it is up to them. Not us. I say get out. Men and women are dying over what amounts to an exercise in futility.
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