World Peace and the Ides of March

The Ides of March have always seized my imagination -- you know, the ole "E tu, Brute?" What a story that one of Julius Caesar, politics, and betrayal. NPR was playing bits about ole Julius Caesar this morning, and as I groggily listened from my pillow I found myself thinking of various Democratic "leaders," and wondering "E tu?" Has not a single one of you a sense of indecency, not to mention outrage, at the thugs who are currently in charge of our government? Why have so few of you joined Russ Feingold in his effort to hold this administration accountable? What is wrong with you, and why should I continue to contribute to the party? I'm desperate for the Democrats to wrest control away from these zealots, and I will vote for them, but I wish I were confident that more of them would stand with Senator Feingold and with the tens upon thousands and more thousands who have been taking to the streets and signing petitions, all in an effort to stop these bloodthirsty, greedy chicken hawks who have sent thousands of American soldiers off to die and to kill thousands upon thousands of innocent Iraqis.


I grew up in West Texas, and it was almost always as windy there as it is here in Maryland on this, 2006's Ides. It's bright, sunny, blustery, and our nation's prospects seem blustery, unpredictable, disturbingly precarious as one is when loose in the wind. I look at pics such as the one above of my beautiful partner and myself from the protest three years ago this April against our country's lawless (in that it was predicated on lies) invasion of Iraq and I listen to the news today, and I try very hard not to despair. Signs like the red one behind us--"Think Gobally - Impeach Locally"--are inspiring, and discouraging: three years later and with mountains of evidence about lying about the wisdom and necessity of creating manmade disasters, gross incompetence in dealing with natural disasters, and repeated expressions of callousness toward other people's suffering, the man and his administration are still in charge, continuing to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threatening to wage war in Iran. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

World Peace, and the Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast

That's what my partner wants for her birthday, which is March 27, and I could not ask for more. It's no wonder that folks can't think straight about war: it's often used as a metaphor that folks think somehow valorizes whatever cause they're pushing, argument they're making, etc. That's why I join other folks in arguing against its appropriateness and value as metaphor in academic discourse. But I'm jumping ahead of myself here.

That picture of me was taken by my beloved partner in March 1999, when we were in Rome celebrating her 40th birthday. Then we had no idea that our yearning for world peace would, a scant 4 years later, be a plea to our own government to stop destroying a country that had not attacked us and that had nothing to do with September 11, 2001. We had no idea that these United States would turn our backs on our brethren in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast when their homes were devastated by a hurricane. Back in March 1999, we were deciding which part of Rome to tour for the day, where to have lunch, and where to have dinner. Now we wonder what we might do to change the world. . .really.

THIS is just to get me started. Imagine all the people, living life in peace.
--mn