Already liking what it sees...
Well, some of it. It's nice that the Iraqis could have an election. They showed great courage. Let's see where it goes from there. It's nice that old Assad died and left a younger, less self-made brute in his place. And good for the Lebanese, who have always been a valiant people regardless of who has invaded them. (They have a lot in common with the Czechs in the character department: brave and cosmopolitan peoples whose homes are a crossroads, battlefields, and two of the great historical marketplaces of the world.) It's true that some sort of action is assured when someone throws a stick of lit dynamite through the window, and we have a remarkably good arm.
I do wonder what might have happened had the US used its revolutionary power to stand up for liberty and justice when the Afghani warlords (our buddies in the fight against the Soviets) were acting like beasts; when the Taliban (our other buddies in the fight against the Soviets) were acting like wife-beaters on a national level; when our then-buddy Saddam was killing Iranians at a bargain-basement rate; and now, still, while our pals the Saudis are having elections in which their women are not allowed to participate. Instead, we use our power for purposes of political advantage, and then talk up liberty and justice to justify what we have done. What about the continuing affronts to liberty and justice in areas with less strategic importance? Too obscure: no liberty and justice for you. We will work for the regions that can offer us maximum opportunity for self-congratulation.
I guess it's different, depending on whether one looks at the world from satellites or on the ground. My work and my outlook keep me on the ground, to work on the world one or two people at a time, so my satellite views remain unlooked-at. But what of the earthbound view? Shall we stand in the graveyards of Iraq and tell the mourners how much better off they are? Shall we have the nerve to grieve with them and the courage to apologize for what we have done to their worlds?
Did the author of the article stay for the entire movie? I think of the part where Brian addresses the crowd:
BRIAN:
No. No, please! Please! Please listen. I've got one or two things to say.
FOLLOWERS:
Tell us. Tell us both of them.
BRIAN:
Look. You've got it all wrong. You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves. You're all individuals!
FOLLOWERS:
Yes, we're all individuals!
BRIAN:
You're all different!
FOLLOWERS:
Yes, we are all different!
DENNIS:
I'm not.
ARTHUR:
Shhhh.
FOLLOWERS:
Shh. Shhhh. Shhh.
BRIAN:
You've all got to work it out for yourselves!
FOLLOWERS:
Yes! We've got to work it out for ourselves!
BRIAN:
Exactly!
FOLLOWERS:
Tell us more!
BRIAN:
No! That's the point! Don't let anyone tell you what to do! Otherwise-- Ow! No!
MANDY:
Come on, Brian. That's enough. That's enough.
"Monty Python' Life of Brian", scene 20 ("You're all individuals")
We already like what we see, because we are told we do, as we are told what we see. Except quite a few of us see something completely different. Amen.