I truly hope that the three or four of you that consistantly read my blog are also following the upcoming elections in Afghanistan. If you are not, let me give you a quick update: its violent. If you learn nothing else about the elections in Afghanistan, understand that it is a turbulent, messy business. Though the Taliban may not have control of the government, they still have control over the fear of the people. They show no mercy to women or children, and it is the savagery of the Taliban that threatens the elections. So many Afghans are eager to vote and finally have a hand in changing their country but are afraid of the violence that might await them at the voting stations. (Which, on a lighter note, are brought in by donkey to the more remote areas of the country. That made me laugh. Nothing like voting by donkey, eh? But I’m glad at least the country recognizes that every person’s voice is important, no matter how remote a place that voice calls from or how difficult a means to retrieve it.)
Anyway, when it comes to the candidates, go to bbc.com to understand more. I won’t pretend to be an expert on Afghan politics (I won’t pretend to be an expert on American politics either), but I will say that I care deeply for the healing of this nation that has been ravaged by war and foreign invasion for a solid 50 years (not to mention all throughout their long, ancient history). And I think you should care about them too, and not just because of the United States’ very tangled and prolonged involvement in the affairs of Afghanistan. These are innocent people that want the same things that we Americans value to deeply: freedom from the oppression of terror, peace and safety, and to see their children grow up in better conditions that they themselves did. The results of this election could mean some of those dreams become a reality for the Afghan people.
I’m sure you are wondering by now where Play Station 3 comes in. Yesterday, I went to bbc.com to get an update on the Afghan elections. The latest news was that the country was calling for a international media blackout on election coverage on Thursday, the day of the elections, to decrease the fear surrounding the security of the polls. (I agree with the Human Rights Watch that says that a media blackout would be a complete infringement not only on media freedoms, but on the people’s right to know what kind of situation they are getting themselves into. I would want to know if my town’s polls were being bombed, wouldn’t you?). Anyway, underneath the main headline of the Afghan elections, was a slightly smaller headline that read something to the effect of “Sony cuts price of PS3 console”. And my heart sank.
Really? Is the price cut of the third generation of mind-numbing, uneducational video games really worth making the homepage of the BBC? I perused the article, hoping to find some mention that the price cut would somehow give food to hungry or fight AIDS in Africa. Something. Anything. But I found nothing. All the article said was that the console is smaller, lighter, and consumes less energy, which is good but probably still not worth making the homepage. Who cares about the price cut of the Play Station when people are dying in car bombings and watching possibly their one chance at democracy slip through their fingers? Why do we even have video games when such atrocities occur in the world? (I guess you could say, “Why do we even have blogs, Lesley?”) As Americans, we take so much for granted and betray the rest of the world for trivial entertainment. And saddens me.
Today, I beg you, put down the remote, close out Facebook, go read the news, and care. Please. If for no other reason, do it for me.
i want to live with wider eyes 