Thank god for late nights and novelists. Life seems a little more off the wall and a lot better when writers like Sherman Alexie and Margaret Atwood bend the moment to their mood and offer their unexpected perspectives even on a subject as sad and grim as the coming war with Iraq. (And by the way, if you happen to be at home with nothing to do for a few hours, rent Alexie’s film Smoke Signals, the first Native American road movie and a charmer.) Tom
Relevant Contradictions
In defense of humor, irony, satire, and a Native American perspective on the coming war on Iraq
By Sherman Alexie
theStranger.comI have little doubt that the United States will soon go to war against Iraq. I hope I’m wrong. I hope we find alternative and nonviolent methods of kicking the crap out of Saddam Hussein and his sociopathic regime, but I don’t think the current president and his administration are philosophically capable of nonviolent action.
Instead, the latest war with Iraq will last a week or so, a few dozen U.S. soldiers will be wounded or killed in action, tens of thousands of Iraqis will die, and Saddam Hussein will be dead, exiled, or disappeared. The United States will then occupy Iraq for an indefinite period of time as we install a new government and leaders who we hope will become democratic and progressive. However, I have serious doubts about our ability to choose moral leaders.
To read more Alexie click here
Why the 1812 Overture should be ringing some bells today
By Margaret Atwood
The Telegram
March 5, 2003In my high school music appreciation class, we listened to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. We liked it, because there was stuff we could identify: cannons boomed, bells rang, national anthems resounded, and there was a satisfying uproar at the end.
I have little doubt that the United States will soon go to war against Iraq. I hope I’m wrong. I hope we find alternative and nonviolent methods of kicking the crap out of Saddam Hussein and his sociopathic regime, but I don’t think the current president and his administration are philosophically capable of nonviolent action.
Instead, the latest war with Iraq will last a week or so, a few dozen U.S. soldiers will be wounded or killed in action, tens of thousands of Iraqis will die, and Saddam Hussein will be dead, exiled, or disappeared. The United States will then occupy Iraq for an indefinite period of time as we install a new government and leaders who we hope will become democratic and progressive. However, I have serious doubts about our ability to choose moral leaders.
To read more Alexie click here
Why the 1812 Overture should be ringing some bells today
By Margaret Atwood
The Telegram
March 5, 2003In my high school music appreciation class, we listened to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. We liked it, because there was stuff we could identify: cannons boomed, bells rang, national anthems resounded, and there was a satisfying uproar at the end.
The English – being English – have since produced a version performed by sheep and chickens. Generals screw up, their fiascos get made into art, and then the art gets made into fiascos. Such is the march of progress.
We were told that Tchaikovsky’s piece celebrated Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, but we weren’t told who Napoleon was or what he was doing in Moscow in the first place. So, in case you had a similarly vague musical appreciation experience, here’s the deep background.
Margaret Atwood’s forthcoming novel, Oryx and Crake, will be published in April. The sheep and chicken version of the 1812 Overture was last seen at The Black Sheep, in Aylsham, Norfolk
To read more Atwood click here