of the World: Musings on the Existence of War Sven Bellamy Features Editor My first experience with war was at the age of four. Sitting in front of an old, twelve channel Panasonic televi- sion, images of refugees fleeing Vietnam were broadcast on the news. Pictures of desperate people drifting out into the Gulf of Tonkin on precar- ious wooden boats, looking to the horizon and hoping for some form of salvation. Of course, at four-years-old, those people were just images, part of a surreal world, which had no tangible meaning to my young mind. Almost 20 years later, I was having coffee with a Vietnamese friend of mine. We were talking about life, and childhood experience. Reminiscing about “the good old days”. His face went somber, just briefly, but it was the type of expression that indicated some deeper thought process was going on. I knew that Andrew had grown up in Quebec, his family had moved to BC during his high school years; he liked hockey and lacrosse, and had a charming way with people, which makes him a great salesman. I had never stopped to think before that day, while drinking coffee under a late evening sun, that a dear friend would tell his life story about fleeing Vietnam and drifting on some dilapi- dated boat for weeks, finally being res- cued by a military ship. Since that day, I have always felt an irony. The irony stemming back 20 years to a newscast where men, women, and children were stranded on rickety boats, displaced from their homes and country. I may have been staring at Andrew’s family on televi- sion that day—I will never know for sure. What was certain was that I never stopped hearing about or having expe- riences with war. Fascinated, I would follow the news stories from Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq conflict, the resistance movements within the Soviet Bloc; conflict in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Crete, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, Libya, Panama, the Gulf War, and once again, Afghanistan. Time after time, the question “why?” floats through my mind: Why must people fight; why must people hate; why must people attempt to dominate other people? If we strip away culture, country, religion, money, and anything else that sepa- rates people, then we are all the same: we are born, we grow, we need food, shelter, people to love us, tasks to keep us busy, and eventually, a comfortable place to pass on. But why war, why hate, and why, what seems like, a need to kill—a need to displace families and upset economies and keep people suppressed—preventing people from achieving their true potential in life— why? You may be thinking I’m cracked, gone loopy, and in a way, youre right. But my brand of insanity is not com- parable to those world powers, which exist, seemingly, to maintain their position of dominance in the world: that, my friends, is, in my opinion, why our world is so messed up. Our world condition exists because people are too insecure to let go of what power they have managed to gain for themselves. It’s not just good enough to control their own life; they've got to control yours too, because if the world ran their way, then it would be perfect—hardly. In this convoluted world of power relations, there are no absolute truths, just a never-ending line of storytellers wanting you to buy their book, read oH their story, and become a believer. One of the greatest storytellers is Mr. George W. Bush. This mediocre fellow would have you believe that he can save the world by marching into the Middle East and bombing the coun- tries whose people live in fear every- day. People who are displaced, in some cases, by their own countrymen. People who want to live, preferably, in a nice house, eat good food, feel safe in the company of their family and friends. People like you and me. These people are not responsible for the bombing of the world trade center. They are not responsible for the lives lost. They aren't even responsible for terrorist acts—anywhere. But Dubya would have you believe they were. You see, a creature like George W. is much like a dog. He does what his master tells him. And who do you think holds his leash—and in fact, holds the leash of every American President: why, it’s good old corporate America—the banks, the oil cartels, the orange growers, the wheat pools, the textile companies, the pharmaceu- tical companies, and yes, the tobacco companies. Each one of these indus- tries wants to hold on to its share of the American Pie. And it’s power structures and power relationships that exist in such a society that lead to suppression of good, honest, and sometimes desperate people. There are organizations in the form of labour unions, which claim to stand for the working person, supporting the salt of the earth, if you will. However, I am not so willing to buy their story either. Labour unions are much better than the corporations at taking a person’s money, and then later, renege on promised services; that is, unless you are one of the people 2 Shoei al who knows how to play the game, who ducks their head, or sits on the fence long enough to position them- selves in the upper echelons of such an organization. If you are one of these people, you will truly be successful in the life you are expected to lead. Now what is to be done about a world that has almost no tangible truths—an anarchist might, say, take the Edward Norton approach, much like the schizophrenic character he played in the movie Fight Club; start a secret society and plan to blow up the world’s financial infrastructure. A pacifist might take the Mahatma Gandhi approach and begin move- ments of passive resistance, wide- spread strikes and refusals to work, pay taxes, or contribute to society in any way that is normally expected— simply exist with one’s neighbours and work for each other, to ensure survival. An intellectual might use a formula, such as the John FE. Nash analysis of equilibria in non-cooperative games approach (the theory of working together for the common good, rather than competing for the blond). But who is right, and more importantly, why? I hope you're not looking to me for any answers—I’m the loopy one, remember? All I can say is this: don’t ever stop thinking you have “enough” education; don’t ever believe it when someone says an eye is worth an eye, a life is worth a life, or that going in, once again, to invade Iraq will quell the world of terrorist activity, or make life any better for the Iraqi people. Just look real hard at Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba, Panama, El Salvador, Colombia, or any other country that the United States has ‘helped’. © page 20