Back Again

Here he is. Back again after eleven hundred soldiers dead, over twenty thousand disabled, a hundred thousand Iraqi men and women and children killed, and a few hundred billion dollars spent in the war. And some people are still urging that we should trust that they are running an effective war against terrorism. Did I hear someone say “Bring it on?”

E Pluribus Unum. From many one! The whole nation pays taxes to finance a war whose profits are reaped by one company - Hally Burton - a war which we now know has nothing to do with the war against terrorism or even a war of preemption to eliminate the threat of WMD.

Coalition

Both President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney have been accusing John Kerry and his running mate of ignoring and playing down the role of the Iraqis as an ally of the United States in the coalition that invaded and occupied Iraq. This leaves me to wonder why the Iraqis coalesced with the U.S. to invade Iraq! Go figure! In my dictionary, this kind of coalition is defined as “treason.”

A snapshot of the presidential candidates

Decisiveness is steadfast adherence to principles. Unyielding persistence in errors is obstinateness. And though decisiveness can be a meritorious quality, obstinateness – stubbornness if you will – is never considered to be a virtue.

Remaining unflinching in the face of changing realities is sheer ignorance. Consistently making alterations and modifications to one’s stance and viewpoints commensurate with the realities of a continually changing world is flexibility. Only the demagogue appealing to the simpleton’s absence of wisdom defines such expeditious resilience as “flip-flop.” Flexibility is a virtue.

Nocturnal

Every now and then I will post the translation of a poem by the great Iranian Poet, Shamloo, in this weblog. Though Shamloo is unequivocally Iran's most loved and read poet of the contemporary times, my translations are not necessarily the best interpretations of his poetry. They are certainly my best attempts at translating him.

The following is a poem that Shamloo wrote at the height of the rule of terror during the Shah's regime:


Nocturnal

Not with no reason are you for me.
Indeed
Which ballad are you a praise for, oh sonnet?
The star shower of a response
To which greetings to the Sun
Are you,
From inside the dark doorway?

Words realize from your look.
Sweet is the exchange of looks that you start!

■

Behind the back of your eyes’ pupils
Which prisoner’s cry is there,
Who throws a red rose
To the sour and swollen lips
Of freedom?
Or else
This frolicking of stars
Is In no way
Indebted to the Sun.

■

The look becomes secure because of your voice.
How faithfully you call out my name!

■

And your heart
Is the dove of peace,
Fallen in blood
On the bitter roof.
Nonetheless,
How loftily
How haughtily
You fly!

Demagoguery

All of a sudden, with the demise of President Reagan, it looks like we are a nation devided along the line between optimism and pessimism. Suddenly the glass is either half full or half emty. Why can’t we lay aside the simplism of optimism and the cyncism of pessimism and adopt the wisdom of realism however complicated it may be. Why do some of us see the glass as half full and some as half empty?

The proverbial glass, which can hold 4.2 cubic inches of liquid, contains 2.1 cubic inches of water – H2O – at this moment.

This statement is neither simplistic nor cynical. It is merely realistc. Optimism is the demagogue’s appeal to the naive. Pessimism is the hypocrite’s rationale for the ignorant. Let’s be wise. Let’s be realistic.