Wednesday, April 09, 2003
at 3:12 PMDespair
The Father pointed out to me that coaltion forces do not stop the looting in Basra and Baghdad because they hardly have time to, what with their "sniper watches" and such, and because the people of Iraq need to police themselves, if they are truly free. I do not feel entirely the same way, but I at least agree with the second part of what he said. I suppose if the coalition/American forces attempt to exert too much authority, then they will be seen as imperialists. The Iraqis complaining about the looting, quoth The Father, need to establish their own police forces, vote on their own municipal leaders, et cetera. This makes enough sense to him or to me (removed as we are), but I suspect it does not occur that readily to someone in the midst of the struggle.
In European history we discussed this Jean-Paul Sartre fellow, of whom I had heard previously but had not (due to what could be called my "self-imposed time constraints") read. First, his writing attracted me especially, because I did not need a UN translator beside me as I read it. Then, he approached problems encountered with Christian views of atheism that I have encountered and feel similarly about. Thus, Sartre is my new buddy, because it is always nice when someone else (someone else who seems more intelligent and more wise) affirms or at least supports something I concluded all by myself. I feel more whole as a human being today, without feeling arrogant and pseudo-intellectual.
Yesterday I napped until five o'clock; after cooking dinner for The Mongoloids, I watched a little war coverage (which really covered nothing) then went to bed at about 8:30. I never thought I could sleep as long as I did. Today during school I walked with less of a stoop.
