irony: it's what's for dinner

[rone]

DEAD SEA RESORT, Jordan (CNN) -- The Arab world should be showing "a higher level of outrage" over the death of an American businessman whose beheading was posted on an Islamist Web site last week, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.

When people say there isn't enough outrage over what's happening in Iraq... that's not what they meant.

(forgot to add the link to the article)

Comments

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree about the outrage and value of asking for it in a public statement.

there's a big gulf between random masked assholes who might be tied to Al Qaida hacking a guy's head off and officially sanctioned barbarism by a nation's military.

Yeah, it's not a great analogy, but it was the most topical one I could thin of. And as far it goes, I believe it works -- I'm talking about the outrage of the population rather than the outrage of politicians and heads of state.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I do hope that things improve culturally over there. It's probably an oversimplification, but it's only been 1381 (tropical, not lunar) years of Islam, and Christian life was certainly no party back in 1381 AD. I hope things become more progressive within the next century or two (i am, alas, not being sarcastic).

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. I see parallels between the two cultures. The concern I have is that Christian culture of the Middle Ages could not reach as far around the globe as equivalent cultures can today. Its firepower and influence was restricted by its weak tech.

I don't remember my history well enough to recall the catalyst for the Renaissance, but I do remember when I was in school having the impression that time was a required factor. Measuring that time in centuries is appropriate.