Repetition with Indifference

Now that I have finished teaching my May-term course I have many days ahead to think and work and sweat (days are already consistently in the 90s here). While my partner (mlle gassy) is teaching her course I get to spend the bulk of my day with my 2-yr. old (gas fils). As we sit in our front yard relaxing in our pool (a little blow-up model from Target: my front yard screams redneck, especially toward the end of the week before I mow the weeds), little gas fils splashes in the pool while daddy complains about the world he will inherit. Grinning, gas fils adds an emphatic "yes" (with a splash) after each full stop in my rant.

And a random sampling of today's headlines provides much material for ranting. The NYTimes reports the beginning of the trial, in absentia, of 26 Americans accused of kidnapping an Egyptian terrorist suspect (see "Trial Opens Involving C.I.A. Rendition"). The suspect was sent (or rendered) to Germany and then to Egypt, where (he claims) he was subjected to torture. There is something particularly apt in the phrase "extraordinary rendition." The UK Independent (yesterday's) has a piece called "Bloodshed is Spreading across Afghanistan, warn Aid workers." The UK Guardian has a report on the recent BAE scandal (paying a Saudi prince one billion pounds in a shady arms deal). It also contains an editorial piece by Timothy Garton Ash entitled "There's one thing the U.S. presidential contenders all have in common: God." That one pretty much speaks for itself, I think. Most of these contenders seem pretty solid on war in Iraq, too. I wonder if there's any link? It's got to be more plausible than the Saddam Hussein / Al Queda connection.

Then again, maybe I'm just looking for all that's negative in the world? This is what my mother says. There are uplifting and positive stories in the papers. Why not say something about these? For instance, every paper I looked at this morning - American, British, and French - had a story about Paris Hilton being released from prison. Now here's the very image of together-ness. Popular culture unites us by what's best in all of us. In Paris Hilton, that is, we can see our collective-Western best self. What's next, for God's sake: agreement on climate change?

[For later: Timothy Garton Ash's point raises a host of questions, most of them pretty embarrassing. But one of them, I think, goes back to a previous post about teaching literary works. (It doesn't help too much with the question about scholarship.) This is something I would like to write more about. It may be the case that those of us working in humanities disciplines can help (or have been helping, or should help) to counter the insistence (in this country) that God is central to politics. A little enlightenment can be a dangerous thing.]