...an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth
Last week seemed like a 'typical' summer day in New York City.
Hot, humid, sticky. Clothes sticking to you and your feet sticking to the asphalt accentuated by zillions of chards of recycled glass. The "New Jerusalem" is not full of milk and honey or the streets paved with gold: the recipe instead is asphalt, tar, gravel and recycled glass.
There were the requisite dog walkers, pre-school kids paired off buddy system two by two, speeding couriers on their stipped down bicylces weaving in and out of traffic without regard to taxis or pedestrians.
In addition there were several food service trailers... ah, they must be filming in the neighborhood. Another huge trailer sported doors with different signs - including "Stunt Coordinator". That's a give away.
Yet there seemed more police presence. When I was walking toward the General Assembly building the ranks grew. More blue uniforms. Far more vigilance. Then I saw the trucks. All with booms and satelite dishes. What has happened?
I fight against my own aversion to the media that swoops down like a line of vultures onto the premesis when world news - usually bad news - is being made. This time it's in Lebanon.
Death. Vengence. Bloodshed. Vindication. Retaliation. Honor. Justice.
I can recall sitting in an Old Testament class while the instructor went on at length about the establishment of a reasonable ethical order among the Hebrews. Instead of over reacting to an act of agression (for example, coming with all your relatives - weapons in hand - to wipe out the population of a village in retaliation for one of their members breaking your brother's leg) one could only exact punishment in equal proportion.
Fighting, killing. Where will it end? Even if we tear each other apart, body part by body part, no one "wins". God help us all. On a summer day in the city, in Lebanon, in Israel. God help us all.
Hot, humid, sticky. Clothes sticking to you and your feet sticking to the asphalt accentuated by zillions of chards of recycled glass. The "New Jerusalem" is not full of milk and honey or the streets paved with gold: the recipe instead is asphalt, tar, gravel and recycled glass.
There were the requisite dog walkers, pre-school kids paired off buddy system two by two, speeding couriers on their stipped down bicylces weaving in and out of traffic without regard to taxis or pedestrians.
In addition there were several food service trailers... ah, they must be filming in the neighborhood. Another huge trailer sported doors with different signs - including "Stunt Coordinator". That's a give away.
Yet there seemed more police presence. When I was walking toward the General Assembly building the ranks grew. More blue uniforms. Far more vigilance. Then I saw the trucks. All with booms and satelite dishes. What has happened?
I fight against my own aversion to the media that swoops down like a line of vultures onto the premesis when world news - usually bad news - is being made. This time it's in Lebanon.
Death. Vengence. Bloodshed. Vindication. Retaliation. Honor. Justice.
I can recall sitting in an Old Testament class while the instructor went on at length about the establishment of a reasonable ethical order among the Hebrews. Instead of over reacting to an act of agression (for example, coming with all your relatives - weapons in hand - to wipe out the population of a village in retaliation for one of their members breaking your brother's leg) one could only exact punishment in equal proportion.
Fighting, killing. Where will it end? Even if we tear each other apart, body part by body part, no one "wins". God help us all. On a summer day in the city, in Lebanon, in Israel. God help us all.
posted by Joanna Depue | 7:58 PM
1 Comments:
I tecall back in yhe 80's that NYC was going to save millions of dollars by using "glassphalt" to repair its streets. It was a mixture of asphalt and crushed, recycled glass: coke bottles, beer bottles, milk bottles, broken windows and drinking vessels...now in the 21st century, it was discovered that the glass separates from the tar based asphalt and often has to be seept away by street cleaners. It is also very sharp and irregular in size. Be careful when you cross the street!
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