Stop calling it Myanmar

This is essential human question: how can violence be stopped? How can wisdom overcome foolishness? How can bloodshed be stopped without shedding the blood of the aggressors, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of violence?

The crackdown in Burma has begun while the world holds its breath, waiting for news from this totalitarian nation. The government has shut down the internet, and is blocking cellphone videos. Reporters are fleeing, lest they receive the same treatment as Kenji Nagai, shown here on Japanese television being shot dead by a soldier for daring to take pictures.





Burmese state-controlled television stations predictably cast the soldiers as heroes saving the nation from dangerous agitators, and called the American VOA, and British BBC reports "sky-full of liars".





The Bush administration mouthed the typical empty platitudes, while too busy fighting oil wars to do anything about it. Besides, one of the biggest American corporations, Chevron, gives millions of fat American dollars to the dictatorship in exchange for access to offshore oil resources. Did I mention that Chevron is a major contributor to, and lobbyist of, both American political parties? In fact, most of the nations in the UN Security council have some sort of business contracts with the dictatorship that rules Burma, and I haven't heard peep about them being cancelled. It's tragically typical to see these nations expressing horror at the massacres, while continuing to fund them indirectly. This is the essence of deep politics. Politics is the shadow cast on society by business, the intermediary between the populace and their masters.

Reports are leaking out of thousands of monks being beaten, arrested, and slaughtered. But no one can know for sure.

So what can happen here? The military dictatorship has disarmed the populace. They can't fight back. We could invade their nation and kill their leaders, but that would doubtless result in a long bloody civil war. The Buddhist monks have the respect of the people, but they are pacifists. They can march and pray all they want, but that won't stop bullets.

After the horrors of Nazi Germany, the world said "never again!" But it happens again and again and again, all over the world, all the time. Cruel dictators rule dozens of nations.

The buddhist monks see through the military dictatorship. But what about the Burmese citizens who side with the military? Are they simply cowed into silence through fear of execution? What about the soldiers themselves? Do they believe they are doing the right thing? What about the lady on state-run television? Does she believe the bullshit she peddles? What about the generals? Is it power for the sake of power, or they believe they are doing the right thing? What about us? Can we do anything? I'm not signing any bullshit petitions asking the dictators to stop shooting people. But neither am I prepared to pick up a gun and fight them (although I'd be more inclined to do that than to fight an oil war). What about the human race? Do we learn? Do we progress? Are we destined to repeat this drama over and over as we have always done throughout all of recorded history?

I don't know.