Jay, there's an infinite array of possible historical knowledge, much of it self-serving mythical glory days. History is bunk, but a sense of history is a good idea. Both can be true. It's a bit like newspapers. Nearly every article about events of which I have direct knowledge, is wrong in some way or other; often in crucial facts, let alone interpretations. History is like a long-running newspaper.
It doesn't take much knowledge of history to see the cruel ironies and see bunkum in action.
For example, once upon a time, there was a potato famine and the evil English were blamed by the Irish for some trade sanctions which allegedly caused famine in Ireland. All part of empire you see and maintaining control over the local yokels. The Irish got some independence for Ireland but Northern Ireland stayed part of the Empire.
Irish-Americans, confusing themselves with Irish, thought to donate money to the IRA which was fighting for freedom and the right to bomb and murder children, men, women, horses and blow up buildings and the British government and anyone else their vicious little minds took a dislike to.
Meanwhile, the USA had a Cold War with the Evil Empire, which dealt with some uprisings and generally revolting people by a spot of famine too. In the Ukraine, there was bulk starvation. Which stopped the starved from causing more trouble for the USSR bosses. The USA also considered this poor form and objected to expansionary aims of the Evil Empire, so funded lots of Mujahadeen Islamic Jihad mayhem against the USSR.
Weirdly, Americans didn't like it when Osama and co decided that although the USA had helped them decimate the USSR soldiers in Afghanistan, it would be a good idea to conduct Islamic Jihad against the USA by destroying the Twin Towers and a lot more besides.
Trade sanctions and famine have been used as political weapons for a long time.
More recently, Iraq had sanctions against it, which apparently caused the death of a lot of people.
Now, North Korea is going to be starved into surrender, or if not surrender, then mayhem and bulk death. It's not really different from Ireland and Ukraine being starved. I know it's the Good Guys doing it this time, but starving children have trouble understanding those intricacies.
On rewinding history and decolonizing the colonies, that becomes very difficult because it isn't long before DNA is entwined irretrievably and property is transferred and all have died who colonized and all have died who were colonized. Anyway, without an international legal system of property rights and personal rights, it remains a dog eat dog world of might makes right.
Maybe Tibet is so entwined that there's no going back. The best way to determine the situation is to conduct a referendum in the region of interest. If 80% of the local yokels want independence, then it's an easy decision. If 60% want independence, it's quite clear. If half go each way, it's quite a problem.
Imagine trying to unwind the colonization of north America. Impossible and silly. We can't unwind our DNA for a start.
Mqurice |
