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A New Century
| Open Poetry #15 |
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A New Century |
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ethome Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858New Brunswick Canada 
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When reviewing the 20th century, many will no doubt agree with Walter Isaacson, mananging editor of 'Time' magazine, who said: "As centuries go, this has been one of the most amazing: inspiring, at times horrifying, always fascinating." Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway, likewise stated that the 20th century has been called. "the century of extremes,.....in which human vices reached unfathomable depths." She also noted that it was, " a century of great progress and in some places of unprecedented economic growth," At the same time, however, poor urban areas face a bleak future of "overcrowding and a disease pattern linked to poverty and an unhealthy enviroment." The 20th century was also a century riddled with war. With two world wars leading the way...................... Sad to say, from 1945 on, right up to the present time, innumerable other atrocities -in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, to mention just a few- have continued to stain the earth with blood. These atrocities have left millions dead, as well as huge numbers of surviving widows and orphans, shattered lives, and horrendous memories, in their wake. Without a doubt the 20th century was a time of unprecedented cruelty. Can the Jews forget the Holocaust? What about the genocide of the Armenians (1915 - 23) and the mass killings of Cambodians (1975-79) these have to be considered along with the rest of the atrocities of the 20th century. Even so that list is far from complete. Now we're in the 21st century! How is the 21st century beginning? It makes me weary to think about it. Small children in Ireland caught in the middle of an internal war fought in the name religion....Hatred brewed from religious differences eventually turned political and evil! And now this!! An act of terror in NY based on the self assuming arrogant end results of a so-called theocracy. What's a theocracy? A government that's God ruled. What kind of a God would condone such an atrocity? If you check your encyclopedia you'll discover that the Islamic religion is one of peace and love. Yet, what's happened is that radical thinkers have once again, as in many other cases in history, changed the basics of their religious beliefs to suit their own needs. This is not GOD that's doing this....It's an evil force perpetrated by evil men! The long and atrocious sequence of mass killings by man highlights that human domination of other humans has been a total failure!! This new century has been ushered in by the previous century with an evil bang and it's damn scary! This type of evil must be destroyed forever! The role of poetry is to utter the un-utterable; to open up spaces of consciousness and resistance; to language oppressions; to re-language historie [This message has been edited by ethome (edited 09-14-2001).] |
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| © Copyright 2001 Eric Lewis True - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Paula Finn Member Ascendant
since 2000-06-17
Posts 5546missouri |
Thank you Eric |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Unprecedented, surely. Soon to end? With God's blessings, soon. |
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