I saw this month’s Wired magazine on remixing in the bookstore, and thought about the events of this week. History is remixing. Live 8 recalls and validates the original Live Aid by bringing an Ethopian survivor. The bombings in London recall earlier terrorist attacks. The search for missing persons by loved ones mirror the flyers after 9/11.
The difference this time around is that there is a consciousness of making the connections to the past, which were not there even 10 years ago. I think this gives us the chance to be more effective in our current decision making by having a more complete idea of what is going on.
In the New York Times article, “Longtime Haven for Arabs Now Must Ask: Why Us?” states:
“Someone has to show them the boundary,” said Sabah al-Hamdani, who had been listening intently. “We need to stand in their way.”
We may not be the G8 leaders or any one of note, but civic duty today means making sure that we do that, in every little way that we can.
Good linked article, by the way; gave some food for thought.