Eve Of Destruction

Look back a century to the British Empire. Well-run, well-ordered, everybody behaving nicely. The emerging disease of Socialism, championed by upper-class egalitarians and genius professors at Cambridge and Oxford did away with the 'horrors' of colonialism and promoted the idea of self-determination. The naive sons of the tribal chieftains were shipped off to a European education in determinist, utopian ideals and returned to take over leadership of their countries in the Euro-Bug Out from the colonies that occurred in the forties, fifties and sixties.Since then the former well-run European colonies have been plunged into a nightmarish bloodbath of chaos and repression that would have been unimaginable a century ago. Every few years we're treated to a Rwanda-type massacre perpetrated by a pack of angry savages, freed from any civilized restraint, on their helpless neighbors. Uganda, Zimbabwe,Somalia, Tadjikistan, Indochina ... the list is endless.
Now its Pakistan that we will add to the list; a supposedly more modern nation, one with nuclear weapons. But down in the streets the ignorant, violent crowds, drunk on Koranic suras, urging blood and vengeance and egged on by their verminous power-mad imams are unleashing anarchy and destruction. Its hard not to wish a Taliban-like regime on these primitive savages, with all the mass starvation and horror that would certainly bring; indeed how can we apply our purely subjective Western values to the quaint native customs of butchery and mayhem?
Can we now start building nuclear power plants and drilling for oil domestically so we're not so dependent on this unstable region for oil? Can we start criticizing the murderous leaders of the ISLAMIC mobs, and get a lot more trenchant with our criticisms of Islam in general?
If we dont dump the totally erroneous idea that all religions and ethnic customs are subjective and beyond serious scrutiny we will be defeated by the monsters that are happy to list and exaggerate our faults and call for our destruction. As Pakistan crumbles into chaos our position in Afghanistan will become untenable, condemning those poor people to a returning Taliban, eager for vengeance. As Pakistan crumbles millions of Pakistanis will die of brutality or starvation in a Somalia-like anarchy. As Pakistan crumbles nuclear weapons will fall into the hands of our sworn enemies, enemies who have shown contempt for their own lives and the lives of their people. I dont see India sitting still for that, or China letting India take action without responding. Iran will feel the immediate need to nuke up to protect itself from the crazies next door. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a fool mislead to her destruction by her rave reviews in the Western media and her assurances by the always lame and misguided Condi that the US was dumping Musharraf (our only reliable friend) and would assist her in her grab for power (a worse mistake than demanding that the Venezuelan military release Hugo Chavez and stand down in their 2001 coup attempt).
This has the potential to be another 1914-style debacle.

Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
(Barry McGuire)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!