Friday, January 26, 2007

mari's political rants

the good girls aren't only about fun parties and mind blowing fashion sense. So, its time to get serious for a minute...
I found myself deeply disturbed after reading a recent article about the funeral of a slain Armenian journalist who spoke out against Turkey joining the European Union. Hrant Dink, a journalist, was best known as an advocate for the rights of the Armenian minority in Turkey,trying to engage the rest of the world to pay attention to the injustice which sprang from the lack of recognition from Turkey concerning the Armenian Genocide. After speaking out against Turkey Dink was arrested,and eventually released, only to be shot outside his office shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Dink was not the first to get prosecuted under a provision which contains a ban on insulting "Turkishness." Among him were academics, journalists, and novelists.
Evil has always played a central role in modern life, especially as a component of our human condition. The complexity of today's inhumanity has made it difficult to create a dialectic for understanding evil. I think the challenge we face today is developing an effective way to approach this paradox. Perhaps one way to begin is to engage in active moral reflection.
If indeed Dink's death is an intervention on behalf of Justice then I hope that it can trigger soul searching, freedom of expression, as well as help to release the historical ghosts that shadow Turkey's present.