Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.
Nicht durch Reden und Majoritätsbeschlüsse werden die großen Fragen der Zeit entschieden […] sondern durch Eisen und Blut.
Otto von Bismarck - Translation: Not by speeches and votes of the majority, are the great questions of the time decided […] but by iron and blood.
I post this because I saw a production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Evita last night, and one of the most chilling scenes is a song called ‘The Art of the Possible’, which was Bismarck’s description of politics. The scene illustrates, in a way so simple as to be severely chilling, the political maneuvering and removal of opponents that was commonplace in Argentinean politics at the time.
For the song, either click http://open.spotify.com/track/52AFTnCzp1jUUOMNAdpbeT or (though lower quality) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kinFwq9FSrQ
Inspired by http://studentsfororwell.org/
What’s so civil about war anyway?
The Generals
The Generals sit not far apart,
They sit and wait; for soon the start
Of worthy war.
The breathing slows, and so the heart,
The fingers twitch, the eyeballs dart
Their quaint rapport.
If morals bide they ne’er implore,
Perchance these Titans them ignore,
But still they fear.
They know not what they’re fighting for,
Content to merely watch the score,
Lead from the rear.
A hand outstretched, the mask sincere,
To certain rules they both adhere,
The game begins.
The pawns move first to the frontier,
Their dying screams doth no-one hear,
The Reaper wins.
How can they now, content, wear grins,
When black and white both fall like pins,
And fight no more.
The Generals sit and bear their sins,
Across the board they could be twins.
Lone, caged, they roar.
- Oliver Schofield
