Baghdad in Brookfield
The horrible shooting that took place in Brookfield, Wisconsin (a relatively toney suburb of Milwaukee) over the weekend at a church gathering at a hotel, killing eight, was less than five miles from my house. My prayers go out to the families of the slain; it was another senseless mass killing, apparently by a middle-aged loser who snapped. The papers talk about "motive," as if there is a motive that would suggest to any sane person to shoot up his own church. But that's not what I want to talk about.
Milwaukee is a city of 1 million people or so, spread out over an area (counting suburbs) that is perhaps 10 miles by 10 miles -- let's say 100 square miles. A terrible act of violence occurred in part of the city, killing eight people. (Over the weekend there was also a woman in the inner city of Milwaukee who was stabbed to death by her roommate -- that murder happened probably four miles from my house in the opposite direction.) Does that mean that the American system is breaking down? Does that mean that democracy can't work here? Does that mean that Milwaukee is a quagmire? Should America withdraw from Milwaukee? Is Milwaukee a bridge too far?
I'm being facetious, of course. Life goes on and the murders in Brookfield, while tremendously sad to the families of the people involved, were only a story on the news for most of the rest of us. People were still shopping at Brookfield Square on Saturday and Sunday; we had a church social/auction Saturday night; people still went out to dates on Saturday night; children went to school this morning; people drove to work; etc., etc. The murders -- they were something that happened miles away.
The point is that same kind of quotidian existence -- the everyday comings and goings of life -- are undoubtedly going on in Baghdad and other cities in Iraq, and for exactly the same reason. Baghdad is a city of 5 million people that is probably something like 25 miles by 25 miles in size, or around 600 square miles. It's 5 times bigger than Milwaukee. If a murder happens 20 miles away in Baghdad, does that mean that your life is untenable in your neighborhood? Does that mean that democracy can't work there? Hardly.
People need to get a grip when they talk about Iraq, and stop and think about what it would be like to be there. It's probably harder in some ways than we imagine, but it's probably also a lot less intense most of the time in most of the places than we think.
Milwaukee is a city of 1 million people or so, spread out over an area (counting suburbs) that is perhaps 10 miles by 10 miles -- let's say 100 square miles. A terrible act of violence occurred in part of the city, killing eight people. (Over the weekend there was also a woman in the inner city of Milwaukee who was stabbed to death by her roommate -- that murder happened probably four miles from my house in the opposite direction.) Does that mean that the American system is breaking down? Does that mean that democracy can't work here? Does that mean that Milwaukee is a quagmire? Should America withdraw from Milwaukee? Is Milwaukee a bridge too far?
I'm being facetious, of course. Life goes on and the murders in Brookfield, while tremendously sad to the families of the people involved, were only a story on the news for most of the rest of us. People were still shopping at Brookfield Square on Saturday and Sunday; we had a church social/auction Saturday night; people still went out to dates on Saturday night; children went to school this morning; people drove to work; etc., etc. The murders -- they were something that happened miles away.
The point is that same kind of quotidian existence -- the everyday comings and goings of life -- are undoubtedly going on in Baghdad and other cities in Iraq, and for exactly the same reason. Baghdad is a city of 5 million people that is probably something like 25 miles by 25 miles in size, or around 600 square miles. It's 5 times bigger than Milwaukee. If a murder happens 20 miles away in Baghdad, does that mean that your life is untenable in your neighborhood? Does that mean that democracy can't work there? Hardly.
People need to get a grip when they talk about Iraq, and stop and think about what it would be like to be there. It's probably harder in some ways than we imagine, but it's probably also a lot less intense most of the time in most of the places than we think.
posted by PDB at 3:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home