Head in the sand

I'm back to work after my summer vacation, and Oslo feels... well, pretty much the same. People talk more. Many are affected. But generally I would say Oslo hasn't changed a lot.

I've always kept my distance to what happens in the world. Wars are always fought, children are always starving somewhere in Africa, there are conflicts in the Middle East. Nothing has changed there, then. I cannot take it all in without going crazy, so I stick my head in the sand. I suspect most people do. 'Accept what you can't change' and so on.

But the saying doesn't end there. It also says 'change what you can't accept.'

Riots in London (Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten)

It's insane. I cannot fathom that in the western world, we feel the need to riot, burn, vandalize and kill to change things. At the same time, I do feel some kind of desperate need to shake people into sense:

New finance crisis on the steps? (Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten)

I say I stick my own head in the sand, because I can't change the world anyway. Well, American politicians can't say the same thing. They CAN change the world - and by sticking their heads in the sand, they STILL change the world, but not in a good way, as they have the means to do.

I believe in democracy, but sometimes I think the leader must make the decisions, even if they are unpopular.

Then again, I wouldn't want a guy like Bush (or Sarah Palin) to make an unpopular decision, so democracy is back on.

There will be blood (Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet)

Nobody wants to have known the Norwegian terrorist. Yet they spread his lore like a gospel. Multiculturalism has failed, The Others are taking over. Who The Others are, depends on who you talk to. If you ask me, The Others are extremists of all shapes and sizes. Extreme right, extreme left, extreme christians, extreme muslims, extreme atheists, extreme israelites and extreme palestinians. Everybody has an enemy. Moderates, for the most part. Those of us who think nobody has the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God, Allah, Jahve, myself and Gaia. Those of us who think that if we could just sit down and TALK, we could probably come up with a solution where we could all coexist. That we don't ALL have to be supreme rulers of the universe. And if something has to be done, it's better to do it now and limit the damage, than drag it out and blame The Others when it goes to hell, and run off with the glory of being the 'savior' afterwards.

Can I change the world? Nah.

Should I accept it then? Nah.

Then what? Rant about it? Shake some people? Riot? Run for president? Nah.

I'll stick my head back in the sand.