Sunday, April 01, 2007

The Last King of Scotland


I just finished watching “The Last King of Scotland” with my dad. Wow. To say I’m disturbed is a huge understatement. Not just because of the depiction of Idi Amin, but because of the cycle of violence often found in some African countries.

It’s sad because while the Western world has in large part dealt with the growing pains of violence and establishing laws and regulations, these countries are still fighting for independence and control. And because we – and when I say “we”, I mean the so-called “civilized” world – have already attained what they are fighting to have, we can’t allow the violence to go unchecked.

The unfortunate thing is that I truly think the men in power start off with good ideas. They want what’s best for the country, etc… However, once they realize the dangers of being in such a position they fight back and lose sight of their goals. Obviously, this is only my opinion, and things are much more complex than that – but where is the solution? How do encourage people to embrace democracy and other “enlightened” ideas when they are hungry? Dying from preventable communicable diseases? Fleeing for their lives?

There is such a wealth of understandable anger and hatred. Can it be solved?

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