If you want to to discuss issues of the day with intelligent teens, assay the region of Darfur and the Western world's general avoidance of the genocidal tragedy.
Increasingly Americans of all ages will email their congressmen (see sptBlog links for their addresses) to ask for thought and action re the tragedy in Sudan.
The latest effort to galvanize the public is a movie called The Devil Came on Horseback.
The New York Times review of the movie is found in a Manohla Dargis article entitled "Showing the Unspeakable From Six Months Spent in Darfur."
Dargis writes, "Brutal, urgent, devastating — the documentary “The Devil Came on Horseback” demands to be seen as soon as possible and by as many viewers as possible. An up-close, acutely painful call to action, the movie pivots on a young American, a former Marine captain named Brian Steidle, who for six months beginning in the fall of 2004 worked for the African Union as an unarmed monitor in Darfur. What he saw in Darfur was unspeakable. And then he returned home, his arms, heart and head filled with the images of the dead."
Teens cannot appreciate the full aspects of policy and war, you might argue. They have not had enough seasoning to evaluate remarks such as this one from the Dargis article: "In late June, Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio put the issue in stark terms during a Democratic presidential debate: “Let’s face it, if Darfur had a large supply of oil, this administration would be occupying it right now.”
Nonetheless, teens sometimes are like artists. Their role may be to bring the concept of conscience to a higher place on the table.
1 comment:
Robert,
What a well-written and thought proving post - thank you for your open and honest dialouge that is much needed in our community.
Danielle Reans
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