Causality, Anyone?

While our Preznit couldn't pull himself away from a group of kids to address a tragedy, at least Tony Blair managed to take leave from the leaders of the eight most powerful, er, wealthiest, nations on the planet to return to the people he's charged to serve, in a similar circumstance. I guess he already studied My Pet Goat.

While discussing a continent stricken with desperation, poverty, death, misery, disease, and more terrible acts and civil war than we could ever comprehend, maybe, just maybe, the G8 will see the important connection between these things and terrorism. Maybe they will see that the special recognition and sympathy given to terrist acts in Western democracies are problematic, as they ignore that other nations suffer with this ad infinitum all the damned time, every single day. Maybe, just maybe, they'll see the connection. Desperation, poverty, and rage promotes radical agents for change. Put those radicals down with violence, and you get a response which, unfortunately, is very human: more violence. One needs not be a conservative or liberal to recognize causality. The philosophical underpinnings of that concept have provided us with revolutionary, benevolent science for three hundred years. It works in medicine, it works in technology, it works in social science.

But, probably, they won't see it. All I see so far is a lot of dick waving. Let's show resolve, we're strong, we'll continue like nothings changed, let's root out the terrists. Jebus, it's like Eric Cartman is running the god damn planet. Respect mah authoritah!

Terrism doesn't plop from the sky. Like everything else, it has root causes. Could someone, in power, please, for once, ask the important question about the causality of these acts? You can play tactical and try to prevent this all you want, but if you want to solve the problem, get to the root of it. This ain't a goddamned football game.