Friday, Jul 25, 2008
The treaty that ended in war
BY ALICIA MONTGOMERY
(10/15/99)
What is truly bizarre about the so-called commentary on the test-ban treaty is that it is all in terms of whether Clinton or the Republicans "won." Signing and confirming treaties should not be about winning and losing political points. A treaty to ban nuclear testing will (or will not) make the world a safer place to live. Commentary should be about what effect the rejection of the treaty will have on the testing and proliferation of nuclear weapons. That it is about which venal, self-interested politicians "won" is more a commentary on the state of media thinking than anything else.
-- Bill Michtom
Portland, Ore.
I grew up during the tail end of the Cold War. The world I lived in was full of terms that are now unknown to my much younger cousins: doomsday clock, cruise missile, nuclear winter, "The Day After." My school friends and I were absolutely convinced that we were destined to die in a nuclear war. When I was 8 or 9, my entire elementary school became terrified upon spotting what looked like a cruise missile dangling from a low-flying helicopter. My mother later explained that the "missile" was really a set of scientific instruments for examining mineral deposits in the surrounding mountains. I'll never forget the raw anger on her face, nor what she said to my father: "They're doing a damn good job of terrifying our children." When the Berlin Wall came down during my high school years, the euphoria I felt had less to do with the triumph of global capitalism than with relief that I might actually get a chance to die of old age.
Since then, I've recovered pretty well from my childhood paranoia. Now, however, I see that Republican senators want to take us all back to those fear-choked years. It seems that not only may I not get a crack at dying peacefully in bed, but I may even get to be the parent seething over political scare-mongering -- and all because they couldn't impeach Clinton when his pants were down. Why do Americans put up with this shit?
-- Julianne Bowman
London
Sharps & flats: "In the Life of Chris Gaines"
REVIEWED BY DAVID CANTWELL
(10/11/99)
I found David Cantwell's review of the new "Chris Gaines" (Garth Brooks) release to be unkind, to say the least. I don't see why some people are getting so down on Brooks for wanting to do something that is decidedly "outside the lines" for most country musicians. Even if this project does fall on its face, I think Garth should feel proud of himself for taking a chance and making people realize that music is about expression and adventure.
I've had it up to my ears now for a long time with the music industry. So many people sound so alike, it's hard to tell them all apart. At least with the whole "Chris Gaines" idea, I feel like I've fallen into a whole new world that's fun, exciting and, above all else, different.
-- Kimberly M. Allen
Get Salon in your mailbox!