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Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Big Bang Noise of Peace!


Have a NiceDay!



I give as an example the activities of children playing in a seperate room from yourself, who then suddenly go quiet. You will rush into the room to see what’s the matter.
Now you know exactly what I mean by silence producing sometimes the loudest noise of all.

I have written before of my obnoxious neighbours who start with their noisy lifestyle from the moment they awaken. Sometimes the sun has not arisen and we can hear them screaming at one another. Periodically, all is absolutely quiet at their house and that leads me to look over the balcony to see if they have all (hopefully) died.

You will no doubt have your own examples of having been startled by sudden silence. My favourite story is that of the barking dog who carried on non-stop because he didn’t like being tethered on a chain. When a complaint was made to the owners they suggested that if the dog’s barking disagreed with the neighbours they simply should not listen to it.

That sounds to me like the same choice that people who live alongside a busy road have. The sound of traffic will be constant, so you have to learn to block it out. But what if the road were suddenly closed, how then would the residents cope with so much silence? Would they be put constantly on edge fearing the return of the roar at any minute? I presume they would enjoy their moment of peace so much that the coming loss of it will be unbearable.

Such was the case of Peace, in the sense of war and peace. I do recall only one temporary period of time during which the world was all but completely at peace. With the exception of a few very local disputes there were no major threats hanging over our existence. The Cold War had ended, The Berlin Wall came down, the major powers were talking, and the Pentagon was asking whether they should be developing major weapons of destruction.

Russia and The United States were destroying their own missiles, and the entire world exhaled. In a U.S. Senate session the question was asked that if the U.S. continued to stockpile warheads, against whom might they one day have to be launched. What enemies did America have? The answer came back, that America didn’t have any such enemies at that time.

That was one of those perfect day type situations. You know the type I mean where the temperature is perfect for the beach and the picnic. There’s not a cloud in the sky and life is beautiful and lazy and grand. Anything at all can shatter that fragile picture, and when it does it will come as a surprise.

Well, the picture did shatter, and the image was so long ago, that by comparison with all the bad things that are happening and that have happened since, it seems that we never did have such a wonderful interlude. Part of the actual noise that broke the peace was 9/11, and I wonder how many people looked at that with a sense of outrageous normality. The real noise had returned so it was now O.K. to breath regularly. We knew the peace was all just an illusion.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael