Day 44: A whole lotta Caracas

We´ve been in Caracas for a few days now. There´s so much to say about Venezuela, I don´t even know where to start.

One thing people say about Venezuela is that the press has limited freedom of speech. While it is true that there is more than one government station that is unquestionably pro-Chavez, there are also several anti-Chavez channels, newspapers, and other media. They are even allowed to print headlines that say Chavez limits their freedom of speech, which to me says it all. Talk about a self-defeating point made.

The one thing I´ll point out that seems problematic in regards to the media, is that it seems like the line is pretty fuzzy between government programs, and the campaign for Chavez´s reelection. For instance, you will see an ad in the metro station talking about how great the metro is, and in the corner it will say "With Chavez the governement is for everybody". I can see why people have issues with this kind of publicity. Government money is apparently going to Chavez´s campaign in ambiguous ways. It doesn´t bother me nearly as much as when Bush does this kind of thing, but that´s just because I can´t stand Bush. It´s easy to see how this can affect people´s opinions on things, and when the government starts dabbling in people´s opinions it gets murky.

On the other hand, I don´t see a problem with Chavez essentially having his own channel. The right wing has lots of channels. It´s not like the president getting an unrestricted, unedited opportunity to speak with the people who elected him is such a bad idea. Bush has the Fox network, right?


As for Chavez´s recent comments comparing Israel´s actions in Lebanon to the Holocaust, I think that in his attempt to make a point he has gone a little overboard and sets an example which minimizes and misinterprets what happened during the holocaust and in other genocides by making broad statements without a clear explanation of where those similarities lie--at least, that's how I've seen it presented. However, I don´t think this invalidates the point that Israel´s actions, specifically the bombing of a civilian airport, the well-informed bombing of U.N. representatives and the seeming disregard for civilians in general, have crossed the line. I´m against any kind of killing, but governments killing civilians....not pretty, and that is one way in which I think the comparison may be a fair one, especially when one looks at the broader actions of both Israel and the U.S. in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and who knows what country is next. Simultaneously, there are several ways in which Israel's actions at least are different, particularly from a contextual standpoint. [I edited this paragraph for clarification]

In order to be perfectly clear, I´m not speaking in support of Hezbollah and their violent actions, which I also criticize.

I think the problems in the middle east can be squarely blamed on lots of people. But the point is that it is exactly this need to continue the blame game that is the heart of the problem. People need to look forward with a vision of hope, not backwards with a vision of hate.

As for the question of justice, I have no answer. Who should decide what justice is? Who should receive justice? Who should distribute justice? The only reasonable answer I can give to these questions is "everyone". But, unfortunately, that isn´t nearly as practical as it is reasonable. At the same time, however, if everyone can´t be involved, than in my heart I want to say that no one should be able to, for why should one person have that right, and not another? I suppose that these are some of the questions that have plagued society and brought conflict and war for longer than anyone even knows.

I am sure beyond any doubt that the solution lies in our attempts to know one and another better, and to see through each other´s eyes, and that it is through this path that the world can be a better place. We need to meet those people which we want to meet the least, we need to confront our fears, and we need to go out of our way to resist any force, internal or external, which tells us otherwise, for knowledge is the only way to conquer fear, and you cannot know someone until you have met them.

I also would suggest that people consider alternate forms of group decision-making to Democracy. I realize that this is an immediately controversial thing to suggest, but hope that my ideas are not immediately written off as overly radical simply due to the popular perception that democracy is the be all and end all of government process. In fact, what I suggest is, in my opinion, actually more democratic than Democracy itself, as we know it. It´s a concept my father introduced me to a while back, called Sociocracy. It´s not that I find this to be a perfect solution, but of all the decision-making processes of which I am familiar with, this seems to me to be the most reasonable.

Here are some links for you to go to if you want to learn more about it, since it´s much easier than trying to explain it in my own words:

http://www.sociocracy.biz/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociocracy

http://www.sociocracy.info/about.html

http://worldteacher.faithweb.com/sociocracy.htm

If this is not enough, and you want to learn more, there´s plenty out there if you just do a search or two.

Anyways, now that I´m done saving the world for the day, I can let you know that I have uploaded a whole bunch of new pictures to http://picasaweb.google.com/ogoldberg for you to look at. These photos include a Venezualan military ceremony, Chavez´s official announcement to run for re-election in December, and some shots of Caracas from a cable car I took up the surrounding mountains. Also, an ice-skating rink. Who knew? Plus other stuff too.

I don´t know how much longer we will be in Caracas, it depends on various things, but either way, before I leave Venezuela I fully intend to make it to Parque Nacional Cienagas del Catatumbo, which is a valley where there is almost constant lightning without any scientific explanation. And there is absolutley no thunder in the valley! Really. No thunder in the valley. This seems absolutely incredible to me. I guess over the decades it has gotten less intense, but they say you can still read by the light it shines. Of course, I don´t actually intend to enter the valley itself, that would be stupid. There are lots of scenic overlooks in the area that are safe and apparently quite beautiful.

I wish I could tell all the stories of all the little things that happen everyday, but I think I´d have to write a book, which I don´t intend to do at the moment. So, I´ll just leave it like this, and wish you a good day. More soon.