Mourning Air

私は、生涯をつうじて、政治上の出来事や社会的な出来事が明らかでない場合、いつも別の側面をみることで気楽に感じてきた。私は、なぜという疑問を感じなかった。しかし、このことによって、私がそれらの出来事を見たいと感じたやり方で、さらに安易にみてしまうこととなったのだ。メディアが私の前に示したものは何でも、すべてが見るのに必要とされたものだった。とはいえ、私は、苦しんだり搾取されたりしている人たちを前にして無関心であったということではなく、逆に、慈悲深いという訳でもない。私の自身の世界に焦点を合わせることは簡単だった。

そして私は一つの映画を見た。マイケル・ムーアの『ボウリング・フォー・コロンバイン』を見た後、おなじみの感覚、けれども不慣れな思考が充満した。私には、今度ばかりは、怒りと悲しがバラバラになって襲ってきた。私が見たいと思わなかったすべてが、別の角度で見たいと思わなかった方法で示されていたのだ。ムーアは、世界、とくにアメリカ合衆国が公的な場所でどのようなことを行なってきたのかに関する証言をあからさまにした時、公的な視線には隠されてきた別のものを見ることに関心をもった。

私はインターネットを拾い読みし、中東の対立に関する詳細を学ぶため、公共図書館で本を借り始めた……。

Throughout my life, I've always felt easier to look the other way when watching political or social events unfold. I'm not sure why, but it made it much easier to see things the way I wanted to see them. Whatever the media presented in front of me was all I needed to see. It's not that I felt apathy towards those who were suffering or exploited, but I never felt compassionate as well. It was easier to focus on my own world.
And then I saw a movie. After watching Michael Moore's film, Bowling for Columbine, I was filled with familiar feelings, yet unfamiliar thoughts. I felt anger and sadness differently because for once, it was not about me. Everything I didn't want to see was presented in such a way that I did not want to look in the other direction. As he uncovered more and more evidence about how the world, in particular the United States, acted in the political arena, I was more and more interested in seeing what else has been hidden from the public's eye.

I started browsing the internet and borrowing books at the public library to learn more about the conflict in the Middle East. Two books that really stood out for me were Deliberate Deceptions and Silent No More, both by Paul Findley. The more I looked, the more I became curious in the one sidedness of the conflict. As I scoured the internet for photographs, I ran across several images that changed the way I viewed the struggle in a land that many of us have never visited. Most of us are so isolated from the war that occurs in the Middle East that we have no true sense of what is happening. It's almost as if it's a far away land that only exists in our imagination or on CNN. We are safe in the haven of our living room and we know that we can always change the channel. That is the danger of living in isolation.

My purpose in this photo essay is not to uncover everything or to change anyone's mind, but rather, to document what I've learned so far. Do not be alarmed. Although they exist, I did not see the need to share the images of extreme cruelty and the product of daily violations of human rights. It's difficult to imagine, let alone actually see, that anyone who has a soul would be capable of the insanity that are evident in those photographs. May God have mercy on them.

Mourning Air