The Liberal Avenger: Burmese Days

A Massachusetts born and bred, Berkeley-educated, honorary Southeast Asian liberal coming to you from beautiful blue New England...

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"At times, conservatives have even trod into arguing in favor of a war ethos (see, for instance the popular bumper sticker: "War Has Never Solved Anything, Except for Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism"); at other times -- as in all the talk about "shock and awe" in the Iraq invasion -- they have even suggested there is a kind of beauty to violence, especially in the service of the imposition of American will. "

"Let's do the sign of the cross. It'll make us feel real boss."

- Skafish

"Look, can we all at least agree on one thing -- if the 'I didn't do it' administration is re-coronated, that come November 3, EVERYTHING IS THEIR FUCKING FAULT."

"Arbolist... Look up the word. I don't now, maybe I made it up. Anyway, it's an arbo-tree-ist, somebody who knows about trees."

- George W. Bush, USA Today, 08/21/2001

"There are no mirrors in Bush's church."

- Tim Appelo, Seattle Weekly, 12/08/2004

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try to understand each other, we may even become friends."

- Maya Angelou

"To those who consider the war a mistake but still fear the consequences of military withdrawal, we ask these questions: when will enough be enough? If not now, when?"

- An Appeal to Global Conscience (via j a c k *)

"How much productivity has been wasted, not reducing our dependence on oil, but to entice us to buy more that is made with, and which consumes for its continuance - oil. It would be as if a man who had been poisoned, rather than reaching for the emetic, reaches for another dose of the poison."

- Stirling Newberry, So We Want a Revolution, 03/18/2005


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Thursday, June 23, 2005

Burmese Days

Salon.com Books | Orwell's Burmese days

I've always felt that Burmese Days was Orwell's forgotten masterpiece. It doesn't have near the cache of 1984 or Animal Farm, but it is an important book as it is Orwell's monument against colonialism, prejudice and racism. As Orwell spent time in Burma in the service of the Queen, as a member of the "Imperial Police," he knew what he was talking about. Burmese Days is at the very least based on Orwell's experience as an administrator of Empire if not semi-autobiographical. His single Raj-era book never made as much of a splash as the works of the other great chronicler of British South Asia, Rudyard Kipling, but perhaps carries more weight today politically as Orwell condemned the imperial experiment rather than champion it.

Salon has a review of a new book by Emma Larkin (a pseudonym) about Orwell and Burma and colonialism and Burma's present-day totalitarian government. Larkin is [apparently] a Westerner who grew up in Southeast Asia and speaks fluent Burmese, giving her a unique ability to provide an informed, critical look "behind the bamboo curtain." Finding George Orwell in Burma is an engaging read for anyone interested in the politics, culture and history of the region. Great summer reading!

Also recommended: The Piano Tuner

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