the sawpit

Buy Nothing Day!

In December, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted on television sets across America. Some critics thought it lacked the humor of the comic strip, that it was too serious for a children's special. In fact, A Charlie Brown Christmas is quite remarkable since it simultaneously lambastes the commercialization of Christmas, and ends with Luke's account of Christ's birth. That connection between "peace on earth and good-will toward men" and Snoopy entering his doghouse in a Christmas display contest, is just where Reverend Billy and Church of Stop Shopping are coming from. Like most people I usually complain about the commercialization of Christmas, but then go right out and spend much more than I can afford anyway. Well, this year I am going to make a concerted effort to live up to my rhetoric by participating in Buy Nothing Day on the busiest shopping day of the year. This consumer protest event was started by Canadian artist Ted Dave and is championed every year by Adbusters magazine. November 24th is the official international Buy Nothing Day.

The Devil You Know

A few years ago I wrote a post about "honor crime" victim Mukhtaran Bibi in response to Tom Watson's plea for bloggers to raise public awareness about Pakistan's misogynist sense of justice. Not long after, President Pervez Musharraf visited the United States and, for the most part, received uncritical treatment  from the media. President Musharraf presented himself then as a progressive moderate who wants to bring enlightened democratic principles to his Islamic Republic. I don't think anyone asked him about how he came to power in the first place. How can one believe him when overthrew a democratically elected leader in a military coup? Yes, he has made many speeches declaring his intentions to strengthen democratic institutions, and his own government Web page states that:

President General Pervez Musharraf envisions Pakistan to be a progressive, modern and moderate Islamic state, poised to take its place amongst the developed nations of the world. He envisages the country's development not exclusively in the economic sense, but rather in a more holistic manner to include social, cultural and political dimensions. He envisions Pakistan to grow in terms of national unity and social cohesion; democracy and political stability; social justice, quality of life, national morale and pride.

Now this sorta feels like reading the old Soviet constitution since he imposed martial law earlier this month, suspended the Pakistani constitution, arrested his political enemies, replaced supreme court members with loyal judges, and blocked access to external sources of news. Of course, Musharraf is not the first leader whose rhetoric does not match his record, especially on fighting extremists. But, you see, the war on terror demands that today's rule of law and democracy be suspended in order to preserve the rule of law and democracy in the future (I'll bet you anything that Cheney is sitting back toasting Pervez with a glass of 30 year old Scotch every night after dinner).

Musharraf is full of contradictions. During his rule the Pakistani press has opened up and more voices are being heard. At the same time he has cracked down on the press when it suits his interests. Now it seems that some of the outside pressures have pushed Musharraf to release 3,400 detained since martial law was imposed. Let's hope that he steps down before the scheduled elections and restores the constitutional government in Pakistan. The moderates are the only ones who can save Pakistan, and they have lost all faith in Musharraf.