It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of
a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into
privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing
algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the
planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times. George W. Bush in July 2003: "The United States will not waver from its commitment to the cause of democracy and human rights in Burma." George W. Bush in March 2004: the official Bush campaign website sells clothing made in Burma, where child labor and sexual slavery are rampant and textile laborers earn 7 cents an hour. John Kerry in 2003 and 2004: the official Kerry campaign website only sells goods made in the USA. (Source: Washington Post March 20, 2004) ![]() ![]() ![]() |