T.S. Eliot called April the cruelest month. If Eliot were alive today he might see things differently. August, according to the history books would appear to be a lot crueler than April. The roaring guns of August 1914 opened up the carnage that became World War I. The" Devils Pact" in August 1939 between the Nazi Germany's Joachim Von Ribbentrop and Communist Russia's Vyacheslav Molotov laid the groundwork for World War II.
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990. Which brings us to August 2008. The record will show that while the world was being hypnotized by the spectacular Beijing Olympics, Russia, under the control of former KGB boss Vladimir Putin invaded neighboring Georgia.
With Vladimir Putin determined to make Russia a super power, who knows what his August invasion of Georgia will bring about?
Once before, while a dictatorship hosted a super Olympics, the-dogs-of-war were straining at their leashes. We can only hope that history, in this regard, will not repeat itself. In this age of nuclear weapons, unstable dictatorships, third world famine and ethnic cleansing, and fanatical tribes masquerading as nations, we should not only hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
But if we continue to be absorbed by the shenanigans of Britney, Paris, Madonna, and the sexual exploits of politicians, (while the invasion of Georgia was being covered by the BBC, CNN was entertaining its viewers with Senator Edwards' extramarital romping), Eliot could also be wrong about the world ending with a whimper.
It might well end with a giggle.
CFP “Poet in Residence” William Bedford was born in Dublin, Ireland, but has lived in Toronto for most of his life. His poems and articles have been published in many Canadian journals and in some American publications.
