I think Ms. Thomas summed up in parody what a lot of people are
feeling right now: our leaders have provided us with woefully
inadequate, sometimes insulting ("Stuff happens") responses to a
tragedy of incalculable magnitude. No matter how you feel about this
president, the silence from the White House is deafening.
If our "planners" had not been specifically warned by non-partisan
Iraqi, European, and American experts BEFORE the fact that this might
happen (because looting of museums took place after the 1991
conflict), they might be forgiven for trying to excuse their lack of
planning and vigilance. " . . . it's too late now," but it was not
too late last week.
I am horrified at the loss to all humanity, and especially ashamed
that it happened because people who claim to be acting in my name did
absolutely nothing to prevent it. Voting one way or the other will
not return or restore several millenia worth of stolen, broken, or
burned irreplaceable artifacts and manuscripts. Our "leaders" in
both parties bear responsibility for failing to prevent this
ineffable loss.
We will be watching carefully to see what this and future
administrations do about controlling the inevitable trade in these
artifacts. Anything less than zealous investigation, arrest,
confiscation, and restoration will be unacceptable.
Mr. Spicehandler is right, we have no choice but to "see what we can
do from here," but it is an unpartisan and incontrovertible fact that
it DID NOT have to happen this way.
Respectfully and sadly,
--shannon (I, too, speak for myself and not for my institution)
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