The Garden of the Blind

Today, I remembered the crises of my childhood.

I grew up in the shadow of war. It loomed over us all the time. Fortunately, it was mostly a war of words, but occasionally it would come to blows. When that happened, no one won, but it seemed that it couldn’t be avoided.

The Red Empire had a solid control over its followers, but the blue forces were fighting hard, trying to get their message out. Here and there, they could break down years of tradition and isolation and change a few minds.

Then, it ended. Neither side really defeated the other. They just realized that they could comfortably coexist. Now, it’s hard to tell that they were ever enemies. Sometimes, they are even fast allies.

I take a lot of hope from this. If these bitter rivals could reconcile, then maybe the conflicts in Chechnya and the Middle East can be resolved peacefully. Thank you, Coke and Pepsi, for showing us the way.