To view this conflict as a fight between good and evil is enormously dangerous. ‘I feel it’s important to counteract the intense negativity born out of fear, ignorance, anger and frustration with prayers for the dead, the suffering, and prayers for peace. David Sylvian’s contribution read as follows: Some, like David Torn, offered music others, including Ryoji Ikeda, contributed visual images of hope. Clicking on a name amongst the criss-crossed pile of contributors gave access to a personal response to what had unfolded. On his website, Ryuichi gathered input from many individuals on an interactive board headed debris of prayer. I absolutely disagree that music exists only to “heal” people yet I am troubled by the question of whether, faced with someone who has been wounded, music can really do anything more than heal.’ I had been observing its progress carefully. It’s because the singing had started at the same time that resignation had set in. But there was a huge conflict churning inside me. In Union Square, downtown, I heard young people singing ‘Yesterday’, and for some reason it eased my mind just a little bit. Then, ‘at around the 72-hour point when the possibility of there being survivors became slim, I started to hear songs in the streets. Sakamoto had noticed that there was no music at all in the city for three days.
President Bush! Who more than you can demonstrate the wisdom and the courage of the human race? You who can, all by yourself, mobilise the strongest power in the world?’Ī final reflection was left hanging at the end of the piece. I feel that to not retaliate may be the true valour here. The human race, which has come to possess huge destructive powers, must not open a Pandora’s box. Retaliation will only bring about new, atrocious acts of terrorism, directed not only at Americans but also at all the people of the world. Violence can only beget a chain of violence. This would not just be for Japan, but could also be a major contribution to the international community in the 21st century. He has missed that splendid opportunity, but it is still not too late. ‘…If the Prime Minister of Japan had expressed his opposition to a war on the grounds of the Japanese Constitution, and instead had offered to take on some sort of role as a go-between to achieve a peaceful resolution, this would have sent a big message to the world and would have spoken well of Japan. But if there is retaliation, the general population including children will be the ones to be hurt, with nowhere to run…As the representative of a country that has a pacifist constitution, Prime Minister Koizumi is not supposed to support any acts of war… ‘On TV, President Bush said, “This is a war.” Then, Prime Minister Koizumi made a statement supporting that position. So too did the response of the leaders of both his adopted home and birth-country: It wasn’t only the events themselves that shocked Sakamoto. The thought crossed my mind that the black smoke probably contained not only asbestos, but also large amounts of numerous hazardous chemicals, including dioxin.’ Just then, a WTC tower that had been standing until that moment disappeared with a huge roar, leaving only a hanging, black smoke. ‘There were many doctors and nurses assembled in front of the large downtown hospital, and a huge group of people had gathered to give blood. In a daze, I watched the Word Trade Center towers in flames, a sight too surrealistic to believe, no matter how much I stared at it. After hearing of the first attack, I couldn’t sit still, so I grabbed my camera and went out into the street. I was shocked to the quick by this incident it made me go weak in the knees. I wish to express my deepest condolences to all the people who have been affected by the terrorist attacks on September 11. ‘Terrorism is an utterly cowardly, devious act. Just days after that devastating event he wrote a column in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun entitled ‘My Viewpoint’, which began: For Ryuichi Sakamoto the events were literally “close to home”. I’m certain we all remember where we were when we heard the news and saw the pictures from New York on TV. The terrorist attack that took place on 9/11 in 2001 shook the world to its core.
0 kommentar(er)
