Mugabe and Zimbabwe

I know in theory that taking a non-aligned political stance internationally is good in theory. It makes the citizens feel safe, and more, it reinforces the liberality of other countrie's rights to choose. I really do like Sweden because of our neutrality and non-alignment, although I have to say that I strongly believe it has more to do with Sweden's incapability to defend ourselves if we ever got into a war rather than as a fighter for liberality. Especially when looking to the Swedish domestic politics where the social democrats, who are anything but especially liberal, have ruled the country for most of as long as I've been alive, and for the greater part before that as well. Sweden has got a sceptical view of the more liberal, capitalistic parties and has also got a history of being a bit wary of international cooperation when it comes to the EU, EMU and NATO. Swedes tend to vote against these political unions, and when we joined the EU, the decision was won by 4% of the voters (52-48 in favour).
Sometimes, I do, however, wish that we would take some kind of political standpoint when it comes to people suffering in the world. Gordon Brown has gone out and said that Mugabe must go, and now the archbishop of York has done the same thing.
The fact is that people are dying as a consequence of this tyrant. 13,000 people are infected with cholera, the inflation is at 231,000,000 per cent. This is not the time to stand idly by and respect Zimbabwe's rights to have its own rulers. Because the fact is that Mugabe did not win a free and fair election, and people are dying. When people are dying, that's where the politeness stops. When someone threatens human rights, that's when you do something. Take a stance. Do someting, say something! Sometimes silence is just a quiet acceptance.

Doing Something Properly

My Latin teacher in high school once told me that I was really good at taking control of something and doing it properly when I really wanted to. This was after I had effectively gotten my grade up from a B2 to an A1 from one semester to the next, with a year's break in between when I studied no Latin at all. From getting average grades on my tests, I now aced all of them with no exceptions.
The thing is that I am good at getting things done properly if I can be bothered. It's just that usually I can't. Something which I actually blame my teachers for. Not my Latin teacher, she was lovely, but the others that did not give me half of the challenges I should have had as a kid. Them not challenging me has lead to me being this lazy person who doesn't really make an effort because I know I'm going to get pretty good grades anyway. In fact, my biggest challenge in uni so far has been to learn how to study properly. Something which I still do not master to this day. Although I have to say, Hobbes is a close second. He's tough that one. But oh so much fun.
In either case, I'm sitting here now with a sociology essay to write for tomorrow. It's about the effect globalization has on women, a subject that really interests me, something which is part of what I hope to work with in the future. Not necessarily the effect globalization has on women, but definitely something that has to do with the gendered inequalites in the world.
So, this essay. I started it about an hour ago, and have already got around 500 words down, with about 1500 to go. Whatever stress I might have been feeling, it's definitely not there now, because this essay has been like one of those I used to write. I read a bit, play some Nintendo DS, read a bit, don't really care about it, and somehow, through that process an essay takes shape in my head. It's there in my subconscious and all I have to do is write it down. I think it only happens when I don't really care of the outcome of the essay, and since this essay is the only first year essay I write, I really do not care about the grade. Firstly, because it is first year and does not matter at all toward my final grades, and secondly, because I do not plan to take sociology up to honours anyway.
Well, well. I have to keep on writing this essay. Hopefully I'll finish early so I can read this week's issue of the Economist. I might even go to the gym if my muscles can handle that after yesterday's muscle tone class.