I was just sitting here pondering the mysteries of life and I decided to jot down some of these disjointed thoughts. A lot of it may not make much sense but these are my current random ponderings:
Maybe its a really bad thing that we, as a society, glorify military action and the "heroic" acts committed during a war. Because that reinforces the belief that war is a positive thing. That the men and women in uniform are automatically heroes and that, whereever US military action is involved, it is blasphemous to oppose or question that action.
I believe that everyone goes around saying "I oppose the war but support the troops" out of fear. Fear that they will be called unpatriotic if they don't add the "but I support the troops" qualifier. The troops are mere humans following orders, truthfully, does going to war make them automatic heroes? Currently, in our country it does. Isn't it true that some soldiers are a really nice people and others are not so nice? Just by shear numbers that has to be true. Actually, I see the current military personnel in Iraq as victims of Bush's lies rather than heroes.
I guess I'm just looking at the mindset of mainstream America and questioning the foundational military philosophy of our society. Personally, I don't know if I "support the troops" because that is such an amorphous term. I know that I don't want any of them killed. I also know that I don't want any Iraqi citizens killed. I don't have a greater regard for an American life, be it military or civilian, than I do for an Iraqi life.
I remember watching the London bombing coverage on the news and thinking, "50 killed, thats just an average morning in Baghdad". I felt that the heavy coverage of the British civilian deaths and the light, if any, coverage of Iraqi civilian deaths actually sends the message to society that our Lives are more valuable then theirs. Maybe thats what Im getting at here in a nutshell. The situational view of the value of human life. Death is deemed more tragic or more important in some situations than others. What do the dead and maimed in Iraq care if we are fighting for liberty, oil, or revenge?
I also think that the Bush administration's "fight them over there rather than here" argument is evil and again reinforces that idea. We are to believe that watching the horrific car bombings and astronomical death toll over there is to protect us from having any death toll at all here? As flawed as that logic is, the inherent evil of sacrificing the lives of innocent Iraqi people because it MAY save a few of your ownn people is clearly evident to me. Just this week Bush casually estimated their civilian death toll at 30,000 and then began telling jokes. How sick are we as a society not to be outraged?
I'm not ashamed to say that I'm not "patriotic" in that I don't believe that America is the greatest country in the world simply because I was born here and that God should bless America independently of the rest of the world. I actually believe that the term patriotism is a term used by the Government to shame the people into following policies that might be otherwise unpopular. However, I am patriotic in that I believe that my country, the earth, should be responsible and work towards helping the least fortunate and the most needy. I am happy that I was fortunate enough to have been born in a somewhat free society but that does not make me or this society superior to any other group of people on earth. Do you see anything wrong with that belief?
I just think that everyone is afraid these days. Afraid of being called unpatriotic, afraid of making statements that those in power could twist with meaningless rhetoric. Fear is the enemy of all sides in the great US debates these days. The right using fear to maintain power and control. The left too often afraid of facing the onslaught of attacks the right is bound to unleash if they stand up to them.
I too am afraid, afraid that the United States ultimate destiny may resemble an Aristotelian tragedy. A tragedy where the brave hero is ultimately destroyed by his own character flaw.
We have entered a period where our government substitutes rhetoric for policy. Where America has let the evil that all men are capable of influence its reasoning. We have just cut college loans and increased tax cuts for the rich and war spending, in the name of God. We're getting less educated in an increasingly competive worldwide job market. We have people in our country conviced that you can achieve peace through reigning death and destruction on a country.
It would have been nice if we had come to our senses after we discarded our apartheid policies in this country. But unfortunately, it appears that all you have to do is stand in front of a flag and say "God Bless AMerica" and our citizens will willingly walk through the gates of hell carrying a five gallon can of gasoline.
Iraq is now officially the Titanic. The Whitehouse and Congress have dragged us into a pit of hungry lions, and as they try to convince us that the lions are vegetarians, they are pointing at each other saying "But that guy has no solution either".
Once you've driven off a cliff, the options are few. America sits in the back seat, watching a DVD on the LCD screen in the rear headset. Complicit in their own destruction. Trusting that the drivers know what they're doing. As the driver and front passenger strap on their parachutes and prepare to jump to safety. . After all, we bought the car and chose the driver and navigator. We saw the sign saying "bridge out ahead" and ignored it. We laughed along with the driver as we ran over and crushed men women and children along the road.
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.Martin Luther King, Jr.
