Tuesday, September 3, 2013

War no more!

I am against war as a matter of principle. I remember thinking as George Bush got us into two wars at one time how damn stupid it was. Just from a military standpoint alone it was stupid. But, from a human standpoint. I remember thinking "this isn't a video game." The bombs were real. We were going to win the hearts and minds of people who hated us by blowing their homes to hell and back. The other thing I remember? Most of the victims of the "freeing of Iraq/Afghanistan" were poor people and women and children and elderly people. They were the ones getting torn apart by the bombs. Oh, and our own young men and women. Mothers and daughters and fathers and sons were coming home with missing limbs and PTSD. I worked for the army on Fort Carson. I still remember the kids worrying if mom or dad were part of the news story about casualties. I still remember the chapel and the funerals starting up. I still remember civilian staff on the base catching their breath and running to the t.v. every time another report or bulletin would flash on the screen.

It just seemed wrong to me deep down in my spirit to think that bombing and maiming and carnage was going to "fix" something. I feel that feeling every time I hear of another "freedom fighter" or Muslim Brotherhood or Arab Spring or African conflict. I know that somewhere a daddy isn't coming home and a mommy isn't going to fix her daughters hair for school anymore. I know that somewhere a bomb is destroying a home and a person is losing an eye or an arm or a leg. War, what is it good for? Ask the politicians and the Enrons and the stock brokers.

Now, that I've said that I need to say this. Those of us against war for any reason are often asked "What about Hitler?" What about the holocaust? What would you have said back then? Would you have been saying "Don't go into Berlin?" Honestly? I don't know. That's the problem with absolutes and zealotry. There are always questions. Always, wondering "is it right?" Did I do the right thing? People getting poisoned by chemicals and I say we can't go in there. I have to look at that and ask myself am I sure. But, where did the ones who used the chemicals get them? How did they get them? Who will the bombs fall on? Just the ones who used chemical weapons? Or will they fall on husbands and wives and children and brothers and sisters? How deep in the bunker will the bad guys go before they are finally dealt with? Who are the bad guys by the way?

Rumsfield dined with Saddam and Kerry dined with Assad. Who foots those bills? The American military and their families mostly. The poor folks in Iraq and Syria and other places mostly. Always seems that way doesn't it? Maybe, we could try to get the U.N. involved for a change. Maybe we could just not be the first ones in and the last ones to leave for a change? Maybe? What if we continue to pressure Russia in the arena of the U.N.? What if we continue to push for economic sanctions on the money of the Syrian leaders. What if we don't blindly go in and shove a government of the U.S. choosing down the throats of the people?

I still remember the billions and billions of dollars that Bush wasted. Yet, the conservatives didn't worry much about the deficit. Hmmm. I still remember Obama getting a little peace prize. before he had done a damn thing. Might be good for him cause he sure wouldn't be in the running right now. I'm so sick of it. My nation is being torn apart by idiotic choosing of "our" team instead of holding people of both parties accountable. Funny, how if I say "Why don't we have health care for everybody, so that nobody has to be a slave to a corporate health plan" I hear "We can't pay for that!" Oh, but we can pay for the bombs and the life and limbs. That's no problem. That's the cost of freedom.

I also noticed something else when I worked for the army. The soldiers dying? They were not all 1950's blond haired blue eyed all American Christians. There were blacks and whites and Hispanics and Asians and women and men. Thing is they did have one thing in common. They were mostly from lower middle to lower class America. They needed a job and training and health insurance. Oh well. It is a complicated matter. I honestly don't have all the answers and I don't know if I'm right or wrong with a certainty. But, I really would like to give another way other than war a chance. Just once.
Peace.