Well, these blogs take up little time & few neurons-so one more-I was in Starbucks today re-reading a JSP/Servlets book I have had for a while, and overheard the 10th conversation in a week about people ‘losing friends’ over the war. As someone that is ambivelant about the war (on a scale of 0 to 100, 100 being The Weekly Standard, 0 being The Nation, I am 55ish, +/- 10 on any given day)-I can kind of relate. The problem for me is that there are two types of wackos out there, both pro & anti-war.
On the anti-war side, those who are anti-war because they believe that America is the “worst oppressor of them all.” You know what I mean. Then there are the pro-war people who probably support this bill that would jail disruptive anti-war protestors for up to 25 years in my fine state of Imbler (don’t say we’re not polarized here!). I could add more points, you know, the types that talk about how America is going into Iraq “for the oil” or think that some of the 9-11 bombers were Iraqi. There are morons on both sides-and no matter what their political position, morons will justify it in an asinine and offensive manner because that is their basic nature [1].
What thoughtful supporters and opposers of the war should realize is that the wacks do not represent everyone, even the mainstream, of the other viewpoint. Many pro & anti-war people get worked up and angry at the ridiculous charges hurled and assertions made by morons on the other side … but the key point is not their position on the war, these people are morons! People are forgetting that their friends are often just as intelligent and moral as they are, and in fact usually share the same values and morals. So you disagree on the war. Big deal. Don’t assume that so & so is bloodthirsty like some of the more jingoistic wacks that want to “nuke Iraq & anyone not ‘with us'” just because they support intervention. Likewise, don’t assume that someone is an America-hating Commie who should be tried for treason and wants to undermine the republic-they might actually believe they are trying to save the republic, just as you do.
At worst, friends view friends as misguided and uninformed, that’s nothing to lose sleep over and to share harsh words because of.
Anyway, I support whatever is best for this country. I’m not always sure that I know what that is-and sometimes I just have to choose without all the information. Many others are faced with the same problem, and sometimes, they land on different sides of the line on various days, and people with common values can come to divergent conclusions.
Those that assert that this war is going to be a catastrophe for the republic-or perhaps those who believe that it will save the republic, might either be right. I don’t know. I’ve had both types of individuals angry at me for not being able to pick, because they believe that the choice is so crucial. Unfortunately, my powers of cognition are just too muddy on this issue, the world has passed me by-the choice might be crucial and earth-shaking, but should i just roll the dice in my head and go one directon? I’m not ready yet….
Of course, the tanks are rolling into Baghdad, so this is all pretty useless. It seems that the anti-war people are particularly intense and angry about all of this. I don’t know, I guess now they know how the pro-life minority of this country feels about having to deal with a tepidly pro-choice majority that is complicit in mass-murder but seems more worried about paying for a second car than the lives of the unborn (I’m pro-abortion-rights, just putting the cap on of the other side). 70% of Americans support the war, but the 30% that oppose it do with a vigor and zeal that I suspect most of the 70% don’t even realize. And those 30% who oppose the war don’t understand how the 70% can go on their merry lives, business as usual, while murder and mayhem reigns abroad.
Such is life.
On a final note, I wish more on the Right could reflect on what we could do to improve this republic and be true to its core values-liberty, equality before the law and consensual politics. Those on the Left should remind themselves as they strive for the ideals of universal justice sometimes one should appreciate what one has before continuing further down the path. The genius of the West is its pluralistic politics-and for that, I give thanks, no matter in whose hands the levers of politics reside.
[1] You know, kind of like those losers that go from hedonism to religion to hedonism to religion, making a mess of both activities. Just because they are fuck-ups, it doesn’t mean that people can’t be balanced and be hedonists or religionists, some individuals just can’t manage either.
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