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Good God Y'All
Mar. 21st, 2003 01:09 amWar begins. Protests continue.
On the one hand, it seems ridiculous to keep protesting; Bush didn't listen before, nor, I think will he ever - he's too busy keeping his blinders on. So he's certainly not going to start listening and thus stop the war. It's just as much wasted breath as before.
But on the other hand, why stop? Why give up? Why let the bastards keep winning and getting us down? Democracy should not be left to die.
This war is not just. This war is not even justified. I doubt it was ever about oil, or inspections, or tenuous links to terrorism. The reasons for it look more personal than that. Bush decided on war and that was that. Because war presidents are popular. Because war makes everyone forget their troubles at home. But our President of the Gentleman's C should have paid more attention to his history lessons. Those presidents who held office in times of war - particularly the World Wars? They weren't quite so gung ho about going to war. America entered the World Wars reluctantly. We did not join in until we were attacked. Let's grant that Iraq presented a clear threat. What deed did that threat lead to? Where is our modern day Pearl Harbor, Lusitania?
Reading and hearing the news saddens and angers me. I wonder how much of it is true. I am inclined to think that we do not need to know all the details of the battles as they happen. Let us sort it out later, after the shock of the coming of war wears off, when we can look at things with clearer eyes. When communications were slower, it was a reasonable desire to want to hear the news as soon as possible, because there was time between event and reporting. But now distances can be shrunk to almost nothing, and the television can show us what is happening now as we watch. Is this necessary? Must we all be in the middle of the confusion bound to arise from relentless bombardment of new information?
This war shouldn't have happened. But it was also inevitable, seemingly, and so it did. It is a war in which neither side is right. So who can win the victory?
In these days I am without hope.
On the one hand, it seems ridiculous to keep protesting; Bush didn't listen before, nor, I think will he ever - he's too busy keeping his blinders on. So he's certainly not going to start listening and thus stop the war. It's just as much wasted breath as before.
But on the other hand, why stop? Why give up? Why let the bastards keep winning and getting us down? Democracy should not be left to die.
This war is not just. This war is not even justified. I doubt it was ever about oil, or inspections, or tenuous links to terrorism. The reasons for it look more personal than that. Bush decided on war and that was that. Because war presidents are popular. Because war makes everyone forget their troubles at home. But our President of the Gentleman's C should have paid more attention to his history lessons. Those presidents who held office in times of war - particularly the World Wars? They weren't quite so gung ho about going to war. America entered the World Wars reluctantly. We did not join in until we were attacked. Let's grant that Iraq presented a clear threat. What deed did that threat lead to? Where is our modern day Pearl Harbor, Lusitania?
Reading and hearing the news saddens and angers me. I wonder how much of it is true. I am inclined to think that we do not need to know all the details of the battles as they happen. Let us sort it out later, after the shock of the coming of war wears off, when we can look at things with clearer eyes. When communications were slower, it was a reasonable desire to want to hear the news as soon as possible, because there was time between event and reporting. But now distances can be shrunk to almost nothing, and the television can show us what is happening now as we watch. Is this necessary? Must we all be in the middle of the confusion bound to arise from relentless bombardment of new information?
This war shouldn't have happened. But it was also inevitable, seemingly, and so it did. It is a war in which neither side is right. So who can win the victory?
In these days I am without hope.
