A Culmination...
This is the end result of the date and various events that have taken place today. Amber directed me to some discussions on her journal regarding the scope of military service and the comments left by various parties that I am familiar with to varying degrees.
It's September 11th, a date with profound meaning to a lot of people. To some it marks the date at which the United States began a trip down a road to a crusade-like endeavor into the middle east. To some it marks a low point in America's history, that led to an increased sense of community that brought the people of this country together against a perceived foe.
It is a date that, at the mention, can bring people to tears and make others clench their fists. It is a date that drove flocks of people to donations of everything from money to blood, and other people into military recruiting sites across the country.
This morning, driving in to work, one of the local radio stations had people calling in relating stories of the day the attacks happened. One lady called in and said something along the lines of, "It brought the American people together, made us care about each other more." I had to turn the station off at that point. She's right, sure, it did have that effect. But I find it infuriating that it takes an event of such wanton destruction and horror to force we mighty Americans to care about the person next to us.
And, I don't mean massive monetary donations to some institutes championing some cause or another, I mean common, simple, day-to-day acts of decency between human beings. How many times do we as a people stop to help out people in need? How many of us would rather stand inside during winter and point and laugh at someone trying to get their car unstuck from the snow, rather than pull on your coat and gloves and go lend a hand? How many of us will pass someone whose car is stalled out and stuck in traffic and curse them under our breath for being in the way, rather than pulling over and helping them get their car over to the side of the road?
How many of us even smile, as they go through their day, say hello to people as they pass, or ask the person stuck standing behind the register at the grocery store how they're doing today? Most of us plod through our lives so self absorbed about what we're gonna watch on TV tonight that we fail to simply be decent people to those around us?
How many of us tell those we love that we do in fact love them, except in a programmed response at the end of a phone call or as we're heading out the door or something?
I don't do transitional material.
Military service.
I can't get into this as I wish without getting into venting a little political frustration, so feel free to bail now, I ignore flames, so don't bother.
December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: 2,350 dead.
September 11, 2001. Mid-Atlantic States: 2,750 dead.
Both days of infamy in their own right, both leading the United states into a war. But whereas the attack on Pearl Harbor had a clearly defined enemy, this war is not so black and white. In World War II, Europe was engulfed in war and all parties on 'our side' welcomed us into the conflict in the hopes that our involvement would turn the tide. This time, we were attacked alone, and not by a governmental body seeking to expand its borders, but by a group of people who believed that we were evil. The president declared a crusade against these people, riding a wave of patriotism and a overwhelming sense of the need for retribution. Some will say that we had a bruised ego, some will say that we are trying to act out of prevention of future such attacks.
This brings me to Amber's discussion and the comments associated with it. It was stated that if the United States' military force is to be brought against an enemy that it must be done in full force. This is what we did after Pearl Harbor upon our entry into World War II. This is not the same war though. When I read those words, I felt that same swell of pride in our country I'd imagine many others felt. "The politicians are neutering our armed forces! We should just sweep through their and kill the bad guys!" And, yes, that may be true, but this is a war against a group of people, not a country, or a government.
The United States has troops dying in Iraq almost daily, so do several other countries. And this has caused some of the people here to start the outcry that we need to bring out troops home, that we had no business going into this area and starting our war. There are people that have traded in their "Remember 911" and "We will never forget" bumper stickers for new ones that proclaim that all will be well after the next election or ribbons saying we need to bring our people home. Half of our government is saying to send more troops, the other half is saying to bring them home. The world at large seems to think we've indeed achieved our crusades, much like the historic sense, and that we're just spinning our wheels in the sand and that we're all nuts.
This is a new type of warfare, and maybe instead of trying to figure out how best to handle this war we're in now, efforts might be better spent trying to figure out how this new war should be fought, rather than what number of troops are needed. I come from a construction background, I've always believed that the best way to get something done is to find the right tool for the job. The key to having the right tool for the job is knowing how to use it. I believe that it is the military and not the politicians that will win this new war, but I don't think we quite know how to apply it to achieve what needs to be done yet. We're too busy bickering about how we're doing what we're currently doing to stop and think that maybe there's a better way than throwing more of our people out there to get killed. The other side is that the American political stage is filled with people that exemplify why these people hate us in the first place. All these power-hungry career politicians with mansions and their big SUVs, corporate ties and crooked donation practices.
Maybe if these people filled these jobs in the interest of best serving the country rather than lining their own pockets, then this country wouldn't be in the position it finds itself today, 6 years after its most recent "date which will live in infamy".
In the meantime, smile, be happy and nice to others, go home and tell the one you love that you love them for no special reason, and mean it. Be grateful that there are others out there that like you, don't have all the answers, but are still looking for them. And ultimately, be glad you lead a life that is good enough that you can spend time sitting in front of your computer reading some idiot's random ramblings on the web. :)
It's September 11th, a date with profound meaning to a lot of people. To some it marks the date at which the United States began a trip down a road to a crusade-like endeavor into the middle east. To some it marks a low point in America's history, that led to an increased sense of community that brought the people of this country together against a perceived foe.
It is a date that, at the mention, can bring people to tears and make others clench their fists. It is a date that drove flocks of people to donations of everything from money to blood, and other people into military recruiting sites across the country.
This morning, driving in to work, one of the local radio stations had people calling in relating stories of the day the attacks happened. One lady called in and said something along the lines of, "It brought the American people together, made us care about each other more." I had to turn the station off at that point. She's right, sure, it did have that effect. But I find it infuriating that it takes an event of such wanton destruction and horror to force we mighty Americans to care about the person next to us.
And, I don't mean massive monetary donations to some institutes championing some cause or another, I mean common, simple, day-to-day acts of decency between human beings. How many times do we as a people stop to help out people in need? How many of us would rather stand inside during winter and point and laugh at someone trying to get their car unstuck from the snow, rather than pull on your coat and gloves and go lend a hand? How many of us will pass someone whose car is stalled out and stuck in traffic and curse them under our breath for being in the way, rather than pulling over and helping them get their car over to the side of the road?
How many of us even smile, as they go through their day, say hello to people as they pass, or ask the person stuck standing behind the register at the grocery store how they're doing today? Most of us plod through our lives so self absorbed about what we're gonna watch on TV tonight that we fail to simply be decent people to those around us?
How many of us tell those we love that we do in fact love them, except in a programmed response at the end of a phone call or as we're heading out the door or something?
I don't do transitional material.
Military service.
I can't get into this as I wish without getting into venting a little political frustration, so feel free to bail now, I ignore flames, so don't bother.
December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: 2,350 dead.
September 11, 2001. Mid-Atlantic States: 2,750 dead.
Both days of infamy in their own right, both leading the United states into a war. But whereas the attack on Pearl Harbor had a clearly defined enemy, this war is not so black and white. In World War II, Europe was engulfed in war and all parties on 'our side' welcomed us into the conflict in the hopes that our involvement would turn the tide. This time, we were attacked alone, and not by a governmental body seeking to expand its borders, but by a group of people who believed that we were evil. The president declared a crusade against these people, riding a wave of patriotism and a overwhelming sense of the need for retribution. Some will say that we had a bruised ego, some will say that we are trying to act out of prevention of future such attacks.
This brings me to Amber's discussion and the comments associated with it. It was stated that if the United States' military force is to be brought against an enemy that it must be done in full force. This is what we did after Pearl Harbor upon our entry into World War II. This is not the same war though. When I read those words, I felt that same swell of pride in our country I'd imagine many others felt. "The politicians are neutering our armed forces! We should just sweep through their and kill the bad guys!" And, yes, that may be true, but this is a war against a group of people, not a country, or a government.
The United States has troops dying in Iraq almost daily, so do several other countries. And this has caused some of the people here to start the outcry that we need to bring out troops home, that we had no business going into this area and starting our war. There are people that have traded in their "Remember 911" and "We will never forget" bumper stickers for new ones that proclaim that all will be well after the next election or ribbons saying we need to bring our people home. Half of our government is saying to send more troops, the other half is saying to bring them home. The world at large seems to think we've indeed achieved our crusades, much like the historic sense, and that we're just spinning our wheels in the sand and that we're all nuts.
This is a new type of warfare, and maybe instead of trying to figure out how best to handle this war we're in now, efforts might be better spent trying to figure out how this new war should be fought, rather than what number of troops are needed. I come from a construction background, I've always believed that the best way to get something done is to find the right tool for the job. The key to having the right tool for the job is knowing how to use it. I believe that it is the military and not the politicians that will win this new war, but I don't think we quite know how to apply it to achieve what needs to be done yet. We're too busy bickering about how we're doing what we're currently doing to stop and think that maybe there's a better way than throwing more of our people out there to get killed. The other side is that the American political stage is filled with people that exemplify why these people hate us in the first place. All these power-hungry career politicians with mansions and their big SUVs, corporate ties and crooked donation practices.
Maybe if these people filled these jobs in the interest of best serving the country rather than lining their own pockets, then this country wouldn't be in the position it finds itself today, 6 years after its most recent "date which will live in infamy".
In the meantime, smile, be happy and nice to others, go home and tell the one you love that you love them for no special reason, and mean it. Be grateful that there are others out there that like you, don't have all the answers, but are still looking for them. And ultimately, be glad you lead a life that is good enough that you can spend time sitting in front of your computer reading some idiot's random ramblings on the web. :)