Aggression

One of the most profound turning points in my life happened last week. I began to realize when I tried to qualify wars based on being just. According to St. Augustine (354-430 AD) and his Just War Theory http://www.fsu.edu/~religion/jre/arc/12-1/19.html there are eight criteria. The “smell test” of the 4^th century is still used today by many of our world leaders. When I try to apply the theory I begin to wonder as I see no war, not even World War II as being just. So then I try to bring it into my own life. My own wars so to speak. Seldom can I state that when I act with aggression does it transmit into being just. From killing the pigeons that defecate on my vehicles in my barn, to responding with aggression when a friend criticizes my actions in protest of this administrations policies; can I justify my own aggression?

Without self examination in our actions we often can carry out behaviors that we criticize in those we disagree with. These anomalies are perhaps best perceived in our contrary participants in democracy. The religious right cracks down on the use of the F- word on television but often uses it themselves as a means to get their point across. Whether it is Dick Cheney using the F- word on the senate floor when he stated to Senator Patrick Leahy, “F- yourself” or Dubya himself saying to Wall Street journalist Al Hunt, “You no-good f-ing son of a bitch, I will never f-ing forget what you wrote!” http://www.moderateindependent.com/v2i19thoreau.htm

This year the new F- word could very well be freedom. After all we can post-justify killing thousands of Iraqis and send our own boys to their deaths in the name of freedom. As we march to more wars our banners will have freedom in all languages.

Oh, Contraire…

But then again contrary thoughts and practices are often the basis of both the left and right. So researching these incongruities is an endless task. The right states that sex in the media is a sin yet the most conservative aligned major American network has programming that includes Paris Hilton (The Simple Life) and not so saintly pundit activities of Bill O’Reilly. Don’t bother asking me to seek these same inequities on the left as they too are as obvious.

Voting Solidarity

One would have to be far too jaded not to recognize that the Iraqi elections of last week were a joyous moment for those who observed and participated. However when looks back in history we need only go as far back as our last quagmire to understand that optimism for democracy as the result of an election is tentative at best.

"United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting. According to reports from Saigon, 83 percent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong. A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam."

- Peter Grose, in a page 2 New York Times article titled, 'U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote,' September 4, 1967. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/013105W.shtml#

Death Benefits for Dead GI’s

Raising the death benefit retroactively for all GI families in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars is a kind gesture indeed. The president and Republican congress sees it as a necessary thing. Why then were they trying to keep costs down in these same areas when they were pounding on the drums of war between these two conflicts? http://www.vaiw.org/vet/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=59

Neo-Con Warring

It occurs to me that perhaps the neo-conservative justification for the Iraq war is hardly without a well thought out protection for its citizens. The war on terrorism was often the justification for our invasion into Iraq. Perhaps the Paul Wolfowitzs of this administration think that if you are going to fight a war on terrorists why not do it where the majority of those that must sacrifice their blood are non-Americans and non-white. By placing our troops in Iraq we have given the terrorists targets outside our mainland. Our citizens are much safer with the war of terrorism waged on Arab soil.

-saw-