I want to try to put a thought or two together here as much for my own catharsis as anything else, then I’m going to try to leave it alone and submerge myself in work. The below may be why I think Ralfph and Kastel are on the right track or maybe it isn’t, but I think they are and I thought I was alone in this line of thinking. Thanks guys for prompting me. Remember I’m half Irish so I may tend to wander in print, after all, they call an Irish writer a failed conversationalist. But....beware, long solitary conversation based in frustration and anomie ahead.
I believe that if we could only show humanity to the innocent people who are about to become victims of the retaliatory attacks by giving them something worthwhile instead of bombs it may change their attitude somewhat toward Western Civilization and perhaps even have them join us or at least not resist bringing the terrorists to justice. The common people of Afghanistan are caught up in something we surely wouldn’t want for ourselves and I don’t think it’s of their own making.
Imagine witnessing your friends’ and family’s horrible deaths followed by the indignity of occupation of the survivors by the barbarians. That must be how they see their future, if they live to see it. We all know that there are no smart bombs only edited footage.
Regular folks everywhere just want to live in peace, do their jobs, raise their kids, look after the old folks, and leave someone to speak well of them when they die. They really don’t have much taste for politics. It’s the same everywhere. We are they. We must know that.
The people of Afghanistan have had a drought for 3 years, their buildings have been laid to waste, their infrastructure is in ruins, they are totally impoverished, the children are hungry and dying and the parents are helplessly held hostage by an oppressive regime. Given our living standard and value system, killing them now may almost seem like an act of euthanasia to some; but, it is the final indignity and we really don’t have that right...no one has. I happen to believe that killing anyone is just wrong at all levels always. I mean, where has it got us so far? Economic sanctions do the same job but more slowly. Look at Iraq’s children, have we won any of them over as we put them in their graves?
I’m thinking along the lines of bringing the common folks some food and clean water, and eventually education, medicine, technology and a right to speak openly with no political or religious demands placed on them by us. In short, if we help them to better their lives instead of creating victims and martyrs for the cause of the maniacs we may go a long way toward stopping the killing in future generations. It would certainly surprise them and make them open to suggestion about the absurdity of protecting insane politicians and their evil henchmen.
I’m sure that the talk I’ve heard from the States of “Wanted Dead or Alive”, “We’ve got to get the snakes out of their holes”, “Let’s get the rats”, and “We’ve got to drain the swamp” is having the desired effect of de-humanizing the people they seem to be determined to slaughter. But, to my way of thinking, it is a giant step toward continuing the hatred. Haven’t we seen enough grieving to last us for awhile in our living rooms? I’m beginning to think that Larry King is more of a media slut than Jerry Springer could ever be.
Will it really help anyone to bring more terror into the world in the name of “America’s New War” against terrorism? I just don’t get it; there are too many ironies. There must be a non-violent and non-imperialistic way of trying to reach the people who may want a change from within. I don’t think we have even tried to communicate with them...maybe we have, I hope so. I do hope we’ve made the effort.
I had some Saudi Arabian students/friends who showed me first hand how very different our cultures are in so many ways (and they were trying to fit in). For instance, they thought it was ridiculous for me to be queasy about the Monday Night Executions they were describing back home and how they, as doctors, would participate in them when they returned there as one of their duties. But still, we are they.
An important thing I noticed about them was a proof of the old saying that in a totalitarian regime, you don’t really know what the people you are controlling are thinking. None of the students seemed to have any use for their government in private but publicly they would never think of saying anything for fear of reprisal. They kept their government totally in the dark about their true thoughts.
Herein lies the power. The Taliban, I’m sure, is out of touch with the people they rule over (our government is, why should theirs be any different?). We despise the actions of the Taliban and all terrorists and I don’t really think that this is a foreign idea to at least some of the people of Afghanistan who have not already declared themselves as rebels. They must somewhere in their minds know that their religion has been bastardized and used against them. This must be the last straw for a lot of them.
The people who have evacuated have been able to do so because they had enough money. Now, they really have left the most innocent people to suffer the consequences when those who have shown support to the rulers, hence they are well off enough to plan a trip abroad, have given their vote of non-confidence by leaving town in a hurry. We may find a very receptive audience for random acts of humanity especially if they are brought by the rebels...who knows? I’m just grasping at straws, it’ll never happen, not with the “Noble Eagle” preparing for flight.
I don’t know, I’m just wanderin’, but that’s the way things are for the present with me. I know that my argumentation is futile and flawed. I know realistically that none of an humanitarian approach will be taken. But somehow, as a human being, it helps me personally to think that at least I wish it could happen that way. Sometimes though, I almost wish I could have the naivete necessary to just jump on Bush’s bandwagon but frankly, I can’t stand the sight of that man any more than I can of Bin Laden.
It is also ironic that a Jihad (Effort) for every Muslim is to fight against tyranny...but, their insane leaders (the same guys who blasted the Buddha) are fighting against what they claim to be tyranny and religious repression with more tyranny and religious repression topped up with terrorism...where is that in their scriptures? It’s an aberration of their and all religions placed there by people with an evil agenda. I think all religions are fine as long as they are not tampered with for selfish purposes...that’s not what they are for. They are all based on the natural desire to try to explain things to one another through love of one another.
My innate agnosticism has always caused me to fall between the cracks of organized religion of any stripe (sometimes to their chagrin) but it has also caused me to be curious about them all and I studied what I could of Religions as a much younger guy. I found that all of them seemed to exist to help us toward finding eternal answers and peace of mind. All of them have also been used as instruments of persecution and death. It’s the final irony.
The only answer I ever found is that it’s all about Karma and the Golden Rule; a lot of the rest of it seems to be dangerously flamboyant idolatry of one sort or another. It’s certainly not worth killing anyone over.
We are dealing with civilizations and cultures that by far predate 1776. When asked what he thought of Western Civilization, Ghandi said he thought it would be a very good idea. I must agree.
That’s all,
Lenny
Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...
Imagine there's no countries,
It isn’t hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...
Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say Im a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one. |
