Sunday, February 04, 2007

How Quickly.......

….does one forget in the midst of all our trials and tribulations, in the middle of our day to day scrabbling for the means of existence, and hopefully, some meaning, some reason for us to have a right to belong here, that we do not exist alone on this daub of mud and water spinning thru space at………. Mph around a relatively small sun on the outer reaches of our galactic cluster. Just one among untold other galaxies with uncountable suns and unknowable numbers of planets, all merrily spinning around. And their inhabitants, if any, totally unaware of us, and if they are aware of the possibility of our being, would probably soon forget about us, because they are also dealing with their own trials, their own scrabbling about for the means of their existence.

How quick are we to label others. As gooks, chinks, japs, savages, barbarians, mooslimes, or whatever we choose to label them.. Just because we really don’t want to take the time to identify with their humanity, because they look, or smell differently, or they believe in different gods, or like the French they eat snails.

How quickly we can lump them in to some anonymous, catch all group. Where we can hide from their humanity.

It’s so easy to let others have to deal with them on a personal level.

It really takes no thought to label someone for the color of their skin, or the origin of their being.

I confess to being one of those who tend to do these things. I remember a tee shirt I had in 'Nam, with the words I had written across it, "Kill 'em all, let God sort it out".

I had left for SE Asia, leaving a young 18 yr old bride, newly a mother of 5 days, and my dad's words of advice in my ears, "don't go looking for a fight, but do whatever you have to, to come home again".

No 20 yr old thinks he'll not come home. We're just too full of piss and vinegar.

One of the things that is different about this war, that I see, is the much larger percentages of somewhat older soldiers. Men who have more maturity about them. Who have recognized their humanity and also the humanity of those who they fight. And they recognize that the vast majority of Iraqis and Afgans simply want like us, to be left alone to eke out their existence for themselves and their families. Many of them truly seek a free and independant country where they live by the rule of law and their leaders are also subject to those same laws.

It's in the nature of man to desire to live free of undue constraints and to stand in fear of no man. To be able to keep the fruits of their labor, and to freely trade with others for things they themselves cannot produce. To subject themselves to others, if need be to provide service in exchange for money or goods, and then go home of an evening and spend time with children and wives.

Not too far back in the past, they could do that. The middle east, at one time the cradle of civilization, saw their accomplishment slide into memory over time as perhaps most culturs do as the long reach of time waves over them. Other cultures, different in certain respects, and the same in others, came along and introduced new ideas and took and built on some of their ideas. Progressing toward an uncertain future together.

Once a bastion of new ideas and inovations, then came the cruel hobnailed boot of religious fanaticism holding sway, and over centuries because of the desire of every breast to be free, a moving away from that toward a molding with the best of other cultures. Information, began moving across the world at a more and more rapid pace.

I can remember not too long ago you could look to the middle east and see freedom for men and women increasing. A vibrant blend of western and eastern cultures making progress toward providing all with more of the neccessities of life.

And then, for more reasons than I have time to go into, we in the west in our craveness, we abandoned the peoples of the Middle East once again to the religious fanatics. And for a generation they have only been taught that they should rule the world, and bring down the rest of mankind to their level, because they can't see how to bring themselves up to a level with the rest of us. Envy, malice fills the hearts of those who hold themselves up as leaders, and they fear that if left to their own devices their people will lose their fear and respect for them.

But, you can only suppress, never eliminate, the desire of man to be free no matter what it takes.

Many of our finest and brightest in the military recognize these traits. Some very few of our national leaders do. Virtually none of the MSM are willing to see it, because they have their own perverted reasons for keeping mankind a slave.

But it exists, it always has and always will.

If you've a notion to, you might check out this article......The hands of God

All it takes for evil to exist is for good men to do nothing.........


All it takes for freedom to exist is for good men to stand up, upon sound principals, and share the idea of freedom with all he comes in contact with. And be willing to spend his blood and fortune and good name if necessary in that cause.

1 comment:

Jean said...

Awesome post, Larry.
You continue to educate and inspire.