Time to speak out for human kind

CHASING THE MUSE

What amazing creatures we humans are. Bright eyes filled with the

power of colored sight, bodies that continually challenge and test

their physical limits, and minds that absorb and expand knowledge

with the broad capacity to create. We are gifted beyond our ability

to see ourselves. Yet, millenniums have passed since first we stood

erect, and still, we have not mastered the social or cultural skills

which would allow us to live in peace.

Our diversity is our undoing. We do not walk with the same gait or

even share a common language (save mathematics, and it is not readily

spoken). How can we expect to understand one another, when belief

systems, imparted to us from birth, vary so widely? Can the Christian

really embrace the Muslim? Can the Jews and the Christians reconcile

the Testaments? Can a Shiite understand a Buddhist? Can the one path

actually hold the many?

We are trained to hold our own beliefs as correct and righteous.

It is what we stand for. We impart to children our moral and ethical

standards. We are grown in communities and nations with shared common

values. These values give us strength, but who is to say they are

better than our neighbors?

I am a citizen of the most powerful country on this planet, one

who has now proven to the world that it has the biggest and baddest

“stick.” If the rest of the world doesn’t like the way Americans

play, too bad. We have decided that our way of life is the best, and

we have the military might to make everyone step aside.

I have been told I am “brave” for speaking out. Brave for speaking

out? Because? The men in the dark car might come to my door and take

me away? Because you might question my Americanism? Because you might

not like me anymore for holding a different point of view?

I do not support the invasion of Iraq. American military do not

belong in the middle of the Middle East. I do not believe this

incursion will result in an end in terrorism, anymore than all our

billions of dollars have resulted in our winning the war on drugs.

That does not mean that I don’t believe in America, or that I wish

ill to the brave young men and women who find themselves sent to

fight.

Heck, I’m just jealous. I want to be Bechtel. I want a contract

worth $450 million and counting. I want a sure thing. A private

no-competition contract to rebuild a country that my country has

guaranteed to destroy. Sweet.

Of course, I am thrilled at the sight of Iraqi citizens toppling

the statues of their hated oppressor. Who could possibly not

celebrate their potential freedom? But that does not mean that the

means justify the end, and in truth, the end is far from sight. We

expect a citizenry, who have lived for over 20 years under a

dictator, to suddenly step up and know how to govern themselves. We

expect them to open their arms to democracy and know how to pick

leaders that will support their desires (as long as their desires

embrace American values).

There is talk in the press, about how each war has to have a

‘story,’ one which the world can embrace and feel good about. The

promotional kit for this war began to ‘free the world of weapons of

mass destruction,’ then shifted to a campaign to “liberate Iraq.” Who

can’t like that story?

People have written to me asking me what to do. The most important

thing is to stay conscious and not be swayed by the emotional tide.

Utilized your rational and intellectual skills. Write your elected

officials. Continually let them know what you are thinking. Utilize

that guaranteed freedom of speech. If you do not speak out, they have

every right to believe you agree with the common tide.

* CATHARINE COOPER can be reached at cooper@cooperdesign.net or

(949) 497-5081.