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.
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