Thursday, May 31, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Terrorism
So, I'm a little confused... who are the terrorists??? the U.S.? the Taliban? NATO?
I just got done reading this article in the NY Times: Civilian Deaths Undermine War on Taliban.
Here are a few quotes from it:
[“You have a bag of capital — that is the good will of the people — and you want to spend that as slow as you could,” said the American military official. “We are spending it at a fearsome rate.”]
This statement enrages me!!! People's LIVES are not bags of capital!!! This is basically saying that killing the civilians off slowly is okay, because we'll still have the people's goodwill as a whole!
[“If we still have civilian casualties, it can be used by the opposition groups to the government to encourage the people against the government and against the international community,” Dr. Samar said at a recent news conference. “That’s why we are concerned, and we ask the international community and the Afghan government to be very, very careful.”]
We shouldn't be concerned about the casualties only because the people will oppose the government! We should care because they are PEOPLE!
[A senior Bush administration official said American Special Forces units were conducting an operation in the valley in late April. After the Taliban pinned them down in a firefight, the air strike was necessary, the military official said. “It was the only way to extract our guys,” the official said.]
So "our guys" are more important than the innocent men, women, and children that had to be bombed in order to extract "our guys."
I'm so sick thinking about all the people in Afghan that are caught between NATO, the U. S. military and the Taliban. Basically there is no where safe to turn. On every side they are surrounded by trigger happy men, ready to end your existence at the drop of a pin. I don't know what the right answer is to fighting the Taliban... but replacing one evil for another is not okay. Killing innocent people is not okay just because it's in the supposed name of freedom. These people are not free. They are slaves to fear, a fear that is coming from every direction. I know in war there are always casualties... but more now than ever, war seems stupid! How are we supposed to fight an enemy that does not have a front line, that is mixed in with the people, and oh yeah, they're willing to strap bombs on themselves just to kill you! It seems that the only way to win that type of war is to show them a better way. Some might say that that is impossible. That those people will never listen. Maybe that is true. But maybe we should give them an opportunity. We certainly cannot change their minds by trying to kill them. And we're only creating more people to rise up against NATO and the US army by harming civilians. Villages are actually rising up to fight the soldiers (and good for them for trying to protect their families), because they are fed up with the military coming and raiding them when there is no Taliban there. They don't want to live life harassed and in fear. I don't know what would happen if we just stopped all of the military involvement. I don't know if the Taliban would take over. I don't know if it would be better or worse for the Afghan people.
So, I tried to write the above as if I agreed with war, just maybe not that particular war and it's tactics, but the truth is that I'm a pacifist, and I know that most people do not share that view point. So of course, my opinion is that war is never good. You can bring up WWII and other wars and I will tell you that I don't know. I don't have the answers. And yes, I do think that Hitler needed to be stopped, but based on Christian principles, Hitler could have been stopped long before everything got started. So what does a pacifist do when Christian principles weren't used in the first place, when everything has already gone to crap... I don't know. I haven't been a pacifist for that long. I'm inclined to say in my non-pacifist part of my mind that you fight back. But I don't think that a lot of the wars going on today are like WWII. I think that they are really different. And so, WWII is already done and over with, but we're dealing with terrorists that will stop at nothing to kill innocent people. They are exalted in their deaths. How do you fight that with guns? Maybe we're hoping that eventually we will kill them all off and there will be none left? But I think that as we try and kill them all off, we are daily creating more terrorists that maybe never would have become that had they not had to live a life in fear of the U.S. military. I dunno. Just some thoughts.
I just got done reading this article in the NY Times: Civilian Deaths Undermine War on Taliban.
Here are a few quotes from it:
[“You have a bag of capital — that is the good will of the people — and you want to spend that as slow as you could,” said the American military official. “We are spending it at a fearsome rate.”]
This statement enrages me!!! People's LIVES are not bags of capital!!! This is basically saying that killing the civilians off slowly is okay, because we'll still have the people's goodwill as a whole!
[“If we still have civilian casualties, it can be used by the opposition groups to the government to encourage the people against the government and against the international community,” Dr. Samar said at a recent news conference. “That’s why we are concerned, and we ask the international community and the Afghan government to be very, very careful.”]
We shouldn't be concerned about the casualties only because the people will oppose the government! We should care because they are PEOPLE!
[A senior Bush administration official said American Special Forces units were conducting an operation in the valley in late April. After the Taliban pinned them down in a firefight, the air strike was necessary, the military official said. “It was the only way to extract our guys,” the official said.]
So "our guys" are more important than the innocent men, women, and children that had to be bombed in order to extract "our guys."
I'm so sick thinking about all the people in Afghan that are caught between NATO, the U. S. military and the Taliban. Basically there is no where safe to turn. On every side they are surrounded by trigger happy men, ready to end your existence at the drop of a pin. I don't know what the right answer is to fighting the Taliban... but replacing one evil for another is not okay. Killing innocent people is not okay just because it's in the supposed name of freedom. These people are not free. They are slaves to fear, a fear that is coming from every direction. I know in war there are always casualties... but more now than ever, war seems stupid! How are we supposed to fight an enemy that does not have a front line, that is mixed in with the people, and oh yeah, they're willing to strap bombs on themselves just to kill you! It seems that the only way to win that type of war is to show them a better way. Some might say that that is impossible. That those people will never listen. Maybe that is true. But maybe we should give them an opportunity. We certainly cannot change their minds by trying to kill them. And we're only creating more people to rise up against NATO and the US army by harming civilians. Villages are actually rising up to fight the soldiers (and good for them for trying to protect their families), because they are fed up with the military coming and raiding them when there is no Taliban there. They don't want to live life harassed and in fear. I don't know what would happen if we just stopped all of the military involvement. I don't know if the Taliban would take over. I don't know if it would be better or worse for the Afghan people.
So, I tried to write the above as if I agreed with war, just maybe not that particular war and it's tactics, but the truth is that I'm a pacifist, and I know that most people do not share that view point. So of course, my opinion is that war is never good. You can bring up WWII and other wars and I will tell you that I don't know. I don't have the answers. And yes, I do think that Hitler needed to be stopped, but based on Christian principles, Hitler could have been stopped long before everything got started. So what does a pacifist do when Christian principles weren't used in the first place, when everything has already gone to crap... I don't know. I haven't been a pacifist for that long. I'm inclined to say in my non-pacifist part of my mind that you fight back. But I don't think that a lot of the wars going on today are like WWII. I think that they are really different. And so, WWII is already done and over with, but we're dealing with terrorists that will stop at nothing to kill innocent people. They are exalted in their deaths. How do you fight that with guns? Maybe we're hoping that eventually we will kill them all off and there will be none left? But I think that as we try and kill them all off, we are daily creating more terrorists that maybe never would have become that had they not had to live a life in fear of the U.S. military. I dunno. Just some thoughts.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
SHY
In my family I’m the shy one. Seriously, I am. I know if you’re reading this and you’re not related to me then you’re thinking no way! But I have told many of you this before. I’m actually quite shy. I have to force myself to do a lot of the things I do. However, I am distinctly NOT shy if I feel like someone around me is shy. In those cases I am more than willing to step up and do whatever it is that needs to be done or said. I’m actually quite vocal in those situations. However, if I know someone else around me will do what needs to be done (like my dad) then I greatly digress… maybe that’s why there’s such a large discrepancy between my friends and family’s perceptions of me. In my family I am the baby, and so they’ll take care of me. I mean, it’s not like I’m “babied;” they actually do a great job of bullying me into being not shy, but I naturally do not what to have to be the responsible one. Now, if I’m with a bunch of friends and a phone call needs to be made or if I feel like one of them has been wronged in any way, I’m on top of the job. I’m the one that will step up and want to take care of business. My present roommate laughs at me, because I seem to end up in conversations with strangers, but she has no idea how shy I am! If she could only see my sister and brother in action! I wish that I had never met a stranger, that I could warmly engage any random person in a meaningful conversation. But I can’t… or I don’t. I suppose I could. The world is full of shier people than me, and probably a lot of them are wishing that someone would be friends with them. Actually, I’ve become quite aware of that fact ever since I graduated from ACU and even more so now that I live in a city that’s simply full of people that have recently relocated. People are starving for relationships.
I haven’t done a good job of being a part of this city since I moved here. I did for the first three months, but not since then. I travel as much as I possible can, and therefore I’m out of town A LOT. You can’t deepen friendships when you’re out of town as much as I am. I can’t really be a part of church, because I only get 2 Sundays off a month, and I’m always out of town on one of those Sundays. So, I only attend “my church” 1 Sunday a month. Of course I get to go some Wednesdays and some Fridays, but I’m not consistent in that either. I also haven’t volunteered since my first 3 months here. It’s just really hard to get involved in anything when you’re always working or traveling. But I recognized this fact about a month ago, and I’m willing to live with it for now, because I’m far away from my loved ones, and soon enough I won’t be able to travel to see them. But in the mean time, I really do miss having that church family. I really do miss having best friends living near by. I miss having family not too far away. I ache to feel comfortable when I go to church. I ache to have a place that I volunteer at regularly. But I guess right now I ache more to see my family and friends in other parts of the country and hemisphere.
I met a girl on the bus a while back. She was really nice and we exchanged numbers. She had only been in the city for 2 months, and so, probably had even fewer friends than I. Well, I dropped the ball on that one. It’s been about a month now since that encounter, and I have yet to call her to hang out. Shyness got in the way. I got the feeling on the bus that she wanted another friend even more than I do right now. She was really interesting too, and we could’ve probably been great friends, but now it feels a little awkward to call because it’s been so long. Maybe I will this coming week.
Sorry this posting was kind of a ramble… but I wanted to post because it’s been a while, and well, this is what popped out of my fingertips.
Exciting news: My roommate and I bought rollerblades and are going to go on our first rollerblade expedition EVER on Sunday afternoon! I’ll be sure to post pics! :)
I haven’t done a good job of being a part of this city since I moved here. I did for the first three months, but not since then. I travel as much as I possible can, and therefore I’m out of town A LOT. You can’t deepen friendships when you’re out of town as much as I am. I can’t really be a part of church, because I only get 2 Sundays off a month, and I’m always out of town on one of those Sundays. So, I only attend “my church” 1 Sunday a month. Of course I get to go some Wednesdays and some Fridays, but I’m not consistent in that either. I also haven’t volunteered since my first 3 months here. It’s just really hard to get involved in anything when you’re always working or traveling. But I recognized this fact about a month ago, and I’m willing to live with it for now, because I’m far away from my loved ones, and soon enough I won’t be able to travel to see them. But in the mean time, I really do miss having that church family. I really do miss having best friends living near by. I miss having family not too far away. I ache to feel comfortable when I go to church. I ache to have a place that I volunteer at regularly. But I guess right now I ache more to see my family and friends in other parts of the country and hemisphere.
I met a girl on the bus a while back. She was really nice and we exchanged numbers. She had only been in the city for 2 months, and so, probably had even fewer friends than I. Well, I dropped the ball on that one. It’s been about a month now since that encounter, and I have yet to call her to hang out. Shyness got in the way. I got the feeling on the bus that she wanted another friend even more than I do right now. She was really interesting too, and we could’ve probably been great friends, but now it feels a little awkward to call because it’s been so long. Maybe I will this coming week.
Sorry this posting was kind of a ramble… but I wanted to post because it’s been a while, and well, this is what popped out of my fingertips.
Exciting news: My roommate and I bought rollerblades and are going to go on our first rollerblade expedition EVER on Sunday afternoon! I’ll be sure to post pics! :)
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