Now that I've finished my enslavement to those fantasy books, I've gotten back to reading and reacting to the news.
What's with the parents of servicemen turned protesters? I'm assuming you've heard of Cindy Sheehan by now, the woman who has been sitting in front of Bush's ranch waiting for him to talk to her. Also the parents of former NFL player Pat Tillman have been upset with the "official" explanation of his death in Afghanistan after quitting football to hunt Al Qaeda. As someone who has been opposed to the war in Iraq and is iffy about there being just cause for most wars, I suppose I'm glad that more people are questioning things. But a part of me also wants to say to them, "What did you expect?" They signed up for war, or at least for military service knowing it might include war. War consists of people trying to kill each other. If you are going to volunteer for it, you have to realize you might not come back alive. That's why you should question it before signing up, not after it's too late. Make sure the cause is worthy, that you are sure it is worth dying for with no regrets instead of just putting blind faith in our leaders and only realizing later you've been fooled. If enough people had taken this attitude in the first place, we may not have gotten into this mess to begin with.
Of course, some people just don't want to hear the truth of tough situations. A doctor in New Hampshire has gotten in trouble for offering what most consider generally sound health advice to a patient. He told her she could stand to use a few pounds, that it's bad for her to be obese. Naturally, instead of accepting his description of her as accurate and choosing to change her lifestyle or not, she complained that he had insulted her. It's one thing for kids on the playground to make fun of you or a rude person to make a snide comment just to be mean, but it's different when a concerned person simply offers a true statement. Why do we have this constant need to blame everyone for our problems? Why does someone else have to get in trouble if you feel bad about yourself? Maybe she didn't feel bad about herself and felt he should have accepted her as she did herself, but that still doesn't change the truth of his medical advice.
The middle ages return. Apparently, more and more medical professionals are finding legitimate uses for leeches and maggots. So, naturally, the FDA has decided to try and find a way to regulate their use. Seems to me like that will legitimize them once again. No other commentary, just an interesting story.
Oh, and it seems I'm seeing growing press about anti-tax movements in our county. As a county employee who hasn't gotten a decent cost-of-living raise since starting here three years ago, I'm getting a bit worried. Budgets are already tight. What will this mean?
2 comments:
I think you're completely off base here. I think the parents of servicemen have every right to question why their children died. The "what do you expect they were in the Army" argument strikes me as both callous and illegitimate. When people sign up to serve their country I think they should have a reasonable expectation that their lives will not be sqaundered in frivolous or illegal wars, that if they are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice it will be for a legitimate purpose.
I'm getting back to this so late I wonder if anyone will read it, but I've been pondering your comment and can't really disagree with you. I think on a personal level I would have trouble putting that much faith in our leaders. I believe in our democratic system and am willing to leave many aspect of my fate in the hands of elected representatives, but feel the decision of when I might kill or be killed is too important to leave in their hands. So I would want to decide this for myself and have trouble trusting the judgement of someone whose values may differ greatly from my own (see current president, for instance). I think that makes it harder for me to empathize with those who have felt betrayed by our current commander-in-chief, because I wouldn't have put myself in the position where I could be. But they should be able to trust that leadership, so I stand corrected.
Post a Comment