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After a lot of soul-searching and waffling (yes, I admit, I have waffled!) on the issue of the Iraq War since its inception, and after much reading about the ME and the conflict the west is having with radical Islam, I've come to the conclusion that the events happening in Iraq are horrific and senseless, and yet in many ways completely inevitable. But, that said, I don't think I could ever think of the deaths of innocent people as being "worth" anything. To say so, I think, is downright disrespectful and reflects an aloofness that is...well, rather creepy for lack of a better word right now.
I support the democratization of the middle east, and frankly, think we have no choice but to strive in that direction. The world is too small and the stakes are too high to continue ignoring the conditions that have engendered and nurtured Islamic radicalism. And I think all of this left/right discussion about whether the war was necessary or not disregards a very important point. It distracts us from the fact that the reason we are even having these discussions today is because America and the other powers of the world allowed this blight to fester because of greed, indifference, lack of vision and foresight and the laissez faire attitude that the west was and always would be untouchable, unchangeable. I don't rightly see how anyone, democrat or republican, can deny that fact. This is what I blame the right/left conflict on. We're all just reacting to the results of past actions/inactions, which is kind of why I can understand both sides.
How we should move on from here, that is another discussion, but having said all that up there I would like to state plainly that I don't support the invasion of another country. Sometimes my viewpoint gets misunderstood that way.
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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce
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