On the bright side, the stock market is rising.

2003-03-18 - 5:24 a.m.

I guess that really, I don't have much to say about the war.

It's frustrating, being a little person in the scheme of things. I can tell people my opinion, my ideas, my dreams and my fears, and that won't make a difference to the people who are making the decisions.

And its frustrating because things, even at this point, can either happen so fast that no one knows what happened, or can drag on for months...years...decades. How did people live through the cold war at its most intense? Why did anyone bother to listen to the news then? Why would they now?

Lives will be lost, innocent lives, and whether someone believes this war (or any war) is a just one or not...those lives will never be back.

The people making these decisions are people who are able to ignore those innocent lives. Are these the sort of decisions we want made by people who think in terms of collateral damage and necessary losses?

I think I'm mostly frustrated because there's a beguiling sense to the right wing, to the proponants of war. There are so many ways that they could be right. Its tough not to think about how pacifism lends itself to abuse: if someone knows I won't raise a hand, and if that someone is out for himself, obviously they'll take advantage of me. If a country doesn't take action, and someone wants to hurt them...

I can see how non-violence, or even just activism in general, is naive in a lot of ways. It's easy to laugh at, it's easy to tell people to live in the "real world." Its simple, because pacifism is hard. It is possibly the largest challenge for our species...how do we live without killing each other?

God, I'm all over the place in this entry...I'm not sure what my point is...

I want to vent this frustration, because it's been making it impossible for me to do anything other than sit and listen numbly to the news. It's impossible to even think about what's going on in the world.

But I also want to express that I can't help rejecting the idea that we -have- to kill people to save the world, or to save freedom (with its ever-changing definition). I have to wonder what is worth saving at the cost of human lives? I have to wonder where the line is drawn: is killing one person for a feeling of safety okay? What about killing thousands? I can't do those sorts of equations. And, at the risk of sounding childish, you can't make me. (I'll refrain from adding "nyah nyah)

I can't believe in a world where such destruction is necessary. I have to believe that we're capable of being better.

And here's where more frustration comes in: there is no way to express what I want to see in the world (peace, love, happy puppies overtaking fields of wild flowers in a wave of joyful rainbows or something) without sounding naive, or foolish, or mentally challenged.

I mean, who believes in flower power these days? That is -so- passe.

Welcome to the 21st century! You can leave your hemp clothing and musical instruments against the wall there. Your AK-47s are waiting for you in the next room.

There. A crummy entry on war. Maybe I'll feel better later.

Cheers,

The Magus

previous - next