I Just Couldn't Let This One Go!

[Michael]

I had to get a jump on this column because someone read the lyrics to my song “Illegitimate Peace” and asked what we were supposed to do to people who attacked us and attack civilians. I guess the person believed that war against those that attacked us was the only answer.

First and foremost, I don’t agree with killing people out of anger or disagreement, especially religious disagreement.

I don’t agree with the death penalty.

I’m a humanist and I think that when I’m buried, my body will decay and that will be the end of me, save any legacy or memories left behind.

Gods were first created because people couldn’t understand why water fell out of the sky.

As humanity became more in tune to reality and science progressed in spite of religion’s continuing attempt to thwart it at every turn, we held on to crediting some “god” for what we didn’t understand until we understood it. Once we understood it, there were still things we didn’t understand, so we continued to credit, and blame, some “god” for those things.

I can’t for the life of me understand why humankind hasn’t eventually said to itself, “Every time there’s something I don’t understand, science eventually finds evidence of its physical being.”

But, alas, we still want to believe in ghosts and, as many ghosts as there are in this world, and there are a lot, one person’s ghost is always the one true ghost while the others are called names like “infidel” or “heathen”.

We’ve come a long way from wondering why water falls from the sky, yet we still kill each other for not believing in the “one, true” ghost.

And so, we’re trying to democratize (read: Christianize) The Middle East, just like we tried to tame the indigenous people of North America because they believed in the “wrong” ghosts. If we couldn’t bless ‘em, we killed ‘em.

Well, if we really must seek retribution against those who attacked us, we should. 17 of the so called “terrorists” were Saudis. Iraq never attacked us.

We, however, have targeted, intentionally or not, lots of civilians in Iraq. Hence, that’s why they’re not throwing roses and sweets at us.

However, I have one better suggestion. It’s understanding why people could get so pissed at us that they fly planes into buildings, killing not only innocent people but themselves in the process. There must be some strong feelings there.

Do we not think that the indigenous people of North America would have flown planes into buildings if they had that technology when we waltzed in here and forcefully took over their land?

Are we so naïve that we don’t believe that our corporations have waltzed into The Middle East and have, with the “blessing” of the wealthy, corrupt monarchies, taken control of that land?

I suppose the “Indians” would have been called “cowards and terrorists” if they had planes. We did call them savages, even though they had organized nations, working societies, communal, symbiotic relationships. Yes, they fought tribe against tribe, but that was here, in North America before we came and gave them something to unite against. Sound familiar?

We are bringing peace to Iraq. Factions that once hated one another have found a common enemy and are now fighting along side one another against that enemy.

Vietnam belonged to the Vietnamese. They weren’t leaving because they lived there. They were going to stay there, in their home, until we left and we did.

What makes us think we’re going to drive Middle Easterners out of The Middle East? They’re in it for the long haul. It’s their home and they want us out.

There was one episode of M*A*S*H* in which Major Frank Burns said something to the effect of, “Why don’t these Koreans go back to where they came from?”

It got lots of laughs and it made him look pretty stupid, which, of course, was his trade mark.

However, I think that he speaks for far too many Americans.

Insurgents? Who are the “insurgents? Give me a break!