Standing in My Shoes

There is something within me that simply will not tolerate all the bullshit about whether the US should "torture" those who wage war against us, a question that can be answered simply: "Yes." Before a country is attacked, it must use all of the weapons in its arsenal to defend itself -- or lay down its arms and accept that it's "better to be Red than dead," a chant from days past. When an individual is attacked, the response is to fight like hell: if you lose you die, but if you don't fight back, you're going to die, so why not give it your best shot? What you don't do is play nice, be fair, try to understand where the attacker is coming from, ask about family dysfunction, past drug use, economic resources, religious beliefs or racial identity. When you are attacked, you fight to win, to survive, and you do whatever it takes.

The last time this nation stood up for itself was World War II because the President of the United States made a decision to end the war and dropped the bomb on the enemy. Sure, there were civilian casualties -- but that is what happens when nations wage war against one another. Had World War II been fought during the recent decade, we would have continued to send waves and waves of military personnel to fight in combat, while sending our diplomatic representatives to Japan to speak to the Emperor and his advisors. Our Secretary of State would warn the Japanese government that we have developed a new, devastating weapon, then, in the interest of full disclosure, show them the plans and the satellite pictures of prime locations for releasing the weapon. That done, our emissary would bow to the Emperor, then return home to await Japan's decision whether to surrender or continue to fight, all the while knowing that the Japanese, an honorable people, would do the right thing as we define it.

Hah: any country would steal the plans for the weapon, micronize it, and send it back to us in record time! We'd be left to wonder how that could happen and how to actualize an appropriate proportional response to such an aggressive action!

We pulled out of Korea; we pulled out of VietNam; we stood by when our embassy in Beirut bombed; we complained loudly and long when the USS Cole was attacked; we bemoaned the horrendous attack on the US that occurred on 9-11, but we're still wondering if we should interrogate enemy combatants, using whatever it takes to extract information. If a person who attacks this country -- or has plans to attack it -- is tortured and even dies in the process, oh, well. I cannot defend my country if I am more concerned about protecting the rights of my enemy than I am protecting the lives of my citizens.

When we accept that it is more important to be politically correct than it is to protect ourselves, we must also accept that other nations will exploit that laissez-faire attitude and use it to their advantage. While we play by some set of esoteric rules that someone has decided makes us a more humane nation, our enemies are preparing to kick the shit out of us, once and for all. There are bragging rights associated with destroying the "most powerful nation on earth;" step two, apparently, is bringing us to our financial knees by destroying our economy. All that required was an understanding of basic American greed and then using it ruthlessly to destroy the foundations of the economic system. He who has the most money rules the world; we sold ourselves much too cheaply on the open market trying to buy friends and political favors.

What amazes me is that people point the fingers of blame here, there, and everywhere, but do not understand that WE have created this situation, and if WE don't fix it, the loans are being called in and we will collapse. You don't fix a money problem by throwing more money at it: you fix it by not spending money you don't have. You live within your budget; if you have to take a loan for a necessity, such as transportation to/from work, you pay it back. You KNOW how much it costs over the term of the loan before you sign the papers. You don't borrow money you don't have and you don't live on an income you don't earn. It works within the family unit, and it also works within the government, but the current solution seems to be stripping the leaves off the money tree everyone has growing in the backyard. If it feels good, do it; if it hurts, why put yourself through it?

Every day is a wake-up call that we are ignoring. Does it really take another 9-11, another Depression, another front in a global war to make us realize that WE MUST DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to stop this runaway train? We cannot afford to continue to worry more about political correctness than we worry about political actions: our political system has become an inbred exclusive club whose members have far too much overt power and zero checks and balances. Actions are taken that are NOT in the best interests of the country and justified by politicians who claim that they have to "vote my conscience and do what I think is right for the American people." That is NOT the premise upon which this country was founded: our elected representatives are to represent we, the people, not themselves and/or their self-interests.

Amazingly, we no longer seem to be able to vote them out of office, but the media can remove a politician with one well-placed rumor.

We have already been here and done this in our past, but we fail to heed the warning that if we do not learn from our history, we are condemned to repeat it.