May 27, 2007
WAR AND PEACE
I found a new blog today called The Shield of Achilles. He had a link to the
story behind his blog's name, which comes from the design on Achilles' shield in
The Illiad:
The engravings include two cities, one at peace and one at war. In the city at Peace, a man had been murdered, and an argument was ensuing over payment of blood-money. In the city at war, besiegers were divided over either sacking the city, or allowing it to pay a tribute for peace. Among other messages, one was clear: Times of War and Peace are both filled with conflict. Moreover, wartime is not always evil and peacetime is not always virtuous; while there is suffering in War, there is also courage, heroism and honor, and during times of Peace there is still murder, cowardice, and greed. Even people negotiating Peace sometimes have self-serving aims.
This is just genius. What a fabulous name for a blog.
One thing that has always frustrated me is the naive idea people have that war is the opposite of peace. All the people who want to Bring the Troops Home Now seem to think that if there's not officially a war going on, then there will be peace. But peace for whom? Before we went into Iraq in 2003, there was not peace in Iraq. There was no peace for Adnan Abdul Karim Enad, the man who tried to climb in Hans Blix's car to escape Iraq. There was no peace for the children who filled jails or the folks who went through a plastic shredder. There was no peace for the women raped by Uday or the families gassed by Saddam. Just because we weren't there, it doesn't mean everyone was flying kites and eating gumdrops.
Conversely, there's no "war" going on in North Korea or Zimbabwe, but I'm not sure I'd want to live in their "peace" either. France is at peace, but that doesn't help you if your car is set on fire during the night. And peace didn't do much for Pim Fortuyn either.
There will always be terrible, awful, inhumane, horrific things going on in the world. Most of them don't fall neatly under the bumper-sticker label of war. There is no such thing as peace; there's just calms between the storms.
Posted by: Sarah at
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That was excellent, Sarah. I don't understand how people can miss this idea - as if lack of the title "war" suddenly makes us all smiling happy people holding hands. Or as if proper labeling suddenly makes us all slavering bloodthirsty beasts.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 27, 2007 01:25 PM (0dU3f)
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afw.."as if lack of the title "war" suddenly makes us all smiling happy people holding hands"...I actually think that there are a lot of people who *think* in words and phrases, and rarely if even consider the reality behind these verbal expressions.
Posted by: david foster at May 27, 2007 03:53 PM (gguM0)
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Hello Sarah!
Wow, someone called my writing "genius"!
Just by sheer luck I decided to check out some of my backlinks and found your blog. What a compliment! Thanks a lot.
Great web site you have too!
Posted by: John Rohan at May 29, 2007 04:15 AM (BfPzY)
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May 23, 2007
THE KNIFE CYCLE
At the Milblogs Conference, Andi decided to kill me with her first question. I was expecting softballs, and instead I got a fastball at the head. She quoted an old blog post back to me, and I swear that for the first ten seconds of her speaking, I had no idea what she was talking about. I didn't recognize the writing as my own, and I completely panicked. As she read the very end of the post, I finally figured out what I had written, and then I had two seconds to react. I think I reacted poorly, so I'd like to revisit the question here.
Andi wanted to know what was going through my head when I wrote about this:
My husband's visible discomfort that he might not have another opportunity to put to use all he learned in Iraq, all he has digested and mulled over for two years, stands in stark contrast to the Iraqi quoted in this article:
“What was I going to wait for that would keep me on the force?” said Mohammed Humadi, a police captain who quit in August after one of his commanders was killed and beheaded. “Nothing was going to get any better. I have children, and if I were to sacrifice myself, it wouldn’t change anything.”
I struggle daily with the two opposing camps of the War in Iraq: those who say that the US has no business trying to set up a utopia halfway across the world, and those whose idealism bubbles over into dreams of playing Iraq in the World Cup. But the one thing I do know is that it's a knife in my heart that my husband would give his life for Iraq while this Iraqi would not.
I've had this feeling several times over the years, most notably one year after Saddam's statue came down. I wrote about the knife in my heart much more eloquently that year:
One year ago today, I was so happy for the Iraqis. I sat on the sofa at Fort Knox and cheered wildly as they tore that statue down. I wept for the Iraqis and their newfound freedom; now I weep for their newfound vengeance.
If you remember, the statue of Saddam wasn't the only thing to come down from that pedestal last year. The American flag an overzealous soldier hung up there was quickly taken down, lest the world think we came as conquerors. We were there to give Iraq to the Iraqis, and they've repaid us by burning our dead and hanging them from a bridge.
I felt the knife again when I saw protestors in Pakistan carrying a sign saying "Our religion does not allow unconditional freedom of speech."
The past five years have been a cycle of conviction and doubt.
I read this comments section today at Standing By, and I don't know what to say. I don't want to argue for or against the war anymore; it's just my job to help my husband as he fights it. The fact that he still wants to fight it speaks volumes to me. He's the one who's worked with Iraqis. He's the one who's been to Najaf. He's the one who has to work on cultural cross-breeding. I will defer to his opinion on this matter in nearly every case.
But the knife in the heart comes in the cold sweat of realizing that his convictions could someday take his life. The perspective comes when I realize that it's better to lose his life to convictions than to cancer, car crashes, or crap.
I struggle. I think that's jarring for some people because they want me to remain this caricature of a warmonger. The times when I express doubt about the war are the times I get the most comments from anti-war types, chipping away at my armor or jeering me for setting down my flag when my arms get tired of waving. But I'm a normal human being who thinks about issues, not just some automaton who does whatever Karl Rove says. I actually think about this war, and some days I feel stronger than others.
I assume the Iraqis do too, which is why it's not always fair to cherry-pick things to doubt.
I figure I may never know the lasting effect of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I could be long gone before we really know the legacy of the War on Terror. But I can hope, hope my husband's work will bear fruit.
And doubt some days too.
Posted by: Sarah at
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Well said.
Doubting only shows youÂ’re a thinking, rational person, absolutely nothing wrong with that. I wonder if the anti crowd ever stops to think if we are actually doing the right thing. Doubt it.
Posted by: tim at May 23, 2007 07:19 AM (nno0f)
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As you frequently do, you expressed what I too feel about listening to people discuss the war. Some days I cannot sit idly by and listen to nonsense spewed by people who do not educate themselves about what is going on in Iraq (thus my comment at Standing By). Some days I cannot bring myself to listen to anything about the war from either side.
Thank you, Sarah, for letting me know that I am not alone in my struggle to understand this war and to understand what is or maybe right for us to do.
Posted by: Butterfly Wife at May 23, 2007 11:07 AM (/LiOe)
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This is Jan, from Standing By. You said exactly what I feel. Excellent post. Thank you.
Posted by: Jan Wesner at May 23, 2007 02:20 PM (5EgLa)
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Sarah - you expressed this one so well. It's exactly how I feel.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 23, 2007 04:24 PM (0dU3f)
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Jan of Standing By again - I'm putting your post on my blog tomorrow (Thursday), giving you credit of course.
Posted by: Jan Wesner at May 23, 2007 06:48 PM (5EgLa)
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Sarah - this is why strangers like me read your blog. Because you're human. I would say super-human in that you and your husband both of a sense of 'self' that enables you to fight for something bigger than yourselves - and sacrifice for the freedom of others. Please remember, just as in the U.S., when the news media arrives on a scene, the first jackass that sees the camera becomes 'the man on the street' and they interview him. The terrorists propaganda that all Iraqis want us to leave, are fighting against us is b.s. - if that were TRUE, even remotely, there are 25 million Iraqis that would be hunting our soldiers down every day. They are not. In fact, millions of them chose to vote instead of fight against our brave men and women. It's easy to lose sight of the amazing things our soldiers are doing and the fact that Iraqis are desperate for peace because it's a constant drumbeat of negativity in the news. Remember, if one were to judge America from a nightly newscast on the rapes, murders, gang shootings and robberies in New York 24/7 - they would think New York was worse than Baghdad. Maybe it is, it just doesn't get as much media coverage. Heck, Philadelphia had 406 murders last year and has probably less than half the population of Baghdad! What's amazing to people like me is that people like YOU and YOUR HUSBAND chose service and sacrifice. That's amazing. Amazing. And the fact that some schmucks aren't grateful isn't fair, but unfortunately, not everyone is sensible enough to understand the road ahead and what you're fighting for on their behalf. Ignorance is bliss, and in some cases, really annoying and unfair. The point of the terrorists is to manipulate the world media to make 5 guys in a car bomb seem like "the norm" of the populace. They magnify one incident like that 10 times a day, and ignore all the car bombs that didn't go off. All the Iraqis that call in tips to capture terrorists. All the law-abiding Iraqis that send their children to school because they believe that education is important. The fact that people in Iraq are still shopping, eating out, going to school under the conditions set by the terrorists is AMAZING too. Don't lose sight of it because the media doesn't show it. They are there. The silent majority. I find that if I watch the news too often I feel a sense of dread and panic - and that's what news is designed for nowadays. Not for reporting context or facts, but for reporting things through a soda straw and expecting you to figure out the whole picture. I believe most Iraqis are thankful. I believe most Americans are thankful. It's just that our news media can't find a story unless it's against America, against our soldiers or against this particular president. Chin up. You two are doing something bigger than most people your age. And I for one, appreciate it. So thank you.
Posted by: Kathleen A at May 24, 2007 01:56 AM (7qm8p)
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May 19, 2007
NOT GROKKING
I don't understand the illegal immigrant issue.
Who is it who's arguing for illegals to stay here and get citizenship? And why do they matter? What does amnesty do for the US? Does it improve our relationship with Mexico? If so, why do we care? Does it improve our relationship with legal Hispanics? I thought many of them poll against amnesty.
What is the reason we haven't built that fence yet and that we've got an amnesty bill in Congress right now?
I'm serious here; I really don't grok.
Neal Boortz says it's the votes, stupid. He thinks that both parties are racing to be the one who helps illegals so that when they can vote, they'll vote for the party that got them in. Boortz is an awful cynical guy, but is that right? Is that the reason our elected officials are acting like fools?
I don't think the American public as a whole supports amnesty. John Hawkins found out that a mayor in Pennsylvania who's running on a strict anti-illegal platform won both the Republican nomination and the Democrat write-in! He got 94% of the Republican vote. I think the American people want that fence built and they want our existing laws to be upheld.
So what's the deal with our politicians then?
Posted by: Sarah at
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I watched Glenn Beck a couple of nights ago where he was arguing against amnesty, for the fence and border patrol etc with Geraldo Rivera. It was the most unusual argument I've ever seen because although Rivera was supposedly arguing for amnesty, he really couldn't come up with ONE good reason for it. He danced around the issue for a while, called Beck a racist for being against it, but really said nothing. This is what always happens, it seems. I have always seen it as a no-brainer...protect the border!
Posted by: Nicole at May 19, 2007 10:18 AM (vYQMs)
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I can actually think of one instance in which I would support amnesty for people who are already here illegally - if, in order to earn (that's right - EARN) their citizenship they perform significant community service within a specific time frame to ameliorate the crime of breaking the immigration laws in the first place.
Military service for at least two years might be one option, but it certainly should not be the only one. And the "we already have a life, we don't want to pick up and move to earn citizenship" argument just would not wash - how ridiculous! You BROKE THE LAW! Maybe it was for a good reason - like a starving person who steals a loaf of bread. But mitigating circumstances do not change the fact that when you make a conscious decision to break the law, you also make a decision that whatever you gain from breaking the law are worth the consequences.
I have to admit to being quite biased on this issue - my husband's family escaped the Soviet Union under threat of gulag and came here legally. And if he can do it... you know what I mean? This is rather personal for us.
Also, if we're going to bend over backwards to make things nice and easy for people to enter the United States illegally, I darn well expect Mexico to quit its whining and demands about extraditing Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 19, 2007 11:07 AM (0dU3f)
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Near as I can figure, the politicians are bucking for the future votes. Even if the illegals are never legalized, their children born here are citizens. This is a fight for future generations of votes, and which party those generations will view favorably.
Not to mention cheap labor. Both parties must take into account businesses, and their labor concerns. Illegals work hard/lousy jobs for low pay, that is a fact. Remove that source of labor and the costs go up across the board.
The majority of us are non-politicians, so we look at the situation without considering the fact that we must suck up to a large growing population to keep our government jobs.
Posted by: John at May 25, 2007 09:07 PM (5/yJm)
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May 13, 2007
TRAFFIC
I arrived in L.A. on Friday and after a lovely lunch with CaliValleyGirl's family, we were off to San Diego. The Garmin said it was 110 miles. "Cool, we'll be there plenty early," I thought.
I never used to understand Crazy Aunt Purl's blog posts about traffic. Now I do. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Where I come from, miles and minutes are easily linked; here there is no such connection, save the fact that miles equal a boatload of minutes.
110 miles took us four hours. Seriously.
I now can crack up at all these posts about L.A. traffic.
Posted by: Sarah at
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You can get from Paris to Lyon faster by the bullet train than by car.
Europe is progressing into the future, leaving the USA stuck in its mid-20th century ways
Posted by: q at May 13, 2007 01:26 PM (OIxDY)
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Oh Yikes! Closest I ever came to that were the occasions we'd get caught in a Stau in our travels in Europe. 110 Miles in 4 hours? I'd have probably been cussing.
Posted by: Robin at May 13, 2007 01:48 PM (XTKEz)
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That is the reason I will never see San Diego again.
We traveled from LA to San Diego so we could see all the Scripps Institute Marine biology "stuff." My husband is a marine biologist, he got his degrees here in Texas from A&M '56, (when it was a REAL military school, no girls) and UT for the Phd; his brother followed him in that field and did his graduate work at Scripps Institute so when we visited our kids in California, Moorpark, we had to just "run down there and see Scripps". Right. One very frustrating and very long day later, almost still cursing, our vow was "NEVER AGAIN!" I don't have to tell you how awful it was. I'm glad you had a good time with the SpouseBuzz though.
Posted by: Ruth H at May 14, 2007 01:22 PM (s1Vmw)
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Exactly. I am from San Diego and watched as crapitalism, freeways and malls destroyed the place. My bro says after work he has to wait until 8pm to go home because otherwise he'll just sit the same about of time in a traffic jam. Sad what free market bs has done to much of the USA. Now I live in Europe, I haven't needed a car in years. Someday, probably too late, US will realize how far behind it is in the developed world.
Posted by: q at May 15, 2007 03:55 AM (OIxDY)
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May 08, 2007
ANGELS
When I arrived at the hotel on Friday, I had to wait because our room was in CaliValleyGirl's name and she wasn't in DC yet. I sat in the lobby and soon became surrounded by folks I learned were also there for the conference. Turns out they were all
Soldiers' Angels.
Over the course of the weekend, I learned more about this organization than I'd known before. Sure, I'd participated in some healthy inter-service rivalry for Valour-IT, but I really didn't know a whole lot about the people involved. Holy cow, are these people amazing.
I have one soldier to take care of; these people take care of all of the rest of them. The extent of their service to others is just staggering. I have to take care of my husband, but these people take care of hundreds of troops they've never met. Unreal.
I was so excited to see a Soldiers' Angels pin in my goody bag for the weekend. And today I went and signed up to be on the Cards Plus Team. Writing cards, now that seems like something I'd be pretty good at (see previous post)!
Also, I was terribly excited to hear that Soldiers' Angels and Sew Much Comfort will soon be available on the Combined Federal Campaign list. I can't wait to make donating to these guys a monthly no-brainer.
A lot of you might be like I was: naturally I had heard of Soldiers' Angels and knew they were doing great work, but until I saw them in action, heard Chuck Z talk about how they changed his life, and shook hands with these selfless folks, I didn't fully grok what they do. Maybe I can transfer some of my enlightenment to you. Please, please at least hit 'em up with five bucks. They truly deserve it.
Posted by: Sarah at
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I have just started another blanket for them. I can't sew, but I have made the no sew fleece kind. Its the least I can do.
Posted by: keri at May 08, 2007 12:08 PM (l3uZP)
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I've adopted 2 soldiers through their site
which is nothing compared to the time,money
and dedication that the hard core S.A.s put
in. They are amazing!
Posted by: MaryIndiana at May 10, 2007 03:00 AM (YwdKL)
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