Jun. 29th, 2004

fidhle: (Default)
This is a bit ranty, and long, so I am giving fair warning now.

[rant] I don't often write about politics these days because the subject is quite off-putting, but a couple of things have happened recently that has gotten me into feeling the need to express myself.

I am a Vietnam veteran, having served two years in Vietnam. I was drafted, and had to deal with the questions that were current then: Was the war a just war? Should I go to Canada? I decided that going to Canada was not a good option for me, primarily because I couldn't imagine not being able to come back to the US and I felt that it was immoral for me to shirk my obligation if it meant someone else would be drafted in my place. So on the date for my induction, I reported. After I scored way too high on the radio code test, I went for a 3 year term to avoid being made a radio operator, which was not a good position for a partially deaf and not in very good shape person to be in. Instead, I was going to be a teletype operator. That meant an extra year, and I took it. But I went into the Army without reservation. I was determined to learn what I could from the experience.

As to the first question, I had decided that the war was wrong, and that we would lose. In a sense, it may have been a just war, but it was the wrong war, based on the wrong premises and was ultimately could not be won. Naturally, events later proved my conclusions correct, but many people felt otherwise in December, 1967, when I reported for induction.

Having decided that the war was wrong, and having considered going to Canada, I did not feel any anger towards those who felt about the war as I did and who chose not to serve. But I did feel anger at those who supported the war, and yet avoided serving in Vietnam at all costs. I considered those people to be profoundly immoral, because it meant that someone else had to go and possibly die in a war the shirker believed to be just. Of course, I knew several people in that category. At the time, going in to the National Guard was a fairly effective means of avoiding combat. While some National Guard units were deployed in Vietnam, the policy at the time was to keep them in the US in a reserve function. But going into the National Guard was a legitimate way of serving, as long as people followed the rules. Since it was a way out of combat for most, there was generally a waiting period for getting in, and one could easily be drafted while waiting for the Guard. But what about those people who pulled strings to get in the Guard, bypassing others. I believed then and believe now that those people are immoral and are worse than draft dodgers.

That gets me to W. It is fairly clear that W had strings pulled to get into the Texas Air National Guard. So that puts him into my immoral doghouse from the git-go. Today, however, I saw a posting by Paul Lukasiak in Eric Alterman's blog on MSNBC.com. He has examined W's record of service and has concluded that W, now the Pres. and sending young men and women to fight in wars today, was the equivalent of a deserter. You can read his report on W's career after he left the Texas National Guard at (http://www.glcq.com/bush_at_arpc1.htm) I recommend it to anyone interested in this topic.

As you may guess, while we are talking about events some 30 years ago, I believe that a persons basic character is formed by the time they become adults and are eligible to be officers in the military. I see nothing to make me think that W's character has changed since that time.

Another event was that I recently saw Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. One of the things that caused me concern with the war in Iraq was that the build-up to the war seemed to be totally manufactured by the US. Charges were made by the Administration to justify going to war, without any aggressive action by Iraq. When the weapon inspectors were in Iraq, the Administration seemed to treat them with contempt and, I believe, simply used the time they were there to move forces into the region for the attack. When the forces seemed to be there, the UN inspectors were told they had failed and, it seemed, war was inevitable. But I could never quite figure out why the Administration was so determined to go to war.

I have lived in Iran for a year. That year impressed me greatly with just how deeply religious feeling exists in that area of the world, and how it would be folly to wage a war in that region unless a defeat of Biblical proportions could be inflicted. Any long-lasting changes to those societies would take years or decades to accomplish, which would mean years or decades of occupation if we conquered Iraq or Iran, or any of the other Middle East states. With no tradition of democracy to speak of, hoping that such a nation would become democratic in less than a generation or two was simple stupidity. After all, Germany, after WWI, had a thriving democratic government, that failed under the pressure of the Depression of the 1930's, as did Italy and Spain. The only reason that Britain didn't go that route was, I think, the long tradition of democracy in that nation. It is simply unrealistic to believe that a country with no tradition of democracy can suddenly become democratic and thrive. It may work for a while, but the test is when a crises arises, and until that occurs, you can not know if the democracy will survive. Even George I, W's dad, recognized that the cost of conquest in Iraq was way too great to justify the risk.

Not so with the current administration. They have a great ideological thing to prove, and the result has been an occupation with way too few soldiers to really enforce it, and a splendid opportunity for the real enemies of the US to recruit new fanatics to fight us throughout the world. I, for one, do not feel safer as a result of going into Iraq.

I fear that W and crew have brought this proud nation down to the level of an aggressor and oppressor, something I thought would never happen. I find myself ashamed that our government justified violating the Geneva conventions, which are laws of the US since we have signed the treaties setting up those conventions.

Moore's film has convinced me that there was no real justification for the war in Iraq, and that the decision to go to war was one of the most cynical decisions a leader is capable of. I firmly believe that this administration is the most incompetent and destructive administration in US history. I know that many will disagree with that, but this is still a democracy and opinions are still protected. I urge everyone to see the film and to vote, whatever your conclusions. You can probably figure out that I will not be voting for W. [/rant]
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From: "End of Days"

ANDREW: (sighs) So how come you're here? I mean, you could just go. Right?

ANYA: Yeah. I did once before.

ANDREW: Before what?

ANYA: Well...there was this other apocalypse... this one time, and... well, I took off. But this time, I don't...I don't know.

ANDREW: (sighs) Well...what's different?

ANYA: Well...I guess I was...kinda new to bein' around humans before. But now I've... seen a lot more, gotten to know people... seen what they're capable of, and... (shrugs) I guess I just realized...how amazingly screwed-up they all are. I mean really, really screwed-up in a monumental fashion.

ANDREW: Oh. (nods)

ANYA: And they have no purpose that unites them, so they just drift around, blundering through life until they die...which they...they know is coming, yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them. They're incapable of thinking about what they want beyond the moment. They kill each other, which is clearly insane. And yet, here's the thing. When it's something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they're lame morons for fighting, but they do. They never... never quit. So I guess I will keep fighting, too.

ANDREW: (sighs) That was kind of beautiful. (Anya nods) You...you love humans.

ANYA: (indignant) I do not.

ANDREW: Yes, you do. You loooove them

ANYA: Stop it! I don't love them! And I'll kill you if you tell anybody.

ANDREW: I won't tell anybody. Won't get a chance to, anyway.

ANYA: I don't know. You might survive.

ANDREW: No, you might survive. You know how to handle a weapon, and you've been in this world for, like, a thousand years. I'm not so... (sighs) I don't think I'll be OK. I'm cool with it. I think I'd like to...finish out as one of those... lame humans tryin' to do what's right. (smiles)

ANYA: Yeah. (nods)

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