Muse – State of the Opinion

Once again, I’m here to try and hash out my various opinions and points of view into a coherent compilation of ideas. Though as I am want to at times, I’m sure I’ll ramble on some.

Things are not right with the world, but when have they ever been?

Iraq remains one of my main foci. I continue to watch and muse as events play out. I listen to the other opinions and points of view tossed about and in the end wonder about the mindsets of those putting them out.

What most make some wonder are those who complain that the good things about Iraq aren’t advertised. Sure, that’s true. But Bush is the only one that you can count on for the good stats. Why he doesn’t try and trump[ up all the nice things that are happening remains a mystery to me. Considering the state of things and the elections, it would behoove him to try and spin positive.

My point in pointing at all the bad things isn’t to say they outnumber the good. I don’t know if they do, but I do know one thing. If the troubles in Iraq aren’t ended, all of those good things could lose any significance at all. Depends who might step out should(though I hope it never comes to this) the US pulls out without stabilizing Iraq. The pros are a fragile thing, which is why the troubles need to be given a primary focus.

I don’t agree with Mr. Blair that a defeat for the US in Iraq will be a victory for dictators and terrorists everywhere, but in the region it will be a victory for those elements currently resisting US occupation. Despite what anyone thought of the war before, now that the deed has been done, we must stabilize Iraq or all of that will be for naught.

Of course, the means by which to stabilize become a focus then. This leads up to another of the more annoying things about debating the topic. Those who cross their arms, cock a brow then inquire, “Well, what would -you- do?”.

I usually seek to lend ideas when that comes up, but overall it’s a hard thing to do when one hasn’t the core data that the US government should have. Not to mention that most of my ideas are things we could have done before, but are now likely to be ineffective due to the new climate caused by US interventionism. When the actions of those more aggressive elements of US government thrust us into the fire, options start to dwindle. For example, the issue with the current mini-uprising. How do you deal with it? Act too harshly and you only feed fire with fire. Act too softly and the fire will likely continue to rage. Where is that comfy middle ground which will please everyone at least a little?

You surely wont’ get it listening to some Americans, who go so far as to suggest tactical nukes and hemming in Fallujah to starve out the bad guys with no food, water or services given until they give it up. Many Americans don’t grasp the need for discretion when dealing with international politics. They’d rather the US tramp with steel shod boots over ‘them Arabs’ rather than addressing the issue with the attention it requires. They’re another infuriating aspect, the intolerant lunatic fringe of America who dirty us all in the eyes of those abroad, just as the lunatic fringe of ‘snooty French’ tarnish the French and the ‘insane bombers’ of the Arab world taint the normal people who just want to be left alone.

Sadly the lunatic fringe is usually the most vocal and visible aspect of any culture or group, making it easy to condemn all others as the same or similar. And some people are too content with that and don’t seek to look deeper or understand.

Israel and Palestine remain another issue I focus on. Where victims and criminals exist on both sides of the conflict, muddying the waters as both seek to destroy the other. Often I think about this and I wonder how the Zionists expected to move a small country of Jews into the middle of the Middle East, surrounded on all sides by Muslims and be accepted as part of the region. Not only that, but center their little enclave on top of land with religious significance to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

That miscalculation by the founders erases a dash of my sympathy for what goes on now, but not much of it. By and large I see the Jewish people and the Palestinians as largely wanting peace. The extreme elements in their society, unfortunately, continue to rage at ach other and their rage seeps into the populace, slowly infecting them with the viral meme of hatred without reason. A meme that is passed on through the family lines and bolstered by the deaths on both sides that are perpetrated by the extremist minorities of both sides.

The sad thing is that the long running policy of America has been deference to Israel, no matter the cost. Be it veto of (almost)any UN resolution critical to Israel, unwavering aid or simply tacit approval of their actions, America’s leaders have always bolstered the extremist minority in Israel. The US holds Israel, through it’s economy, ‘by the balls’, yet they’ve never squeezed. It would be a simple thing to freak out Israel’s leadership with a temporary retraction of aid, yet there is no fear of that in Israel because the US has never and will never make a significant threat against Israel, even when the country’s leaders ignore the opinions of America’s leaders.

Mind you, I don’t advocate doing so per se or relish the pain such a maneuver might cause, but this unswerving support leaves us as the brace that supports Israeli aggression. Some say that, if cut off and desperate, Israel might well start lobbing nukes. That makes me wonder for their care for the region, which holds such significance to them and only increases the firmness of my opinion that Israel needs to be an added focus of non-proliferation work in the Middle East.

The US remains in flux. And I still dislike Bush. Not hate, cause I don’t really have reason to truly hate him, nor do I see hate as a particularly useful emotion in most cases. Of course, when it comes to the election, I wonder if I will bother this year. I won’t vote for Bush. I don’t particularly respect Kerry or Nader either. Not only that, but I live in Virginia. One of the states that is predetermined to go to Bush.

That’s one of the most galling things about how our elections work. Most of the US is, for the most part, already decided when it comes to who gets what state. Democrats get theses states, republicans get theses states and only this little cluster over here matters when it comes to the actual election. Battleground states they’re called.

So there is the quandary besides my overall indecision amongst a cadre of, in my opinion, unworthy candidates. What point is there in my voting if my state is already decided? Any vote I make is largely symbolic and worthless overall. I likely effect more change through this diary than I would through casting my vote. This, I think, is one reason for the low poll numbers in elections. Why should people vote when they’re given a feel that they don’t matter? When moment to moment coverage on election day lets us know who wins before the polls open in California?

The whole thing is an easy breeding ground for general apathy, when the people don’t feel they are truly a part of the election system. And when, year after year, the candidates for either side are largely the same overall. When it comes down to it, they’re all out for their own prestige and power. None truly care about the country outside of what is best for their political careers. Few, if any, make true sacrifices for the good of all, in which they could lose their prestige. Real self-sacrifice no longer exists in public service amongst those who should be the first to give it all up for the people who look to them for guidance.

Why should one have confidence in such a craven bunch? Why should one have any respect for those who would only sacrifice for the chance at more power and more influence? The only political chances taken are for selfish reasons these days. No, I won’t follow this up with ‘this is the death of so and so’. I’m not into that shtick, but I do believe that, at the rate we’re going, the human race will be a mere eye blink in the annals of universal history. We might have a good few thousand years.. we might even be lucky enough to last out ten thousand. But with the resources of our planet dwindling into the hundreds of years in duration and us hardly taking our first tentative steps out into our own solar system, we’re not set on a good path toward expanding ourselves as would be needed for long term survival of the species.

With the way we continue to fight and squabble over our little scraps of dirt here, I can’t see us lasting that long. We’re too worried about Jerusalem or Washington or London or any other small, inconsequential speck in this universe to worry about Sol and the nine specs that drift around her or to wonder at what might lie beyond that would make our little blue planet seem paltry by comparison.

Ahh, see. There I go, digressing. 😉

Anyway, that tirade aside, things continue to be interesting around the globe. The attacks in Spain are another annoying spot for me. Show of hands, how many think that the Spaniards ‘gave in’ to the terrorists by electing the socialists? Now how many think that the Spaniards just got tired of their current leaders trying to blame every problem in Spain on the ETA? Personally, I believe the latter more than the former. The government made a bad tactical decision and would have stood a better chance had they been more neutral in their investigating of the incident. Though, considering their ante into the war in Iraq was done against the general will of their people, that may or may not have mattered in the end.

Now we have Japan, who has taken it’s first foray into bothers with the world militarily since they were denied a real army. Though they really aren’t getting into much combat, they’re more there to help rebuild things. Yet the people didn’t’ want the government to send troops and engineers to Iraq. The government did it anyway and now three of their civilians are held. Their current status unknown. If it turns out the kidnappers made good on their threat and burned them to death, will the current PM of Japan survive the next election? Will the rabid hawks click their tongues at the Japanese for ‘capitulation’ if they decide it’s time for some new leadership? Will they think that the US has capitulated if Kerry ousts Bush, adding to the similarities between father and son?

It’s another case of oversimplification in which those adamant in their views see the world as black and white while the more observant observe and acknowledge the shades of gray. That’s one of the compliments to Bush I find most laughable. He’s steady. He does what he believes in and doesn’t let the talk of others sway him. That would be a nice attribute if Bush was infallible, but he isn’t. While steadfastness against adversity is admirable and even desirable, so is the presence of mind to acknowledge that one might be wrong. Kerry seems to be the opposite. A little too loose and malleable.

But we might soon have a means to see whether or not he can lead a country. Moving back toward the topic of elections, for our last bit of opinion, I must admit that I feel a certain detachment to the path of our country. I find it easy to look at it as a science experiment. I muse, with all the things Bush seems to be setting up, what might happen if Bush is given another four years. Will he manage to pull off a win in Iraq? Will be start the space program into overdrive? Will be start to chip away at the deficit that has been incurred? Will his tax cuts magically revitalize everyone and return the millions of lost jobs?

All questions that can only be answered by four more years of Bush and Cheney. Of course, the same questions can be applied to Kerry. I wonder what he would make of four years. Will he turn out, despite his faults, to be a descent president who won’t find himself the butt of jokes throughout history as some do.

I suppose we’ll see one way or the other. Whether or not I decide to cast a symbolic vote.