Of Necessity

In political parlance, the term for peaceful war is “negotiation and diplomacy”, and while I wholeheartedly agree that some thugs continue to kill their neighbor, and so have NOT learned the lessons of MLK,jr and Ghandi – a minority of this country clings to some kind of morality which compels them away from conflict, away from large violence.

However, negotiation and diplomacy are only effective when both sides believe in peace. Our enemy in this “war” does not understand the concept, except as a totalitarian control status. Thus, it is necessary at times for conflict between nations to occur.

If you kept hitting your knee on a coffeetable, you’d move that table, no? If the neighbor’s dog was allowed to roam free, and kept biting children, you’d tie it up, wouldn’t you? And if rope after picket after chainlink failed to keep the dog contained, failed to prevent it from biting, you’d have it put to sleep. The City would come, haul it off, and put it to sleep.

Yes, its sad that an animal must die – and I don’t mean to paint Bin Ladin as less than human. I mean to suggest that sometimes for the safety and welfare of its people, a government must take action to eliminate a clear and present danger. I grieve the loss of life, and I grieve the inevitability of this course, but I do not grieve the necessity, nor disrespect the service and sacrifice of those providing it.

from notes left on a recent entry by Forest Gump

Sometimes, clarity comes to me when I least expect it.