“Appease, surrender, and acquiesce!
Honest - everyone is just as reasonable as you!”
(Sam)
Meet Sam, the doleful doormat! Always in a state of contrition and regret, he worked hard each day to be all things to all people; to be flexible enough to change at a moment’s notice, to meet any demand, no matter how arduous or unpleasant. And when he was unable to rise to the occasion, the reason was quite obvious. It was because he failed; it was because of his shortcomings. Yes, Sam’s method of dealing with any situation was to simply change, to evolve, to become what the situation required. Poor, all-suffering Sam. His lot in life was the guilt and confusion of all trying to be enough, but seldom succeeding. And that was his fault too. Ask him!
And here was his take on the war on terror: “What War on Terror! That’s just President Bush’s delusion! We should give the Muslims what they want so they’ll leave us alone!” We probably caused the disaster on 9/11 anyway; what with our self-righteous bullying in the middle-east.”
And so on.
There are lots of Americans like Sam. War-mongers call them surrender monkeys; those of like mind call them “pragmatist”!
Some started out more hawkish about the war, but as time passed, they returned to their comfort zones and started feeling that appeasement was the right answer all along. After all, people accustomed to appeasing are also accustomed to loosing. Why miss this golden opportunity!
“There’s no problem too big,
that we can’t just ignore it until it goes away!”
(Sue)
Sue had a far different strategy for meeting life’s ever changing happenstance: When the going got tough, Sue simply got going… As far from the problem as possible! Whenever anything disagreeable chanced upon her, she was out of there! History! Gone! For anything unpleasant must be avoided at all costs. Ironically, the very dissatisfaction Sue sought to escape was ever present. Indeed, all those years of running had caused her to achieve nothing; to become nothing; to have nothing. Sue was going nowhere in life, and that dissatisfied her deeply. Too bad she couldn’t run away from own sense of disappointment. Honest, she’d tried!
Here’s Sue on terrorism. “We should just leave them alone over there in the Middle East - they can blow each other up to their hearts content!”
Ocean, safe, secure, warm; free from harm. And just like their surrender monkey brethren, some might have felt war was the right answer, but now are returning true to form and are looking for an escape route. After all, people accustomed to escaping, are accustomed to not fighting.
“In life, there’s simply the good fight!
That’s all.”
(Carl)
And now meet nobody’s friend, Carl, who would hold our two erstwhile examples with particular disdain! There was only one way to handle a problem, and that was to confront it and over-power it; to beat its very cause into submission! In typical warrior fashion, Carl fought for everything. See for yourself! His way was strewn with the shattered remains of things and people that had resisted his will.
Carl had a simple philosophy: if you don’t like something, change it! But for Carl, confrontation merely begat more confrontation. What’s more, people avoided him; employers didn’t want him; his wife had finally left him. Carl was alone with nothing left to fight but his own inner turmoil and those of like mind. He was still attempting to change all of that though! A warrior to the end!
And here’s Carl’s opinion on the war: “Nuke em all and let Allah sort em out! If we weren’t pussy-footing around worrying about what those wimps in Europe think of us, we’d have blasted Bin Laden and half of Pakistan off the planet by now, and hanged all them cockroaches in prison in Cuba too!”
And so on - fighting to the end. Just like our enemies. They might be right, they might wrong, but hey! It’s all about the fight.
“Always pick your battles.”
(Ed)
And finally, meet Ed… He didn’t simply react anymore (although he used to). Ed always took pause to reflect before deciding what to do. Sometimes Ed saw that by changing his actions, his life, or the lives of those around him could change for the better! Sometimes Ed opined that the problem was simply not worth the battle that would ensue; people would be hurt, and the gain would be minimal; so he avoided the whole sordid matter altogether. And sometimes, Ed decided that the situation demanded that he take a stand, less he violate his fundamental values.
Yes, as Ed so boldly attests, we may be predisposed to act a certain way, but the urge can be resisted with remarkable ease. All it takes is that one moment’s repose before dashing headlong and unwittingly into adversity’s willing clutches.
Somehow we attribute such lofty character and wisdom to our political leaders. We think they will pause and after good consideration, act with our best interests at heart. We see them upon a pedestal, their noble contenances shining in sunlight glory…
Ahh, if only it were so. But in the end, they are really no different than each of us; indeed, many simply try to do no more than mimic our sentiments merely to curry our vote.
Meanwhile, our president seems hell-bent on war, on pursuing the enemy to the very steps of Hell. And his opponents seem diametrically opposed; wanting instead to appease or escape this deadly foe at any cost. What matter that millions will die because we left Iraq, what matter that our service men and women will have therefore died for naught!
And all because our leaders can’t make up their minds about what noble goal de jourour military should die for now.
In such a climate, where does wisdom find purchase? There seems little middle ground.
Middle ground. I wonder if such is possible with the enemy we face; and America’s political leaders juxtaposed, such as they are.
No, this fight, like it or not, has been thrust upon us, and the fight is in Iraq. it may not have started that way, it may have been the wrong decision to move the conflict there; and, yes, it is entirely possible that we may have prosecuted it poorly, wasting biliions of dollars and thousands of lives… But that’s where the enemy is now.
May God defend the righteous; in spite of it all, regardless of what world opinion might think or believe - I still believe that “righteous” means us.
Copyright 2007, T. G. Desrosier
Fighting evil, Christians call it. So do Muslims and so do Jews. It’s when we array our forces of “good” against those who would oppose us. And there would be but one reason why someone would be against us – they are evil.
I know, I know… How can a suicide bomber who kills innocent children be considered “good” by any standard.
But attend: This Muslim with his bomb strapped importantly to his frail body, his finger poised over a dead-man’s switch… Yes, our nameless, faceless bomber will never marry nor reproduce, because all the women are “owned” by richer Muslims. And you won’t find bombs strapped to the likes of these rich Muslims, with their opulent homes, and surrounded by their many doting and obedient wives and children…
And so our bomber is told by his Moola and other so-called holy men of Allah that the decadent “West” is the reason he cannot fulfill his basic human instincts to love and be loved, and to reproduce. And for the likes of him, there is but the solace and indeed the enticing promise of 26 virgins once he arrives in Muslim Heaven. And the death he causes to innocent women and children? What matter, for he has none of such of his own and never will; why would he care about ours?
And how does Christianity attempt to resolve this?
Easy – by fighting evil.
Wouldn’t it be great if we took things like this seriously, instead of just calling it evil?
(Richard Dawkins)
Richard Dawkins speaks of the molecules that we are made of today, not being the same molecules that we were made of previously. Indeed, we seem to be but a stream of such molecules, coming and going.
And even our cells - such come to brief life, die and are replaced with still others.
And so, the logic is compelling - everything that truly makes us alive, that quickens and animates our flesh, that causes us to go here and there and do this and that… The quintessential part of us, that dreams, that thinks, that loves, that brings meaning to it all - is simply not there at all!
Go here to watch Richard Dawkins lecture (its a Google Video incidently).
Appreciate your comments, and please visit my sponsored links (thats how I get paid).
Tom
“Knowing ‘how’ is the easy part…
Knowing ‘why‘…
That’s where real growth is acheived!
Choooooooooooooo! Chooooooooooooo!
Click, Clack, Click, Clack…
Oh, what an awesome sight! A mighty train indeed; stretching for miles through meandering meadows and country side. Onward it roars. Powerful! Intent! It’s rails laid in bare and hard Earth by tough men, many years before. Yes, listen… Cold iron wheels rolling smoothly on hard steel rails!
Choooooooooooooo! Chooooooooooooo!
Click, Clack, Click, Clack…
Ed produced a tarnished and scratched pocket-watch from the front pocket of his jeans. Right on time. But what did you expect? Ed’s
train was always on time! Never early, never late… Yes, in this complicated business, time was everything!
He scanned the gauges in front of him… Oil pressure, Engine Speed… Ed was absolutely deft at the throttles. The train’s four turbo-
charged Fairbanks Morse diesel engines ran easily; smoothly. Yeah, experience counted here too.
Click, Clack, Click Clack…
Everything seemed normal to him. His blue and gray Engineer’s cap rode high on his head; soiled farmer’s jeans… He pulled a
red handkerchief from a worn back pocket and absent mindedly wiped oil from a valve… Ed had been driving trains across
expansive western tracks for the better part of thirty years! Ed was good at what he did. Many would say, he was the best there
was!
Choooooooooo! Chooooooooooooo!
Click, Clack, Click, Clack…
Ahhh… behold mighty Ed and his awesome train… Seemingly the master of all he surveys! Yes, seemingly… Wait, there’s more.
Ed seldom gazed outward to the horizon and asked why his tracks went this way or that! Indeed! He took comfort that his journey
was well traveled and safe; he loved the idea that there would be no obstacles, no detours, no decisions. Yes, there was no
“why” in Ed’s tiny world, there was simply the impervious steel rail; its destination already determined by his betters. Yes, hardy and more capable men and women of bygone years had determined and built his rail! That was enough for him. He would go where these others had bid.
‘Why’… The first step in discovering
a bold new world!
The largely unused path to greatness!”
Can you imagine a day when Ed might want more? More than his track and schedule? More than his
dreary train-ride to oblivion? Can you see the day when he would ask ‘why’?
And how about you? Do you feel the nettles of journey’s stale discourse? Isn’t it time you too asked ‘why’?
