Palaver from Persimmon Crossing
with Warren Faulk| Despite having failed to get United Nations approval, the United States is about to go to war against Iraq. |
"Naive"
That's French, isn't it?
Webster says it means simple; unsophisticated. That's not so bad. A friend embellished it some to include simple minded, pacifist, one who fails to look at the whole problem -- and applied it to me. Not so good.
This all came about as he was lambasting the Dixie Chicks, one of them having apparently having spoken her mind concerning Iraq, and the President being from Texas and condemning everyone from Hollywood who has spoken against this war and others because they have not been to war. In between his sentences I slipped in that I agreed with the young singer. That caused an uproar of sound bites ... "He has to be stopped." (at what cost?) "Those people are oppressed. They deserve to be free." (True, but at what cost? Do we kill them to free them?) "You must be for abortion. What about the American Revolution?" (Getting a bit fast for me to follow, but I am biased against abortion of healthy fetuses from healthy mothers. At the same time I will concede that the entire female population of the earth has a superior claim to this question than I. Is that yes or no? You ponder. And our opponent in the American Revolution was England and they almost won. It just got too expensive for them.) "One man gets 99% of the vote?" (Well that's about what you get with a one candidate system. Using your logic, why didn't we attack the Soviet Union during the cold war? And answering this one myself ... because we knew they might beat us. It was a practical decision. We knew West Germany and our forces there could not survive short of a major nuclear exchange.)
Let Me Tell You What It Is Like
(This was the original title of this writing until the above incident intruded.)
I am a retired soldier, patriot, advocate of peace, social security recipient, impulsively hawkish, reflectively a dove. Not willing to sacrifice my children, any children, in wars I don't personally approve, but sworn to fight and will however reluctantly. I'm beginning to sound like my dad. Depend heavily on my right to free speech and that of others, opposed or not.
Some of my friends of very long standing feel war with Iraq is necessary. Some of these are more intelligent, more learned than I. They are good people. The best. They sort through approximately the same information that I am working with and come up exactly the opposite answer. They see evil. I see plenty of that too, but I also believe that we as a nation are pushing a superiority complex that, coupled with our military might, is leading into World War III. Maybe we are already in it. At some point "all's fair in love and war" will overwhelm our morals ... maybe already has.
My friends are among my most prized possessions and for that reason I say to them:
Must we have war? No!
Our national focus should be peace above all else. Not by way of forcing everyone to comply, but by leading them toward world harmony. Never have we more needed a body like the United Nations to help us stay on message and to encourage men of good will to work with us. Why not some risks for peace? Why not spend some $billions on that?
So to my friends I say ... have your say. I certainly intend to have mine.
God bless America, my promised land.
I pledge allegience and take responsibility ...
-- Warren Faulk
Smarr, Georgia
March, 2003
What's your opinion? Share your views:
| Page One | Page Two | Archive |
| Discussion Room | Letters | What's Geoism? |
