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Michael considered fate at 18:24   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

I've refrained from talking about the war because it really just pisses me off a whole heck of a lot that the powers that be do these things - forcing the rest of us to take sides. I hate taking sides.

I used to take sides all the time. Drugs. Abortion. Death Penalty.. anything for a good arguement I say!

But lately.. in the last few years.. I've become soft. Why can't everybody just get along? I don't want to judge people for their weaknesses, I don't want to hold arrogance and ignorance against people. I do, but I don't really want to. Again, I'm forced into it.

What I have found, though, is that despite all the hippy-wannabe protests down on Main and despite all the warmonger... despite it all.. It seems like the American people sound decently thoughtful about this war. Everyone I have talked to about it has stepped back and pondered and come back with deep colored ideas. These things, they are not black and white.. and that's what we, perhaps, need to accept. Is Saddam bad? Sure. Should we bomb the fuck out of him? Perhaps. Is Bush bad? No. Is Bush a numbass? Perhaps. It's just not so simple.

There is a bigger picture. A historical picture that is very hard to see from the perspective we're at. It's a picture of history _not_ repeating itself, and I think that is what is confusing everyone. Sure, we're repeating the gulf war in some ways, but I'm talking about the larger picture. The huge picture. The Rome vs. The British Empire vs. The United States of America picture.

I stumbled upon this wonderful article: The Arrogant Empire. It's close. It is relevant and good to think about. As with anything, it's just information. Some right, some wrong, and some a matter of judgement.. but if half of Americans read half as much more than they do already.. then half of this wouldn't be so half-baked. Maybe.

Cancer kills about 1,500 people a day in the United States alone. That's the equivalent of about one 9/11 tragedy every other day.

Every day, about 130 people in the United States dies of Colon Cancer alone - about the same number of U.S. battle casualties in the entire Desert Storm Operation (148).

In the time it took you to read this another person has died from colon cancer. In the time it took you to read this another 10 people have died from some form of cancer.