It's a warm night tonight- in a week that's been unseasonably warm for Oregon. The end of October has rarely been this balmy. I worry that the jack-o-lanterns on the porch will mold just from the warm weather. We watch, appalled, as southern California goes up in flames. What an awful situation! So many thousands of people affected. Tonight's headline talks about 80,000 people being evacuated! That's incredible. The cause? The news reports tonight suggest that 'people were seeing throwing flaming objects from vehicles' near one of the fires. And I wonder- just how likely is it that some of those folks are from Al Queda? Why wouldn't they figure out how vulnerable our communities and systems can be to something as simple as fire? Of course, Homeland Security would have us believe that 'the enemy' is the sad little group of muslims here in Portland who tried to go fight in Afghanistan and practiced shooting at a quarry in the area. These aren't the people who can 'hurt' America! For God sake, we are hundreds of millions of people in a nation whose geography is so big no invader can do more than sting us. We live our lives with a disproportionate fear which our government is feeding.
This morning the President held a press conference to reiterate the government's position on Iraq. I listen to him with grimness. The benefits of removing Saddam Hussein from power are touted as the reason all our actions are right. I can't argue that the Iraqi people are probably better off- but two wrongs don't make a right. We set a precedent for preemption against possible enemies as an acceptable national policy that will come back to haunt us. We acted with military might because we could- no one can directly oppose us militarily. We enunciated a belief that 'might makes right'. And we are surprised now that other people around the world don't stand up and rejoice. Strangely, I find myself in utter disagreement with many of my friends who opposed the war. We can't withdraw. We have unbottled the genie of chaos in Iraq and we must stay committed to bringing a better future to that country. The administration's insistence that we do it "our way", giving little credence or opportunities for participation to the UN and the world community, is a recipe for continued disaster though. I am sad, very sad, for the men and women of the American armed forces and NGOs and other bodies in Iraq. They're the ones who will pay the price for our government choices.
Enough. Friday is Halloween. A night we have transformed into a frolic for kids. And that's good. And so I lay down my pen. It is a lovely night. Time for a glass of red wine and focus on the small miracles of the life I am privileged to lead. Here in this enchanted kingdom called Oregon.
This morning the President held a press conference to reiterate the government's position on Iraq. I listen to him with grimness. The benefits of removing Saddam Hussein from power are touted as the reason all our actions are right. I can't argue that the Iraqi people are probably better off- but two wrongs don't make a right. We set a precedent for preemption against possible enemies as an acceptable national policy that will come back to haunt us. We acted with military might because we could- no one can directly oppose us militarily. We enunciated a belief that 'might makes right'. And we are surprised now that other people around the world don't stand up and rejoice. Strangely, I find myself in utter disagreement with many of my friends who opposed the war. We can't withdraw. We have unbottled the genie of chaos in Iraq and we must stay committed to bringing a better future to that country. The administration's insistence that we do it "our way", giving little credence or opportunities for participation to the UN and the world community, is a recipe for continued disaster though. I am sad, very sad, for the men and women of the American armed forces and NGOs and other bodies in Iraq. They're the ones who will pay the price for our government choices.
Enough. Friday is Halloween. A night we have transformed into a frolic for kids. And that's good. And so I lay down my pen. It is a lovely night. Time for a glass of red wine and focus on the small miracles of the life I am privileged to lead. Here in this enchanted kingdom called Oregon.
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