|
|
|
About wars and protests By MARY JANE HOLT
It is a week past the deadline I had set for the war to begin. Not that I have any inside contacts. I don't. It was just a feeling I had that war would begin in mid February. Instead, the protests began to get louder and more visible to all of us. Perhaps the time to protest was back before we had 100,000-plus troops in the region, separated from their families, and prepared to put their lives on the line. The time to protest may have been anytime over the past decade in which Saddam Hussein has continually ignored UN direction. The time to protest is past. I do not want war. I cannot imagine any sane person wanting war. But this is not the time for me to stand up and scream out in disagreement. Who am I, at this late date, to speak against the leaders of my country, most of whom I consider to be as able as human beings can be in the midst of such circumstances. Who am I to think I could have more insight, more information, more knowledge and wisdom than our president and his advisors? There are many things I don't understand. Like, I don't see why everybody won't just go ahead and admit that it's all about oil. Politically speaking I suppose it would be inappropriate, but of course it's about oil. Until we get creatively busy and find other energy sources, it always will be about oil. At this stage in the evolution of our various cultures, he who controls the oil controls the world. Of course I like to think that he who controls the food supply has some say in world affairs as well. But where in America today is food mass produced and distributed without the use of oil products? And then there's Israel. I suppose it's about Israel again, as well. Not necessarily the country, just the people. When any nation or group of people is perceived by themselves or others to be "God's chosen" then jealousy abounds. Or maybe it's sibling rivalry. Sibling rivalry is probably a very appropriate term to use when attempting to talk about world conflicts, great and small. Tell me of one fight that ever took place that was totally unrelated to somebody thinking somebody else had more or better. We are a selfish, self-centered, egotistical people who inhabit this earth. All of us. Some keep such attributes pushed away from the center of who they are and choose to try to share and care and reach out and across and beyond themselves. Some do. Some don't. I suppose it's time for me to try to make some sense out of all this rambling I'm doing today. So, what's my point? Whether I agree that we should go to war, or not, does not matter now. Not at this point in time. What matters is that I get behind the leaders of this country and the free world, and more importantly the thousands of our military men and women whose lives may soon be on the line for the cause of freedom and human dignity and yes, the control of the oil. I must get behind them and stay behind them with prayer, good wishes and visible signs of support. It is absolutely imperative that we pray for guidance, wisdom and courage for all those in high places who need an extra measure just now. And as for all those well knowns coming out of Hollywood who are presently protesting the war well, there's one more thing I can do. I can keep an ongoing list of their names. Whenever those names are behind musical recordings, movies or television shows that draw my interest, I can walk away or turn off the television. I can refuse to put another dollar into their pockets. They have their right to their opinions as do you and I. But do they have the right to use the notoriety and fame that you and I have given them to protest against those who would stand up and fight that others may have the freedoms they enjoy? Their outcries would better serve the people of Iraq. Perhaps they should use their riches, fame and perceived power to gain access to the streets of Baghdad. At this late date, would they dare to walk there in protest of the tyrant who rules? Now, that would impress me and might keep me listening to their music and watching their movies.
|
||