Another milestone year. It feels like yesterday that the horrors of 9/11 happened and yet, where are we as a people, as individuals as a country? Not much has changed except we are hemorrhaging money in the Middle East with no end in sight, not building better countries but acting the know-it-all bullies who have something to prove, some mission to be carried out,under the banner of "God is on our side". And this all needs to stop.
Have we "gotten even" with the terrorists? Have we gotten "the bad guys"? And what does all of this effort have to do with the fantasy proclamation of the "War on Terror"? I think we are the lead terrorists.
I don't need to hear some hopeful crumbs from an ambassador or general to know this is going nowhere. It has been going nowhere since we sent bombers instead of talkers over to Afghanistan way back when and it hasn't improved since. This is not an issue of whether we like our troops or not, it is a question of leadership and all that entails. It means having a vision, a creative approach to achieving the vision and teamwork at the highest levels to accomplish the layers of goals in cooperation with those receiving the "gifts" of our attention. It means being a role model--a vision of what true democracy looks like, smells like and acts like versus the autocratic mess we are in--with every decision not weighed and measured but directed in a singular, confrontational way.
Who knows if our losses and expenditures are a "gift"? to these people? Who knows if anyone wanted to be a democracy? Who knows if it is a solution versus an imposition? It smacks of the Spanish missionaries and military coming to Mexico and bringing the "wisdom" and mission of the church in exchange for ruling this people and inevitably bringing the gift of disease and death (which to some of these native people might have been a blessing to get away from this cultural imposition). Is God really just on our side? And to further the idea of the Spanish missionaries--it is interesting to think that once again it is religion and might linked together to somehow justify a horrifying consequence such as the situation we are in.
And what are the solutions? What are the plans for the future? And what are the pullout plans that were not defined prior to going into this mess? And what are the plans and actions in place beyond the talk to support our troops, truly support them when they come back? Are there plans? Who is accountable? Or is the machine so large that no one can own the problem or solve the problem or get in front of these significant issues? Or is stupidity a thick slice down the middle...and everyone hides under their desks and points to the next guy?
I cannot even fathom who our next leader will be as it is the same group of faceless talkers, all with no vision, all with no planning, all with covert teams of spinmeisters and pundits truly not caring but looking real good on tv. We are not any better than we were six years ago with no end in sight.
We need to remember the dead. We need to remember our innocence in pretending that no foreign agency could attack us on our big island. We need to remember our childhood of wanting the best for all people and working in partnerships with others.
Is there any hope? Is there any vision or high point we can see a better world?