Afghanistan – Unsalvageable?

Afghanistan has been at war for many decades and even centuries.  The current war against the United States and its allies has already lasted longer than the U.S. war in Vietnam.  When will this country cease to exist as a war sponge and start on the path towards “civilized” living?  I dare say we are possibly a century away from achieving such a state within this land locked country.

Yes, the Afghans have recently experienced so-called democracy through the practice of voting and choosing their government, but many believe that all of their elections have been marred by fraud, indifference and lack of sufficient voter turn-out to truly be representative of what the Afghan people want.

In fact, how do we really know that voting for a leader is what the Afghans desire?  Although the system has worked well for the United States and many other modern countries, perhaps it is a model that cannot be justly embraced by this culture.  Perhaps the level of poverty, illiteracy, vengefulness and radical religious beliefs are what prevents the U.S. from formulating the democratic values that we hold so dear into the Afghan social conscience.

Photo Credit: Hamed Masoumi

If one looks at their culture in detail, one can see that their everyday lives focus on primitive survival and adherence to the religious rituals that are so engrained into their lives.  Even the “normal” upbringing of puberty that is experienced in the U.S. and around the world are stifled in Afghanistan.  Growing up, the odds are insurmountable that an Afghan boy will be sexually molested by another man.  This is not seen as vile and an aborition, rather it is an accepted practice that bears no spiritual penalty in the twisted form of Islam that is pervasive throughout this land.  They even have a term for this practice, bacha bazi.  In my observations and discussions with numerous Afghans, I have come to believe that the repressive practice of hiding a woman behind Burkas and heavy clothing in the name of Islam, only perpetuates the desire to alleviate their sexuality between men and boys.  If one cannot look at a woman or desire her physically for fear of guilt, persecution and the promise of hell, then one must look elsewhere for relief of their biological, sexual development.  In come the young, innocent boys.  There is no penalty in this culture for a man molesting a young boy, in fact, it is encouraged lest you fall for the gratification of a woman which then brings in tremendous cultural and spiritual ramifications.  Having a young boy is, in some portions of Afghanistan, a status symbol; something to be shown off.  I work with some interpreters here as we mentor and train the Afghan Army.  As I speak with some of them, I clearly see the hesitation in their eyes to open up about this aspect of their society that is clearly taboo in other, more developed countries.  When one of them does find the inner courage to speak, I sense the shame and embarrassment as they relate stories that they are aware of when a boy has been taken as another man’s possession.  At times I believe that maybe this tragedy has involved them personally, but I do not press further in order to protect their dignity.  As I spoke with one of them, I saw his eyes swell with tears, almost as if his soul were crying out for love, forgiveness and acquital of his past.  It was heart wrentching listening to him yet wondering if he himself needed absolving and cleansing from the past sins of others.

Either way, as I walk among the Afghan soldiers, I will occasionally see men holding hands.  This was rather puzzling and disturbing in that I have ever before seen this among military men.  When I inquired to my interpreters about this, I was assured that it has nothing to do with them being homosexual but rather it serves as an expression of friendship.  I would tend to believe that except that the physical contact almost seems seductive and arousing to those involved.  Again, I wondered if their repressive tendencies towards looking at, touching or seeing woman casues them to turn to that which is not forbidden; another man.

My heart goes out to the Afghan people; certainly decades of war and tribal strife is not what many of these people wish for their country.  The vicious cycle of killing, retribution and harsh punishments such as the cutting off of hands or feet must certainly create a hardened heart and lack of hope.  If anyone is caught helping the U.S. or Nato, they will certainly meet their own demise.  Those responsible will then be hunted down by coalition forces, killed, maimed or captured and then the cycle starts all over again.  In the next few days I will be interviewing an interpreter whose father worked with the Afghanistan National Police (ANP) and was brutally murdered by the Taliban just a few short weeks ago.  His story will both shock you and instill a sense of sadness at the atrocities that are committed as a result of The Audacity of War.

 

Avatar; Entertainment or a prophecy about the future?

The highest grossing film in North America, Avatar has proving itself to be of formidable entertainment value.  There is no doubt that, if you have seen this movie, that every conceivable emotion is experienced throughout the film.  Some of the majestic scenery was actually based on beautiful mountains in China that have now become tourist attractions.  The undertones of harmony with nature reminds me of John Denver’s quest to show that we are all one with nature and that we must care for our planet with much the same fervor that we do our very lives.

The tragedy depicted in this extraordinary film is humankind’s constant need for war.  If you study closely all of the interactions and motivations, although at the core of this conflict is a valuable mineral, the end result is that armed conflict is the means used to achieve each sides objective; the ability to mine for a mineral or the defense of one’s homeland.

If you note in the prelude to the final battle, COL Quaritch rallies his troops with harsh words about the savage natives and their assemblage of warriors.  You can see how pumped up his troops are getting and even agreeing with him about the savagery they are about to encounter.  None of these troops knew the Na’vi as did Jake Sully for if they had, I dare venture to say that they would not have held the same enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, on the flip side, Jake had rallied all of Pandora’s forces for a counter attack yet he did not take into account the considerable force they would encounter and that in reality the Na’vi were headed for a suicide mission.  In fact, some of the peoples they recruited never had a conflict with or even encountered humans.

If you have seen the film, you know how it ends.  The reason for this entry is not to analyze the film (personally I enjoyed the movie), rather I highlight this film since it truly shows the audaciousness required to enter into battle.  In war, it is irrelevant the value of the persons being killed, only the fact that they have been killed is important.

Do not misunderstand me, there are indeed those that should be killed, if doing so will save a life or lives.  Rather, it is unfortunate that any life is lost.  I sometimes wonder if there will ever be a point in our future that intentional killing will cease being a part of our culture as humans.  So long as someone wants or envies something that someone else owns with greater fervor than the desire for peace, I think not.

You can become familiar with Avatar (odds are you already are) at: www.avatarmovie.com

Avatar; Entertainment or a prophecy about the future and the continuance of The Audacity of War?

Democracy Imposed; Democratic?

 

You Will Vote or Else!

Democracy….what comes to your mind when you hear that word?  For some it may define the very fabric of who we are as Americans, for others it is a new and exciting concept having, perhaps recently, left their own country where choices are made for them.  Others may view democracy as a threat to their very existence.  Whatever your feeling is towards democracy, one thing is certain, it is first a personal choice and then a collective one.  It is certainly not a concept that should be imposed on anyone.  In fact, the very definition of democracy goes against having one government impose democracy on another.  How can a nation force another to make free choices?

 

 

In the current wars of Iraq and Afghanistan the United States is finding itself imposing democracy to peoples that, for centuries, lived under tribal or dictatorial rule.  If we think back to when the United States was born, no one came to us and argued that we should be free from British rule.  No one taught us that we should vote to select our leaders from within.  We merely wanted that for ourselves.  We made a conscious decision to free ourselves from the heavy handed rule of the British Monarchy.  We were fed up with excessive taxation and governance from across the ocean.  We wanted to determine our own destiny, our own leaders, our own laws and levels of taxation.  Change from tyranny and the choice of freedom was decided upon from within and consequently, we willingly bore arms to fight against the British.  The rest, as they say, is history.  We are now a nation that is steeped in democratic values and systems, down to the lowest levels of government and civil structures.  Even schools have democratically elected student bodies, including many middle and elementary schools across the country.

 

Given our history how then can we assume that the rest of the world would like to be like us?  Granted, we are the greatest country in the world and clearly no one can even come close to how our form of government operates at the will of its people.  However, going back to my original point, how can democracy be imposed on others?  Some might say that we are “enabling” the Iraq and Afghan peoples to exercise their “right” to vote and freely elect their leaders, but seriously, who wouldn’t do what an invading army asks of you when they are in your country with tanks and bombs and no way to defend themselves except for the occasional Taliban or foreign fighter claiming to free their country of the invading army?  Many in Iraq and Afghanistan have no idea who they are voting for or why.  Although, quite honestly, we don’t know either when it comes to some local or regional elections.  They just do so because it seems the right thing to do, not knowing if their vote will have any impact on their immediate lives.  In addition, many are aware of the election corruption schemes that go on, perhaps knowing because they themselves either participated in corruption or know someone who has. 

 

I once worked in Mexico City for 2 years, commuting back and forth each week from Atlanta.  Some of my Mexico staff had requested vacation around the time of their national elections.  I thought, how patriotic, taking vacation around election time in order to make voting a priority.  I was most incorrect in my thinking.  Three of these individuals were hired guns from their political parties.  Their mission was to travel to as many precincts as possible that their parties had registered them to vote in (under different, assumed names) and cast their vote for their party.  How shocking!  I was intrigued that all three of them thought it their duty to get to all their precincts before polls closed.  In fact, one of them told me that he had to make sure he reached all of his since he knew that one of the other three could not make all of his precincts, therefore giving his candidate an advantage.   How is that for a working democracy?  All three of them told me that this was a way of life for them and the only thing that prevented them from being appalled (as I was) is that they knew every candidate did this, hence the one with the most cheaters wins.  Shall we invade Mexico and help teach them “true democracy”?

 

As you can see, even Mexico with its recent democracy has to rely on non-democratic methods to ensure their “democracy” works.  How then, can we as a nation justify the spilling of American blood to impose a system of governance that we ourselves have yet to perfect, given the outcome of our 2004 elections?  Afghanistan and Iraq have been fighting internally for centuries longer than the United States has been in existence.  Why do we think that we will fix their problems, teach them to vote, leave and then go on our way assuming their democracy will hold and we will “live happily ever after”?  Are we that naive?  Mr. President, we need to leave responsibly as soon as possible and protect our nation from a distance with good intel, fierce defense of our borders, advance weaponry that “reaches out and touches” the enemy from a distance and leave nations to determine their own destinies.  If we are that concerned about Iraq and Afghanistan having working democracies, then let’s add North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Somalia, etc, etc, etc, to the list of nations we will send our men and woman to die in so that their citizens can exercise their right to vote.  I say let Afghanistan, Iraq and all the others discover democracy from within as we ourselves did.

 

Imposed democracy; another irony of The Audacity of War.

 

 

SFC Jared C. Monti – Why Soldiers Fight

 

Source of Image: www.army.mil

If you were to ask any soldier from practically any nation why is it that they would be willing to fight in an armed conflict, you would get countless reasons; for their country, their God, an ideology, money, freedom, etc.  The responses would be as diverse as there are people who willingly fight in a war.  

 

 

Of all the reasons given, the one that truly describes why one would risk their own life in battle is that of fighting for your buddy that is by your side.  Evidence of that desire to help one’s fellow service member can be found with our next featured hero; the late Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti, the latest Medal of Honor awardee for Operation Enduring Freedom, the Afghanistan conflict.  President Obama awarded him this honor at a White House ceremony on September 17, 2009, handing the award to SFC Monti’s mother and father.

 

Below is a link that describes the actions whereby SFC Monti was awarded the Medal of Honor, it is a touching read.  In this entry on The Audacity of War, not only do we wish to honor SFC Monti for his heroism and selfless dedication, but also to zero in on why would anyone do the things he did, knowing full well the extreme risks to his own life.  Certainly he knew that, given the circumstances he found himself in, the odds were in favor of his demise.  

 

As the narrative on the link explains, SFC Monti’s team was under attack when one of his team members, Private First Class Bradbury became injured and was pinned down by the enemy.  Without any regard to his own safety, SFC Monti twice attempted to rescue his team member.  He was mortally wounded upon his third attempt at rescuing PFC Bradbury.  Although mortally wounded, SFC Monti told those attending to him that he had made peace with God and to tell his parents that he loved them, before succumbing to his wounds.

 

Think about it, SFC Monti would most assuredly be alive today had he stayed behind the safety of his cover behind the large rocks in the hillside.  Instead, knowing the risks, he proceeded to try and rescue his buddy.  Something inside of him would rather risk his own life than to see this young member of his team out in the open, potential being picked off like target practice by his enemies.  At that instant in time, it wasn’t his love of country, his oath of service, not even his love for his family back home that made him rush to his teammate’s aid.  It was knowing that PFC Bradbury was injured, pinned down and needing of his help.  

 

SFC Monti displayed unconditional love and concern for his injured team member.  The risk to his own life was irrelevant compared to the risk his buddy was exposed to at that moment.  That is the reason Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guards are willing to risk their own lives in the heat of battle,  Sure, we ultimately are fighting and serve at the pleasure of our President and consequently our country, but nothing is as real and certain as our willingness to protect our buddies with whom we are fighting.  We salute you SFC Monti for your bravery, heroism and selfless actions in trying to save your fellow man.

 

It will be a great day when this type of action will no longer be necessary on anyone’s part.  If we acted in this way in our everyday lives; caring and loving one another without regard to our own selfish needs, perhaps that will be the day when war will no longer be necessary.  Losing someone as special as SFC Monti because of his love and concern for a fellow soldier is yet more evidence of The Audacity of War.      

 

http://downloads.army.mil/medalofhonor/monti/narrative.html

Palestine and Israel, Middle East Scapegoats?

 

Image Source: Washington Notes

I do not believe there is a person alive today that has not heard, read or experienced the tragic conflict that has occurred for centuries between the Jewish and Palestinian people. 

While this entry is not a debate on which side is right or  wrong, I do wish to point out that this conflict is an example of how difficult it is to stop deep-rooted animosity and hatred between opposing groups.  In this case, the conflict goes back thousands of years.

 

 Not long ago I was in Israel on business when I took a ride in a cab around Jerusalem.  The driver happened to be a Palestinian and we struck up an interesting conversation.  He had a nice family with young children and was working long hours to provide for them and to hopefully make a better life for his children than what he had, similar goals to what most of us have.  At one point in the conversation I asked him if he thought the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians would ever be resolved.  He drove silently for a few blocks as I sat there nervously wondering if I had asked the wrong question.  He then took a couple of quick turns down a few side streets that were unknown to me and seemed out of place with our route.  My nervousness started turning into fear as I wondered if I had irreparably opened my mouth.  Suddenly, we turned down a street that had a very nice view on a hillside overlooking beautiful Jerusalem neighborhoods.  He stopped the car and then pointed to sections of the homes we were viewing.  He said ‘that section over there is Jewish.  This section over here is Arab. [he would point as he spoke] and finally this section over here is Christian.  You tell me, if the Palestinians are allowed to have our own State, what neighborhoods would give up their own land to us?  The Christians or the Jews?  Similarly, if we are to give up some of this land, to whom shall we give it, the Jews or the Christians?”  I clearly understood as I recovered from my unfounded nervousness.  His point was similar to the law of cause and effect; if one group were to gain ground, some other group would have to relinquish that same ground.

 One of my favorite books is “No Boundaries” by Ken Wilbert.  In his book Ken talks about the impact that boundaries tend to have no matter what that boundary might be.  He uses an illustration to make his point that I will paraphrase.  Question: Is a contact lens concave or convex?  Answer: both, depending on your perspective and what side of the lens you are on.  Similarly, Israel feels that God has granted them their land of “milk and honey” while the Palestinians have always felt that their land was unjustly taken away and is rightly theirs.  It is interesting to note that, based on history, both the Jewish God Yahweh and the Palestinian God Allah are supposedly one and the same.

And now to my scapegoat question in the title.  This past Friday, the 8th anniversary of 9/11, Osama Bin-Laden issued another one of his audio lectures.  In it, Bin Laden said Americans had failed to understand that Al-Qaeda carried out the attacks in retaliation for U. S. support for Israel. He goes on to say that if America reconsiders its alliance with the Jewish state, Al-Qaeda will respond on “sound and just basis”.  Clearly Bin Laden is using Israel (and consequently the Palestinians) as scapegoats.  If not, then Bin Laden should have just as much concern over the Shia-Sunni conflict as he does with the Palestinian plight.  Better yet, let’s add the Kurds in northern Iraq to the volatile mix.  The Arab nations for centuries have hated and fought one another.  It seems rather hypocritical for them to focus on the Palestinian plight if sectarian violence goes unchecked all over the Arab world.  Yes, be saddened that a Palestinian family has perhaps been stripped of their homeland, but you’d better be just as upset at a market place bombing of Sunnis by a Shia, perhaps even instigated and supported by Iran.  The same might even hold true for Israel, we should all be appalled that 6 million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis, but we should be just as angry at the slaughtering that takes place elsewhere in the Middle East and in portions of Africa.

I do believe that for years the Jewish/Palestinian conflict has been used by both sides to perpetuate their own earthly agendas, irrespective of similar tragedies or atrocities that are committed elsewhere.  Until we realize that all humans must live together despite religious, economic, political or geographic differences, these types of conflicts will never cease to exist and many of us will use particular conflicts to advance our own agendas, thereby fueling and perpetuating additional violence.  

The Middle East stain on our human history is not because of Israel or Palestine, rather it is deep-rooted in our inability to coexist regardless of the differences of who it is we are coexisting with.  Perhaps one day we will see a peaceful Middle East.  

If not, then it is more evidence that hatred is one of the foundations of The Audacity of War.

The Human Colony

 

Warrior Ant courtesy of http://faxprincessandfamily.blogspot.com

I am beginning to think that ant colonies mimic human society as a whole.  If you ever observe an ant colony, you can see thousands if not millions of ants going about their individual and collective lives, depending on their role in the colony. There are some charged with gathering food, others are feverishly working to maintain the physical structure the colony lives in, some have the sole responsibility of protecting and caring for the queen, still others are responsible for waging war on other ant colonies.  Despite what other ants in the colony are doing, these warrior ants can fan out and wage war against other ants based on their own reconnoissance and assessment of the threat at hand.  None of the other ants in the colony have the ability to stop or prevent the warring ants from going on their rampage.

Similarly, our nation’s forces can be sent into an armed conflict irrespective of the collective whole’s desire of whether or not to go to war.  We may have a majority of the population totally against a particular combat operation yet they can only stand idly by as troops are sent into harms’ way.  Once a war machine is activated and placed into motion, the kinetic energy alone of such a movement can prove too difficult to stop or turn around.  A familiar analogy is that of trying to turn the Titanic; its mass alone makes it too difficult to to so expeditiously.

The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have such enormous commitments of time, money, equipment, troops etc. that it would be impossible to pull out arbitrarily and end the conflicts.  Moving the military vehicles alone out of Iraq, for example, would take 18 to 24 months.  Add to that the generators, troop housing, aircraft, computers, medical equipment, weapons, combat gear, not to mention the contractor managed, government owned equipment and you can see that it would take 24 to 36 months just to move the equipment out of there.  In addition, you will then have all of the troops and contractors to move out of Iraq.  You are then left with the concrete “T” walls that are present nearly everywhere in Iraq.  These are tall concrete barriers that were erected to keep religious factions separate from each other as well as to protect the U.S. Forces from insurgent attacks.  Clearly, reversing the war machine that is in place takes a large amount of effort and resources to turn the “Iraq Titanic” around.  

This amount of equipment and personnel are in Iraq and Afghanistan irrespective of the collective conscious of our nation’s citizens.  Granted, it has been said that if the President loses the support of the American people, we cannot be at war.  However, it is clear by last fall’s election, that the American people want the war to end.  Why is it, then, that our troops are still in Iraq and Afghanistan?  Again, despite what its citizens collectively want, governments have the ability to wage war indiscriminately and ending such conflicts take more than just a change in leadership through an election.  It takes every citizen voicing their active approval or disapproval of their nation entering into war.

Think about the events a couple of years ago when the Russian government invaded Georgia.  I dare say that if the Russian people bore the decision whether or not to invade, that Georgia would not have been invaded.  People around the world are growing weary of armed conflict.  As I mentioned in my other entries, what sense does it make for one nation to destroy another nation’s desire of its people to live and make a better life for themselves in order for the invading nation to perpetuate that same desire?  Why is one country’s strategic objectives better or superior than another’s?

Finally, as with the ant colony analogy, if we as citizens allow our governments to wage war indiscriminately, then we will always bear the cost in lives and money of the actions of our governments. This does not mean that we cannot and should not defend ourselves when attacked, as we did in Afghanistan.  Rather, it means that we cannot allow our governments to wage war indiscriminately without the express will of a large majority of its people agreeing to enter into that conflict. Also, I do not think that a simple majority is enough; why should 49% of a nation share in the costs of a war that the other 51% wish to enter into?  Perhaps war should only be waged when, say 60 or 70% of the nation’s citizens agree to enter into an armed conflict. The power to wage war should no longer rest on a select few within government or with a simple majority.  The price is far too great for any nation to bear without the express agreement of most of its people to pay that price in lives, money and opportunity costs.  

The Audacity of War.  

Coming soon: Why we should go to war.

Suicide; The Silent Enemy of Forces at War

This morning I heard that suicides in Iraq by U.S. service members may be on track to exceed last year’s suicides.  This is an unfortunate side effect of war.  Our young men and women seem to be taking their life in alarming numbers.   (The average age of a suicide victim in Iraq is barely 2 decades old.) Suicide seems to be the easy way out for many that are deployed to the war zones and the causes are numerous; combat stress, money issues, relationships that have become strained, isolation from loved ones, boredom, hopelessness, etc.  

Unfortunately, our military culture is one of ‘survival of the fittest’ and therefore if there is someone contemplating suicide he or she may be discouraged from seeking help for fear of being viewed as weak, adding to their already overwhelming stress.  Somehow, someway these young patriots need to understand that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.  I heard a saying once that says ‘suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem’ and unfortunately for many, they seem too overwhelmed with their issue at hand to understand the devastating effects that a suicide brings.  I cannot imagine the grief a parent, sibling or child experiences when their loved one is killed while in a combat zone.  Imagine how difficult their grief must be if that death occurred by their loved one’s own hand.

Suicide is an often overlooked tragedy from the effects of war.  Perhaps there are some that consider suicides in a combat zone as collateral damage.  Regardless, we must all work together to fight for our fellow citizens in uniform in helping them to seek the support and professional help they need.  They voluntarily donned a uniform to protect our freedoms.  Some have even experienced horrors that are unspeakable in support of our nation’s objectives, good or bad.  It is now time for us to fight the destructive power of suicide and reclaim our precious sons and daughters from the brink of the suicide abyss.  If you know of a service member who may be contemplating suicide, encourage them to seek help at the following website: 

http://communityofveterans.org/node/256

There they will find the Veteran’s Suicide Prevention Hotline.  Also, if you know someone who is serving overseas, send them an encouraging note or care package and let them know your are thinking of them, that you care about them and want to see them come home soon.  

Your actions might save a service member from becoming another victim of The Audacity of War.

9/11

The term has become embedded in our psyche for the past 8 years.  Much like with the Kennedy assassination, most of us can recall exactly what we were doing at the moment those planes hit he World Trade Center towers.  I myself was settling down to a cup of coffee before beginning my day when my younger brother Danny called to tell me to turn the television on, which I did right away.  I was dumbstruck as I watched the first plane’s disastrous results.  I sat in disbelief as I thought what a horrible accident.  Within minutes, the second plane hit and I immediately knew this was no accident.  The rest is history and I am certain each of you can relate similar stories of horror, grief, shock and fear.  As someone who detests seeing others suffer, I was gripped in sorrow as I watched people jumping to their deaths, a far better fate than being burned alive was probably their thinking.

Sadder still was that 911 represented, not the end of the world as some may have thought, but rather the beginning of 8 years of armed conflict with those that desire the worst for America.  Fortunately, we have brave men and women who put themselves in harms’ way so that the rest of us can sit comfortably in our homes and offices blogging and Twittering to our heart’s desire.  Sadly, we have now lost more lives since 911 due to both wars than we lost on that very day.  For those that lost loved ones since that fateful day, who would have thought that we would pay such a high price of freedom not only on 911, but for the 8 years since.

Countless families are without their loved ones, not by choice, but rather because there are people bent on destroying the very things we believe in so that they can have the things they believe in, how ironic and what a waste.

In closing, I wish to honor all of those that personally experienced a loss, both on 911 and since that fateful day.  Please know that our nation has grieved with you although your loss is immeasurably greater than the emotional suffering the rest of us have endured.  In addition, for those of you that were in harm’s way on 911 or while fighting overseas and survived, yet are bearing the wounds of your suffering, our nation owes a debt of gratitude for what you have been through.  May you achieve the level of recover that you desire and may your life be enriched as you travel on your alternate path.  One of those is Lt. Col (Ret.) Brian Birdwell.  He was working at the Pentagon on 911 and was a few yards away from the point of impact from American Airlines Flight 77.  His extraordinary story of personal faith and recovery can be found at www.facethefire.org along with details of his efforts to aid other burn victims.  For those of you who do not share his same faith, fear not, I have future stories of similar kindness and compassion in store for you that are outside of his faith.  For those of you that do share in his faith, I am certain you know where he derives his strength.

Thank you Lt.Col Birdwell for turning your tragedy into hope for others.   Your efforts fly in the face of the Audacity of War.

The Power of O

I cannot help but wonder if people such as Oprah Winfrey were allowed to run our governments as they do their media empires, that perhaps we can avert futures wars.  Granted, they are in enviable positions of wealth and power and theirs was obtained through commercial and capitalists means, yet it is ultimately their followers who grant them that power (by consistently being dedicated audiences and followers) and wealth (through the purchase of their advertisers’ goods and services or their own products).  If no one tuned in to the TV or purchased from the advertisers, there is a chance we would not even know who Oprah Winfrey was. 

In her latest issue of “O, The Oprah Magazine” (yes, I do occasionally read her magazine as well as hundreds of others from all interests), Oprah talks to the importance of having one’s life being “…on course with its purpose…” and the power that brings to an individual.  She goes on to write about when the personality and energy of one’s soul are aligned, true empowerment has been achieved.  If you ponder her words (I encourage you to buy the latest issue and read her column in its entirety for I cannot give it true justice with my paraphrasing), you will see how they are applicable to people of every culture, gender, race, etc.  It is when someone breaks the harmony that is required within each of us, that we risk colliding with the forces that gravitate towards war.  When certain groups or individuals seek empowerment through outside means or influences, they start progressing down the path of acquiring someone else’s wealth, status or position to enhance their own standing.  Think of the terrorist or pirate that we read and hear about on nearly a daily basis, they have misunderstood their true purpose in the overall scheme of humanity and have ventured down the path of death, destruction and thievery. The very things they wish to achieve; life, luxury and comfort is what they are determined to deny their fellow human citizens of having.  This, in turn causes great powers like the United States of America to take arms against such radical thinking thereby causing unfortunate, similar destruction, both intentional and “collateral”. 

If those instigators realize that the power in our collective survival starts with their own inner-empowerment and if they shift their interests from personal gain to that of helping others “experience an aha moment..” as Oprah writes in her column, then will they be on the path to mutual co-existence and enrichment, thereby negating The Audacity of War. 

 Quotes derived from “O, The Oprah Magazine”, September 2009 issue.

The Power of Music; The Key to Peace?

One of the ironies of war is that both sides really want the same basic things; enjoy life, eat, sleep comfortably and safely, perhaps find a love, marry, raise children, own the car of their dream, travel, etc.  In addition, there is no doubt that both sides share a love for music.  Yes, the music each side enjoys may be completely different, yet the basic premise is the same, music touches one’s soul and is a vital part of one’s cultural fabric.  

I myself have lived in or traveled to approximately 75 different countries (well, 76 if you include Iraq) and the one common language spoken by all cultures was the love of music.  It was always interesting to note, however, how much American music is loved by the many different cultures around the world.  Anything from pop, rock-n-roll, rap, country, hip-hop, heavy metal and pretty any sound that we as Americans can make is enjoyed by countless others around the world.  The reverse is also true.

Why is it that when it comes to music, we are somehow connected as a human race, irrespective of our race, gender, political affiliation, cultural border or geo-physical border?  Why is it that a certain politician or political view can stir tremendous animosity and even start a war among peoples, yet music can calm those same spirits and have those very people dancing to the same sound? 

Think about Ellen DeGeneres’ show, once the music is going and Ellen is showing off her moves, the whole audience joins in.  That is probably the single best medium to involve the audience and have them all operating as one.  Way to go Ellen for having such a unique bonding element and moment with your fans!

I was recently viewing Michael Jackson’s video; They Don’t Care About Us.  (That was the song that he was singing in the rehearsal video that was played in the press upon his untimely death.)  In that video, shot in Brazil, it shows one big block party with everyone dancing and playing their local drums as Michael wowed the crowd with his timeless and seemingly proprietary dance moves. (He really has no match!) It was amazing to see people, whom many probably had no clue what he was singing, be one with Michael himself.

Perhaps music may hold one of the keys to a world that is someday free from The Audacity of War.