Ok so I am a jerk. I was asked to post this by my friend Jeff a couple weeks ago. I completely forgot. He doesn't have his own blog (but should be setting one up soon) and asked if i would post this on mine for now. So please read and comment to give him some feed back. Thanks!!



HIS POST BEGINS BELOW........


hey dude ... with the Iranian controversy and this missile thing I have been doing a little bit of thinking on a couple of things. I would like you to post this because I would like to know what different people think about this whole crisis.

First and foremost, I want to come out and say that I don't think that President Ahmadinejad or the government of Iran are a model of saneness or security. However, I ask a couple of questions. As Americans, especially our leaders, why do we treat these people, Ahmadinejad in this case, as though they don't exist. It seems to me that we completely ignore the individual or the government and immediately begin to threaten or "impose sanctions". Are our leaders really so weak that they cannot stand before an Iranian president, or an Iranian government for that matter, look them in the eye and tell them that the American people/government don't agree with the way they are handling things and that, in general, the world doesn't trust their current regime? Do we always, like bullies, start with the threatening language that seems second nature to the current regime? It seems as though instead of calling the Iranian government out face-to-face, we resort to sanctions, which will help Iran "get the point". Yes, I believe in consequences, but don't we as Americans usually follow the process of warning then consequence? As a human being, wouldn't you want to be talked to face to face before you were given consequence?

I will end with two things ... I am going to ask you to imagine yourself as a parent, if you aren't already, that has a kid whom is in our public school system. Lets imagine that your kid is a bit of a troublemaker that has the potential to be a pretty big problem, but he/she also has the ability to be a leader in making their class act a certain way. Your kid threatened another kid by stating that if they came near the swingset that he/she and their friends were occupying, they would "punch their lights out". This is a reasonably serious offense, which any teacher should take serious. The teacher then takes your kid to the office. The whole time not saying a word to your kid. When your kid arrives at the office, the principal says nothing to your kid, but rather announces to the office he/she "will handle this troublemaking terd". After this, the principal brings your kid into the office says nothing to the child and proceeds to lock your kid in a room for awhile while he takes a few minutes to type up a paper that revokes any privledges your kid enjoyed. These priviledges are to be posted in your child's homeroom, and it is up to the teacher to enforce these new rules with close supervision from the principal. Also understand that your child will only be informed of these consequences if they choose to read them, as the principal succeded in "blackballing" your kid. And the finale, your kid now enters his new classroom setting ...

Did your kid learn a lesson? Were they taught how to relate to the rest of their classmates? How did they feel toward the principal and teacher who used their given power to discipline? And finally ... How do you feel about your child's treatment?

My point is that no one would want themselves or their kid to be treated in this manner. Also, whether we like it or not, Iran is a big player in the Middle East, specifically so regarding Iraq, Afghanistan, and our precious oil. We need to be able to deal with them whether that is ideal or not. Why do we always get to be the bully that never has to talk to anyone, but rather, can tell people what to do? Who made us the righteous country to handle the "axis of evil" with force? What makes us so different from the Crusades that we regard as barbaric? Even if they believe things that Westerners don't, even if they are Muslims that are judged to hell by the Western Hemisphere, aren't we still responsible to Jesus' greatest commandment? I know he is a conservative Republican, but that doesn't change the one thing He commanded us regarding other people. That includes those that live in the "axis of evil".

I hope we aren't headed in this direction:

"This is why the wall of names that is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is so important. IT was not a project funded or organized by the state but by those who survived and insisted we not forget. It was part of America's battle back to truth, part of our desire for forgiveness. It ultimately held out to us as a nation the opportunity for redemption, although the state has prodded us back towards the triumphalism that led us to Vietnam." Chris Hedges, War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning

"Let me have a war, say I: It exceeds peace as far as day
Does night; it's spritely, waking, audible, full of vent.
Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy, mull'd, deaf, sleepy,
Insensible; a getter of more bastard children than war is a
Destroyer of men." William Shakespeare, Coriolanus