Death and despair

[misscam]

And yet again it's all Iraq, Iraq, Iraq on the news. War on terror, supposedly, though they have yet to prove a link between bin Laden and Friends and Baghdad. Sure, Saddam is a tyrant (so is Mugabe, the leaders of Saudi-Arabia, North Korean leadership, Burma's governent - the list goes on) and I know Iraq would be better off without him. But is it worth the death of thousands upon thousands of Iraqis and Americans and Brits and Aussies (possibly)? What is worth a war? Bush has claimed he wants to make Iraq 'a shining beacon of democracy'. Right. And I shall marry John Howard and have mini-Howards.

I don't trust Bush. I don't like Bush. Lately, I fear him. And it's leaking onto my opinion of all things Americans. I have many good American friends, I enjoy American movies (well, some, anyway), American literature - but like poison, anti-American sentiment is growing even within me. I don't doubt Bush would bleed Iraq for its oil, for the leverage this gives the US. I fear he will bleed the world too and death will wear his face. I fear many things, now that it seems war will come, whatever the UN says, whatever the people say, whatever Iraq does.

And meanwhile, Afghanistan is more or less forgotten already, except for the odd speculation that bin Laden may still be around there somewhere. Any signs of a shining beacon of democracy there? I sure haven't spotted it.

Saz showed me a poem - AD Hope. It rings so very true in these times.

Linger not, stranger; shed no tear;
Go back to those who sent us here.
We are the young they drafted out
To wars their folly brought about.

Go tell those old men, safe in bed,
We took their orders and are dead

I despair for the world. Iraq - another Vietnam or another Afghanistan? Or something worse?

Wake me when the nightmares end, please.

Comments

[lotus79.livejournal.com]

here's another one for ya:

Anthem for Doomed Youth
by Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,--
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

(beware sazpot on a poetry kick ;)

[visp.livejournal.com]

I agree. This Iraq war is the stupidest thing ever. And so is Bush.

[syncopated_time.livejournal.com]

At least it's acceptable for you to be anti-war. I was at a protest on Wednesday and was repeatedly told to "get the hell out of America" if I can't appreciate the armed forces and what they did for America in the past. Get the hell out if I can't trust the Great God Bush in his wisdom as election-stealer... I mean, President.

Well you know, where they hell do they want me to go? This is the only country I have. And I must therefore do whatever it takes in order to make it better. If that means protesting the war, I will. If that means signing petitions, I will. If it means being civilly disobedient, I will.

I don't HATE America. I don't HATE our troops. I hate the dance our ape of a President is making them do for his own econimic purposes.

We have the UN for a REASON. NO OTHER COUNTRY is dissatisfied with the progress of the UN inspection teams. Why must we?

*sighs, gets off soapbox* OK Cam, I'm done. You can have your journal back now. *slinks off in shame of being an American*

You have my sympathies . . .

[maureenlycaon.livejournal.com]

. . . but what you say about the growing anti-American sentiment worries me. Not because I'm patriotic in the least any more, but because I'm hoping to flee this country while there's still time, and I'm fearful that other nations will close their doors to refugees from the U.S. . . . the way the world did to the German Jews in the 1930s. And yes, Germany in the 1930s is what I'm thinking of. The hatred I've witnessed from the other side, the right wing, approaches the demonic.

Maybe a year back, wondering whether I was paranoid or had real reason for my fears, I dragged out my old textbook from my Modern History of Europe course and reread the parts in question. The resemblance between Germany then and the U.S. now wasn't exact, of course. There's been quite a bit of history since then. But the parallels were too close to dismiss.

I just re-read a Robinson Jeffers poem that I tried to take comfort in around the same time, and it still rings utterly true for me. It's called "Be Angry at the Sun". An excerpt:

That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new. That America must accept
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.

war vs. peace

[pennhothwen.livejournal.com]

It's a wretchedly difficult time to be a pacifist, that's for sure. On our campus next week, they're having a 'Celebrate America, The Greatest Country On Earth' event (that is the ACTUAL TITLE, and I know, the egocentric hubris of it makes *me* want to puke, too). And you know what it is? A military extravaganza. They're having recruitment tables, and a flag-worship-uh I mean salute- ceremony, and a Singing Marine, and... blarf. A bunch of other stuff. And when the few resident pacifists (me included) who *haven't* been cowed into silence by repeated accusations of anti-Americanism went to apply to have our *own* demonstration on the same day, just to provide a much-needed counterpoint, we were told: 'You want to *protest* against patriotism?? What kind of MONSTERS are you?? NO, you can't have a counter-demonstration!!' Which denial, by the way, is unconstitutional - if you want to get into what's patriotic, how about living by the most sacred set of rules we have as Americans? Didn't Americans die for the right to free speech and assembly?

Nobody around here seems to get it. Pacifists aren't anti-American. We just want people NOT to die: in this case, in a war that's not only unnecessary, but downright evil. You know what? Not wanting to go to war does not mean that I loathe my country. It means that I love my fellow human beings, be they Americans, Iraqis, or any other pointless nationalistic label you feel like giving them. We are all human beings. We all live here on Earth together, all of us, sharing the same planet. Why are there still people who see that as unacceptable? How can there still be people who feel that killing someone else is going to solve their problems?

-Penn

[talissarocsham.livejournal.com]

*replying to some of the comments*

I never realised how hard it is to be a pacifist in America. I knew that the whole patriotism issue would make it tricky, but to be spurned for common sense? In Australia, I think there might almost be a majority who don't want a war. I don't know the statistics, but I know that most of the people I've spoken to want this over with as little bloodshed as possible. Revenge doesn't pay.

Blame Florida...

[(Anonymous)]

It's their fault that Bush is in office.