I’m War Weary

I was born in 1943, at Schilling Army Air Corps Base, during a war.  I don’t remember much about that war; my Aunt talked about it and at one time she talked about the Germans and Russians having a big battle.  

My Dad was in the Army and played in the Army band.  I have a picture of me standing beside the ‘Freedom Train’ in Seattle, when I was about 4 years old.  So my first environment was a war environment.

My next recollection of war was when General Eisenhower promised if he was elected President, he would bring the ‘boys home from Korea’.  I later learned the depth, insanity and cruelty of the Korean War from history books and of course M.A.S.H.

After Korea (which actually was called a Police Action) there were several other interventions by the United States Armed Forces and of course there was the  ‘Cold War’ which frightened me as I grew up under the threat of the Atomic Bomb, then the Hydrogen Bomb and who knows what other horrible weapons that threatened to destroy the world, using something called ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ (MAD), which guaranteed that if Russia attacked the U.S. we would return fire and assure that neither would survive.  Growing up under that threat, defined by the following, was very frightening, even if we didn't understand the total impact that such an action would have:

Mutually assured destruction, or mutual assured destruction (MAD), is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of high-yield weapons of mass destruction by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. It is based on the theory of deterrence where the threat of using strong weapons against the enemy prevents the enemy's use of those same weapons. The strategy is a form of Nash equilibrium in which neither side, once armed, has any incentive to initiate a conflict or to disarm.

I was in High School when I realized that all the air raid drills of elementary school, where we were sent to ‘air raid ditches’, were nothing more than training us, in case of attack, to “go calmly to the prepared mass graves”.  Talk about a precursor for P.T.S.D.!!!

Next came the Cuban Missile Crisis and of course the undeclared war known as Viet Nam.  Since then, there has been Bosnia, Kuwait, twice in Iraq, Afghanistan, and small attacks and deployments throughout the Middle East and Africa; all because the United States wants to preserve the rights of the oppressed……which is a good thing but ‘too much is too much’!  The time has come for us (the United States) to stop being the lead Policeman for the world.  Cooperative ventures with other Nations are a good thing, but let someone else take the lead, and let’s use the bulk of our Armed Forces to protect our boarders in the same manner that other Countries do.

The issue of declaring war against terrorism is certainly in our best interest but we do not need to be the only, the largest or the primary defender.  Frankly, when I watch the barbaric actions of ISIS or ISIL, I am angered; when I hear supposedly well educated people claim “well the Christians were just as bad” ( as if to dismiss or ignore such acts) I am saddened by their stupidity.  Indeed, the Crusades were awful, and the barbaric actions of Christians and later the Nazis are not to be excused; nor are any violent actions against any religious group or race of people, in the name of another group race or religion, acceptable to me.

Step up, other nations! Arab States….. take note of what Jordan has done!  They are willing to hit hard but can’t do it alone.  ISIS or ISIL is not acting according to what they claim as Muslim beliefs and practices.  They are acting as barbarians and are, attempting to force ‘their brand’ of life on not just non-Muslims, but on other Muslims as well.  I would hope that mankind would have matured, since the Crusades – but maybe not.

Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and other Muslim States; can’t you see that the world is turning against all of you because of what ISIS or ISIL is doing?  Show the rest of the world that you oppose such acts too!  Step up, take the lead and wipe this ‘cancer’ out!  If you do, I and many others in America would support you in many ways.  But again, frankly some of us are ‘war weary’ and are not willing to take the lead any longer.

Many detractors will say that our involvement around the world is a Democrat issue and others will say a Republican issue.  The truth of the matter is that the issue is not patrician.  The issue is arrogance and economic; traits possessed by Democrats and Republicans ….. and those who won’t take sides.

“That’s the way we’ve always done it” is the battle cry of the insane, not a responsible leadership of a free Country,