Why I wrote Pray for Peace as a Facebook Status the Other Day

Feeling pensive today. Probably going to get me into trouble.  

This week, I've had fewer children at home, which gave me time to do something I don't often get to do. I read the news.  And I posted "Pray for peace, pray for peace, pray for peace."  Someone asked afterwards, why in particular. 

Everything I read made me think of the quote. "War is upon us, whether we will it or not," as Aragon says.   The world feels topsy-turvy when the paper and the internet news sites frame the officials of Iran as reasonable for stating the obvious danger of ISIS in Iraq, and seem more morally solid than the United States.

But when I read deeper into the news, it is the same fight over again.  Iraq is ruled by Shi'te elite.  Iran also is run and ruled by Shi'te also known as Shia and Shiites (from what I could research).    The insurgence is Sunni.  It is a vicious cruel new chapter in the civil war between the Sunni and the Shia, one which will destroy anything we've done over since March 20 of 2003, and reveals the true complexity of this situation.  

The Shi'te cooperated with the US from the get go, ergo we deem them the good guys.  The Sunni followers are the largest Islamic sect.   Iran offering to help, is also Shi'te, Sunnis in Iran are not allowed to build mosques and has numerous restrictions on those who practice a Sunni as opposed to Shia form of Islam.   Abuses and attacts on this minority in Iran (9%) are common place.  So when Iran offers to help fend off the rising militancy of the Sunni in its neighbor Iraq, it's not exactly out of neighborly goodness or feeling shocked at the atrocities those engaged in ruthless rounding up and shooting of policemen, border troops, bombs of military buildings and government offices and public executions and beheadings.  It's a both and situation.  As the  al Qaeda backed leader of the insurgency chillingly boasted, "I'll see you in New York." 

These are terrorists, racing through Iraq, killing people and taking over cities.  They are militarized and obviously organized and armed with bombs, guns and a fierce and calloused will. 

And it is beginning again, as the United States is quietly sending  Iraq and I love the term, "300 military advisors." according to the New York Times.   There isn't a shining right answer, but like in math, there are an infinite number of wrong ones.  One of which is doing nothing, another of which is thinking we know everything.  I do not envy anyone in leadership right now.  I'm praying for them.

 We're going to have to decide how to act as a country, we know what is being done is wrong, rather than merely react to what happens.   If past is prologue, we will ignore until we get hurt, and then it has to really hurt, at which point, we will overreact in response.  I'm hoping we've learned something from history. Evil must always be opposed, or it spreads.  The question is how to oppose evil. 

That's why I wrote:  Pray for peace. Pray for peace. Pray for Peace.     

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

Most election years, I watch both conventions.  I hear some good speeches, but I was also pay attention to what is not said. Part of the purpose of a convention is to introduce the party/person to the people. Both conventions are first and foremost, giant commercial parties for the faithful.  Here's how they usually go regardless of your party affiliation:

 Here's our candidate, rah rah rah.  Good to people, good to animals, good to rocks.  Good to air. Good for everybody. Good. Good. Good. Good. Goody goodness type good. Good good goodness with a puppy and apple pie. Good. Good. Good.  Oh and we're cool too.  Our side rocks.  It rocks. ROCKS!  Did you see that we ROCK? Rock on!  Rock! Yeah! 

That other side..Evil. Pure evil. Impure evil. Evil with impurity on the side. Impure evil with pure evil on the side. Evil. Evil. Evil. Evil. Evil evilness and villainy, villainy and evil evilness.  They are so evil, they run with scissors. We saw it.  We can't stop it, but you can. Stop their evil scissor running or wallow in freakish misery forever if they win, worrying about your eyes or skin being hurt by those evil people with scissors.

We have a solution. Our solution is so obvious and simple a caveman could do it, but those evil cavemen on the other side, they've been stymieing our leadership forever.   They fear our brilliance.  They fear you.  They'd fear you even more if you recognize our brilliance.  We're brilliant.  We're brilliant, we're brilliant and we're good for you (Like fruits and vegetables and other foods in sensible portions only moreso).  Join now and you can be brilliant too.  It's contagious, just like voting for the other side makes you an evil caveman.  You don't want to be an evil caveman so you should join us and be an independent thinker like all of us. Then you too will be brilliant and good. (Don't forget good).  Brilliant and good and like fruits and vegetables only moreso. And we have a plan.  We can't show you the plan because then the evil stupid cavemen would steal it and use it in an evil stupid way, but we have a plan.

Also, we'll give you things because, we're good and brilliant and brilliantly good. The other side won't give you things because again, they're stupid and evil and selfish.  Or, we'll solve all the problems the selfish evil stupid people created and punish the stupid evil selfish people because then they'll either learn they should be brilliant and good like us, or continue to be punished on top of being selfish and evil and stupid.  

And, after millions and maybe billions of dollars are spent telling us this on tv and radio and computer and in magazines and papers and countless hours are lost that could be used to actually address the issues of unemployment, taxes, health care, the huge expansion of government powers to include not only the Patriot act but unmanned drones over our own country, voters will still be left with a great puzzle.   Not who are these guys but why is it always the same two options, Godzilla or Mothra?  The problem is, no matter which monster wins, it's the people that have to clean up the mess.

And like those Godzilla movies, there's always another one, there's always another election, so there's always another battle of the titans to illustrate to the destroyed city that we are not players in this arena, we're at best innocent bystanders who get to scream at the sidelines as cars are smashed and buildings crushed.  Both parties have huge planks in their eyes, and the media goes around screaming about the voter's splinters and how those splinters are affecting their judgement and their vision.

I won't say that there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties or that anyone's vote doesn't matter, only that I'd wish at some point, we could get beyond what feels like a bad movie or at best, a fight between high school nerds over which sci-fiction is the best; the type of Internet arguments about who is better, Old or New, Starwars or Star Trek, Kirk or Spock that go on forever and mean nothing!

I'd like for our country to get out of adolescence or at least middle school about politics.  Don't just tell me how wonderful you are.  Tell me what you are going to do and how and then why.  Show your work.  Let me see what your plan is. Trust that if it is a good plan, I'll back you.  If it is a bad plan, I'll tell you.   If there isn't a plan at all, I'll be annoyed at you.  If you lie about the plan, I will be more than annoyed.  I'll be angry.

And when the little people in the b-movies get angry and organized, even the big monsters lose.

Shoeless Joe and Blog Action

When I was a mere junior in high school, I went to prom with a guy who wore polished white shoes with gold buckles and a powder blue tux. My brother Joe opened the door, took one look and said, "Nice shoes."

If it hadn't been for my desire to simultaneously bust a gut laughing and bust his chops for insulting my date, I'd have asked him to change into a tux and brought my brother instead.

Ever since then, the word "Nice" has been...a loaded term for me, fraught with meaning because of it's vagueness.

Today I got an email saying...Nice blog. The email author disclosed that he would like to link my site to his in return for his being linked on mine.

I clicked on the site. It sells athletic sneakers.

Most of the free world spends many a sleepless night in wonder of what an online shoe salesman likes to read during the sports void that takes place after the Superbowl and before Opening day. Now, the mystery will be solved.

CHOCOLATE FOR YOUR BRAIN would be one of a mere fifty listed sites considered link worthy in the "Other" category, along with 15 other categories with fifty blogs each listed. The email assured me that thousands of people visit this site daily, and it would increase my traffic.  My guess is they're the saps that link to the guy's blog in hopes of driving traffic to their own, coming to see if the links have been put up and if they actually work.

Since I can't find a counter on the site, I cannot know the verasity of this claim. The "About Us" section of the website indicates it's been in business since 2003 but the write up on the decision to provide extrodinary customer service to those needing to find out the finer points about buying a sneaker (think Air Jordan), posted in December of 2007.

So maybe they're just updating the website and have found me to be an up and commer. My gut says to let this opportunity pass but I'm still a newbie, only providing quality blog entertainment since October of 2007 with a mere 19 visiting on a good day, so I just don't know. It's just a link and I'm pleased that someone noticed, but given the fact that there's never an indication of what the reader actually liked in my blog, I'm left to wonder.

Still, the email said "Nice blog."

So I'll return the favor.

"Nice" shoes.