Lebanon II

Is no one even intrigued anymore by the idea that Gandhi and Martin Luther King apparently won their struggles? Maybe not permanently and conclusively in every regard desired, but as much, probably much more, than any war has ever truly won anything worthwhile.

Lebanon

I submitted to the BBC a few minutes ago:

Israel and Hezbollah both seem to think they have something to gain in this conflict. Presumably Iran and Syria agree with Hezbollah and think they have something to gain. And now the Bush Administration thinks that something should be gained before a cease fire is ever implemented. There is nothing to be gained from this senseless destruction except more destruction, and no one will win in the long run. The world is even more rapidly becoming a less stable place.

Deep Thought of the Day 2

I think that the most important contribution a human being can make to the world is to positively influence the way people think. Building a multi-billion dollar corporation: that's just showing off, and leaves us with another many-headed monster to boot. Nope, deep thoughts -- that's the legacy to leave. But deep thoughts that lead to powerful actions, and (sigh) to love in a universe that sometimes seems so heartless.

Deep Thought of the Day

"He made a lot of money, he had a good time, the world suffered for it on his behalf."

How many of us would want to leave this for a legacy? Yet how many people, especially those with some power, actually do leave this legacy? And how tempting it is to try and live this way. This is what we should struggle (peacefully!) against, and try to create avenues where we can all be successful in life, yet not leave such a legacy.

Alleged Rape and Killings by American soldiers.

See story at New York Times

My comment is the same I made a month ago with regard to the Haditha incident:

"The greater lesson is that war always leads to such horrors. 'Accidental' and 'collateral' horrors happen, and then there will be those that are intentional, although likely motivated by panic or psychosis. It does not reflect on all soldiers, but it does reflect on the nature of war."

I do not remotely suggest in this case, however, suggest that the incident might have anything directly to do with policy, although rape as a method of terrorism has been suggested in other wars involving other countries. But I do suggest that we need to make war obsolete. The intentions of soldiers and their willingness to sacrifice their lives may be noble, but the intentions of governments rarely are, and the results almost never are. The most likely exception, the position of the Allies in WWII, may have been noble and necessary, but we have lost site of the goal of then moving past the necessity of further wars and the sacrifice of human lives, and even crossed over the line into fighting optional wars, with the concomitant horrors all wars, noble and necessary or not, precipitate. Still worse, we seem to be addicted to war, and use our just war theories and our defense of the honor of soldiers as an excuse for our addiction. Young people on every side believe they are signing up for a noble cause; can they possibly all be right?