My Mad Introspective

I'm still relatively new to blogging and after going back and reading some of my initial posts I realized I sound really mad in most of them. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was really mad when I wrote them. I'm usually pretty laid back, but I have a tendency to analyze (translation: over-analyze) everything, so of course I started trying to figure out why I get so mad at politicians and basically people in general.

I saw something yesterday that helped me sort it out a little, two things actually. The first was a report on CNN about the Supreme Court decision ruling regarding President Bush's attempt to expand his powers to hold detainees in Cuba without regard to the provisions of the Geneva Convention without first going to Congress. The second was a re-broadcast of an April 14, 2003 interview on C-CPAN with former hostage Terry Waite. What do these two seemingly unrelated items have in common? Not much, except that one of the questions after the interview with Mr. Waite specificly addressed the detainees at Guantanamo, to which he expressed his concern about the legality of detainment: "What is the essential difference between the methods deployed by my captors, who were labelled terrorists, and those of the authorities that detain suspects in Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere? They have been detained on suspicion and treated in a way that no civilised nation ought to condone."

More telling was the tone in which he, a British citizen, expressed himself and some comments he made about the international role of religion, the American perspective, and the American perception of religion. I think a lot of Americans seem to have the misplaced belief they are not in charge of themselves or their life, GOD is. The scary thing is that George Bush seems to share that belief. Even scarier is that he seems to think he has some calling to indoctrinate that message not only in this country, but into an area of the world that has been fighting about religion since the beginning of civilization.

After hearing Mr. Waite speak I realized this is strictly an American perspective, not the perspective of religious zealots in general. What struck me most was that even after his confinement, Terry Waite harbors no resentment toward his former captors, rather a grudging respect because he took the time to understand what his status as a hostage meant to them. He didn't take it personally and he didn't give credit to anyone or anything, spiritual or otherwise, except himself and his ability to observe and learn what he could from the situation.

The islamic jihadists will never stop fighting because an "infidel" wants them to. The biggest mistake Bush and his war-profiteering cabinet (Cheney, Rumsfeldt, and Condi) made by starting this war was failing to understand why we were targetted and attacked in the first place. I'm talking about the original war with Afghanistan, the one where some justification may exist for the use of force since without question the Taliban was allowing al Qaeda access and refuge after the Sept. 11 attack, not the other more expensive, more deadly war Bush started because he obviously has a small... Oh! There I go again, judging the man by his actions not his words and obviously with no personal glimpse into his pants. (It's just something a girl can tell, just take a look at Laura: very unsatisfied.)

Back to the point, I have come to the conclusion that my anger is directed at the right wing nut cases who are hijacking the country, the Democrats who can't decide on a cohesive platform, and other Independents (like myself) because everyone is too busy stomping their feet and screaming so no one is being heard. I don't like the "us versus them" attitude of politicians who are fighting with each other on the basis of their political party to the detriment of the American people they are supposed to represent, and I don't like the "us versus them" attitude of Americans who don't take the time to understand other cultures.

I am the first to admit I think most people in America are stupid. I also admit it is mostly due to ignorance because they are uneducated or willing to concede their common sense to the will of god. However, I don't think the lack of a formal education (school, in case you're one of the stupid ones) is a good reason to be uneducated. Public libraries are funded by taxpayers and are freely available for anyone to use. Most universities also allow access to non-students, so the methods for educating yourself are available, limited only by individual desire to learn.

People who don't take the time to educate themselves on the very things on which they are ignorant are the same ones who are complaining about gas prices. President Carter called for conservation of fossil fuels nearly 30 years ago. U.S. automaker and American consumer response? The Hummer - 11 mpg. While every other major consumer economy around the world has focused on conservation, recycling (plastic is made from petroleum), and alternative energy, the U.S. has proceeded as if our economy is somehow immune. Now we are at war, and we dare to complain that our lives have been inconvenienced by high gas prices?

We need to act as if we are at war. We need to conserve natural resources, expand non-fossil fuel sustainable and renewable energy sources, hold elected officials accountable when they react and over react to the news item of the day instead of getting something of substance done, and we need to hold ourselves accountable for our own actions instead of looking for someone else to blame.

That's why I get so mad.

Something to think about:
"I do not believe the world's wrongs will be resolved by warfare or economic dominance by one nation over another. We must grow into a world community where difference can be celebrated rather than seen as divisive. To progress we need people of stature who will be able to demonstrate compassionate wisdom and political acumen that brings hope to those in despair." from Terry Waite's essay in You're History Michelle P. Brown and Richard J. Kelly pub. 2006 Continuum Books

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