I'm a pop-culture obsessed, aging copywriter with the confused beliefs and lifestyle of someone whose generation straddles the fence between boomer and X. And according to my high school yearbook, I used to be hilarious.
So why, back in 2003, did I know what we'd be saying about the Iraq War now?
I am not even particularly versed in world affairs. I have my opinions and many of them are knee-jerk. I'm a woman, I believe in human rights, I'm a single mom, I'm a white-collar worker who is lucky enough to get paid for doing something I like, but I've also been on welfare. My knee jerks as it does because I am fairly comfortable with my strong belief system. And my intuition, when President Bush and his sycophants predictably announced we'd be going into war, was that it would be endless and to no avail.
It did, in fact, give me pause that I could come up with such a reasonable, sane and measured response to something I so viscerally abhor. But as I've gotten older I've come to understand that war is sometimes necessary. (Actually, I don't, but I think it's a kind of maturity to say that I do. I suppose I do have some tolerance for the Civil War.) Still, it always looked so personal with Bush, so -- I'm gonna have a war, whoop-de-doo. Just like in the movies -- that I knew there was no real reason to invade a 3rd-party country, particularly when our country needed attention and healing, not to mention the endless dollars it costs to support such a catastrophe.
I like the tone of this article I found this morning at the Boston Phoenix. I felt a kinship with its author. In some ways, I guess, I am responsible for the war. I voted for Ralph Nader. In my misguided enthusiasm for his intoxicating rhetoric, I felt like I was using my vote to say something about what I wanted my future to look like. When questioned at the time about the possibility of a Nader Effect, I pooh-poohed the idea and arogantly added, if America is stupid enough to elect Bush, we deserve for things to get bad. Then maybe real change will be put into effect. The naivete of that statement was made painfully clear six months later when I lost my job. Working through the bureaucratic tangle that is the government, I eventually started working for myself, only to be taxed through the eyeballs for trying to make a decent living.
So in some ways, I can blame myself. But who can the so-called leaders and strategists in this country blame? Because guys, I was right. Not a day goes by that I don't consider living somewhere else to avoid a potential draft for my 4-year-old daughter. One of my beliefs is that cultures who integrate war culture into the fabric of the ordinary citizenry spawn war-obsessed offspring. So it is not surprising to see kamikaze soldiers willingly giving up their lives for what they believe to be a noble cause. But that is not our country ... yet. Think about it, more troops means more kids going over. A mandatory draft is imminent to ensure a fresh supply of soldiers.
I think we may need to do something, not sure what the right thing is. I'm surprised that there are not many anti-war rallys. I think at least writing your congresspeople and senators is in order. And my spirits are bouyed a bit by the introduction of legislation that may restrict the president's right to just keep upping the ante in Iraq.
Not quite the revolution I envisioned, but it may be a start.
