MILES to GO || before I sleep

Am I being selfish when I say I really hope we don't go to war? We being the U.S., by the way. I don't know about you, dear reader, where you are, what religion or ethnicity or nationality or whatever you are-- I don't care. As far as I am concerned, LIFE is LIFE. Forget skin color, eye color, disability, speech impediments... any of that doesn't matter.

People are going around being patriotic or whatever, spouting their opinions about what we should or shouldn't do next. This country is supposed to represent everyone's voice as one, right? But there is no perfect government. You have to remember that, even in democracy, those who aren't part of the "majority rules" are muffled. Their opinions and beliefs die a quiet death (well, sometimes) and that's the end of that. People go on being persecuted, unhappy, and upset over a situation, because a majority made it that way.
We judge the Taliban even though we aren't living in Afganistan-- we aren't starving, we aren't as sick and needy as they are.

So Bush wants to hunt the people that did this down. Supposedly we've got proof that Osama bin Laden is behind the attacks on the Pentagon, the World Trade Towers, etc... but what good will it do us to bomb the people? The innocent people of Afghanistan, who don't have the strength nor the resources to rebel against the Taliban?

Even if the Taliban is some horrible, dictatorship or whatever, where the people suffer and the government is all well off, will bombing the people do us any good? The Taliban won't suffer at all from such an act. The way I see it, we're in that situation our parents always told us about-- the one in the playground sandbox. A bigger kid pushes you out, and you get hurt. Do you fight back, and risk getting hurt more, to get your message across, or do you back down, and get laughed at teased, and possibly injured again later? What happened to that alternative of standing up without fighting? Going to an authority, and making the bully back down?

Maybe in a situation like today, we can't really find a higher authority, and we can't "stand up" without getting hurt. We're between a rock and a hard place, really, and people are wondering if we have "the belly" to do what needs to be done.

What needs to be done though? Do we *need* to go to war? People will die-- not just fighting the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's troops, but in the journey to Afghanistan-- through Pakistan. The people of Afghanistan have already suffered, so why should we make them suffer more with air raids and bombings?

If we mobilize ground troops, what's to say that we won't end up hurting people who aren't totally sure of what they are fighting for, who are blinded by ideals and beliefs that no one, for fear of their own lives and their family's miniscule well-being, has dared to challenge before?

Some people think war is inevitable, and the country (Afghanistan) will be better off in the end. All countries and generations must suffer to prosper later, right? But why should we? To prove a point to the youth of this era? WHY?

"Do you think human society could ever exist without war? Or is violence between nations and cultures inevitable?" --The theme of May 20th's Diary starters, or whatever they're called.

Actually, I had been thinking about this for some time. But before I begin my traditional rant, the title-- Unmei Kaihem means "Altering Fate" in Japanese (or so the subtitles said). Any anime fans out there? You may have heard that line in Tenkuu no Escaflowne, or The Vision of Escaflowne. Very good anime, if I do say so myself. But that's a matter of opinion.

Anyway, I relate that storyline (of Esca) to this week's theme because in it, there are two opposing forces: one is looked upon as evil, the other as good. One's whole homeland was destroyed, and they aim to prevent the same fate from being met all around the world. It all takes place on an Earth-like planet called Gaea, which cannot be seen from Earth. It was created by the legendary Atlanteans, who used the powers of their wills to create a perfect peace. But it was *too* perfect, for their own wills brought about destruction. The few that survived created a world, Gaea, and put the last remnants of their powers inside the planet, linking it to the lost world of Atlantis. The descendants of the Atlanteans are looked upon as cursed.

The other side is lead by, amazingly enough, Issac Newton. The story tells that Issac came to Gaea, searching for a way to explain 'destiny' or 'fate'. How can one can control fate? Like time, death, or gravity, destiny is a force which cannot be seen, and cannot be stopped. He became the leader of a war torn country known as Zaibach, and forever altered their history.

Step one. Now, step two, destroying in order to achieve peace. Isn't that all war is? I know it might annoy you to have me continually refer to the anime, but it's true, what the creators of Escaflowne were trying to say. People fight people, even those linked with a common goal. Human selfishness and greed overcome the desire for peace, and even if all of those emotions are rooted in the need to protect those you love, it's still not justified.

Issac Newton asked the heroine of the story: do the people wish for war? Is it so inevitable, that the destruction cannot simply be a cornerstone for peace, but a beginning of the same destruction that brought havok to Atlantis? Is it IN mankind's fate to destroy itself?

Suicide, homicide, genocide. So many words having to do with death. Humanity desperately tries to make up for its sins by inventing community service, therapy, and psychologists. But within us all is a deep need or desire, and that good and pure emotion, whatever it may be, can be the start of emotions that will lead the entire world into chaos.

You know how it is said that one person cannot make a difference? Take a lot of "one persons" and then you have a lot of people, who do make a difference when it comes to safety and protection.

How many people can claim that they are truly proud of something? Not anything material or physical, but proud of something existent nonetheless? Like of their heritage, their culture? Their family, their nation, their community? Their school, their beliefs or faith? The list can go on and on, but everyone knows that within each person, resides at least ONE of the Seven Deadly Sins. Hah. Doubt should be on that list. Each person doubts that everything around them is stable and solid, and will last forever, because we know-- whether from experience or from what we've heard-- that it isn't. Nothing is forever. We "reassure" ourselves that isn't just US that will end, but the whole world, the whole universe. Yes, one day, the universe will explode, the sun will lose its energy. It's all very depressing.

War is a colorful paint that strokes its way across every culture. It makes up the people, their emotions and pride, the tiniest things they never think about. Society depends on such a horrible thing, no matter who it is with.

But the long run is, no one truly wins with war. People die. It is inevitable. When is the question.

ADDENDUM: Present Tense Note: This was a separate entry, added on the same date (this one) on my FOD. I combined them since they're on the same topic and this addendum is short, anyway)

I'd like to add that several people who also wrote about this week's theme mentioned that war cannot exist unless people learn to control anger, aggression, and other similar "fuels to the fire". Why is humanity so unique? Why does it seem so incredible that *we* exist on this planet, it in the middle of a vastness that is impossible to explore?

Even if you go on to ask, "Are there others out there?" you still have to remember, even if there are, no matter what they are like, we are unique individuals simply because of the fact that we are not collective thinkers.

Anyone here a Trekkie? The Borg are a "race" of people who think collectively. There is no war. They desire perfection, but no one is individual. There is no aggression, or love, or any emotion at all, because everyone thinks together. All thoughts are one. Everyone is assimilated. Without individuality, yes, maybe we'd have peace, but then, we'd still have a desire for something, a need. And that would be the spark that could start the bonfire once more.

War. Is. Inevitable. That is why we are here. Life is a cycle, a circle of life... whatever you call it. Higher power or no, we at least can see that.