Tuesday, October 05, 2004

what's your sign?

Recently there have been questions regarding the writing of this blog. For whom do I write? Is it for myself or is it for my audience? I must say that truly I write for both. The opinions I express are mine and mine alone yet somehow I think that they may have some sort of an effect upon the greater world. So in that respect I write for the audience. Perhaps the only effect that this blog will have is that someone reads it and says: "This guy is nuts." If that is the case then I have diluted my insanity by a factor of one. I don't think that this particular blog is powerful enough to change the world but I can hope that it gives the reader the chance to scratch his or her head and say "hmmm."

On a very personal note, my return to roller hockey was Sunday. The knee has healed enough so that I can skate on it, yet my confidence level is quite low. I'll be participating in my Sunday morning league but not the Friday evening league for the next few weeks. I do want to push the envelope a bit, but I don't want to push so hard that the knee doesn't heal fully. Oh yeah, we won the game, which was a playoff game. I had the ugliest goal ever: a shot from the slot the goalie gave up a rebound, the rebound was shot into the goalies pad, the second rebound came out to me and was shoved in 5-hole. Watch out Robitaille: I'm looking for your job next! (non-hockey fans won't understand this, so don't even try.)

As you know there were debates last week of the presidential variety. In my opinion both candidates lost. Kerry looked good and used alot of important sounding words but failed to utter a single complete sentence nor did he say anything of any substance.. Bush said "uh" too many times and seemed more amused at Kerry's ideas than even I was.

Listening to Kerry made me think back to 1976 and listening to a certain peanut farmer from Georgia. Both of them want nothing more than to "talk" about the worlds problems. And talk they would, for talking is a way of seeming busy, seeming active, when one is vacillating from one extreme to the next. If my clothes are dirty do I "talk" about getting them clean? Do I consult with the soap to see if it is prepared to work in conjunction with the washing machine and the water? No, I put the clothes into the washer, add soap, close the door and flip the switch. Action accomplishes deeds. Talk does two things: first it gives absolution and second it prevents action from being taken. Action, whether wrong or right is more meaningful in the long run. If you don't believe me, I'm sure I can find 52 former hostages that would agree with me. (and don't get me started on the "it's on... it's off ... it's on again" rescue effort of 1980.

America is not in a "crisis of confidence" anymore, I'm not sure that we ever were. We were mired in the aftermath of a terrible war in which afterward we left many servicemen behind, and the ones we brought home were scarred both by their experiences in Vietnam and the reception that they got when they returned to their beloved country. Part of the responsibility for that reception lies squarely upon the shoulders of John Kerry. He sold out his "band of brotheres." I will never be able to look him in the eye with anything more than contempt.

Bush, it seems didn't even complete his required National Guard service. Not that I'm amazed by this, in fact I think it's par for the course. Politicians have come past the point where military service is a requirement. They and their families believe that they are above putting themselves into harm's way. So be it. Cowards one and all. Bush's agenda is still far from being complete. He went into Afghanistan and Iraq conducting military operations in which lives were lost. Thankfully more of them than of us. That still doesn't have much bearing on the fact that he had NO PLAN for success. The words that he and Rumsfeld and Cheney are saying make very little difference: The US precipitated and conducted a civil war in Iraq. People question why the oilfields are being protected by the US military operations. There's a simple answer to this (not that Bush could remember it:) Oil is one of Iraq's natural resources, if the oilfields are destroyed then Iraq's chances of surviving as a self-sustaining country are virtually nil. There are only two countries that purchase Iraqi oil in any large volume: France and Russia. Now tell me why France wouldn't sign on to help the US oust Hussein?

I don't have the answers to any of these dilemmas, but I'm quite sure that "talking" about the problems won't make them go away. I'm sure that not having clear cut plans of action won't make them go away. I'm sure that neither of the major candidates will make these problems go away.

The world is more complex than we want to think it is. War is more horrible than we need to watch. Man's inhumanity to man knows no boundaries. There are no simple, clear-cut choices that will keep everyone happy.


On another note for all you conspiracy theorists out there: I viewed a "History Channel" program Sunday evening that discussed TWA Flight 800's "crash" into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey. And to those that say that Bush ignored terrorist threats... That "crash" happened on your beloved Clinton's watch. And nothing ever came out of it. Sad really.

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