the rix mix

"Would the war in Iraq have been worth a single life, it that single life were mine?

"Ask yourself this question. Answer it, honestly. Just to yourself. Silently.

"Before anyone supports war for others, against others, one should ask one's self this question. To measure for one's self the real value of conviction, one must know not whether one is prepared to sacrifice another's life, but whether one is prepared to sacrifice one's own. For if nothing else is equal in this world, life, the one previous, irreplaceable - if temporary - window unto its all and everything, is. Certainly one can draw no morally defensible distinction between the value of one life against that of the next. With respect to the simple all-valuable possession of life itself, if in nothing else, the Muslim, the Christian, the woman, the man, the soldier, the civilian, the president, and the peasant are equal."

Randall Robinson, Quitting America: The Departure of a Black Man from his Native Land.

During Vietnam, most draft age males were forced to declare that worth, because if we didn't, the decision was made for us. George W. Bush & Dick Cheney made the same choice I did - that the war was not worth our lives. I considered it reprehensible at the time to support the war while avoiding military service, considering that thousands of Americans were dying not because they were enthusiastic about saving South Vietnam from the commies but because they believed it was their duty to obey their government & serve their country right or wrong, which included submitting to Selective Service.

& we can now add sustainable ceasefire to the list of Bush's nonsensical & deceptive phraseology. Condi Rice says durable ceasefire, I'm not sure if there's a difference. She probably understands her meanings better than her boss. I would suggest this to the Israelis & Hezbollah: "Let's not kill anyone today." First the ceasefire. Then work on making it sustainable &/or durable.

Labels: Iraq