spent some time this morning reading the paper and listening to the talking heads go on about Iraq and Osama bin Laudin and oil and bombing and war. Then I got tired of that box making noise and turned on a different one. 40+ cds on full random and what comes on? Good ol' Joni...

"Sittin' in a park in Paris, France (or on a couch in Temecula)
Readin' the news. It sure looks bad.
They won't give peace a chance.
That was just a dream some of us had."

---Joni Mitchell---

Yeah. Without having a damn thing to back it up aside from gut feeling I feel deep down inside that war is wrong. Hate is wrong. Killing is wrong. There is no if, no but, no "justifiable reason". It is wrong. That is a hard thing to accept. Even I find myself thinking of self defense and "what if"s and several situations in which I would use violence to protect myself. But none of that changes my fundamental belief that it is wrong. It just proves that I have a long freakin' way to go. Feeling philosophical and looking for something to add to my father's birthday card I found these words...

"ch 17 He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.
ch 31 Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not a wise man's tools. He uses them only when he has no choice. Peace and quiet are dear to his heart, and victory no cause for rejoicing. If you rejoice in victory, then you delight in killing; if you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.
ch 52 Yielding to force is strength. Using the outer light, return to insight, And in this way be saved from harm.
ch 66 Because he does not compete, He does not meet competition.
ch 67 From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generocity; from humility comes leadership. Nowadays men shun mercy, but try to be brave; they abandon economy, but try to be generous; they do not believe in humility, but always try to be first.
ch 72 When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.
ch 73 A brave and passionate man will kill or be killed. A brave and calm man will always preserve life.
ch 78 The truth often sounds paradoxical."

---the Tao Te Ching---