Not to give you the impression that I want to discuss anything of importance here, but what the hell is going on in the Whitehouse? And why on earth is it happening? How did we get ourselves into such a mess?

I pulled my little ostrich brain out of the comfy cozy hole in the sand I usually occupy to find that still more people are saying that there IS NO PROOF that Iraq is collecting weapons of mass destruction. Bush's justification for this little war is BOGUS. Here we are piling up troops and weapons and hatred on the borders of Iraq and our "reason" isn't even being backed by the ones who were sent over there specifically to back us. It is rediculous. It's disgusting. It's really, really sad.

Some thoughts on the subject (in no particular order and with no guarantee of coherence):

1. Bush is a fool. He is someone's puppet. I don't have the political knowledge or interest to be able to say who is pulling his strings, but as far as I am concerned he has the wit and ability of a bowl of Jello. This, in conjunction with the power we have heaped on him (and by default the people behind the curtains), makes him one of the most dangerous men in the world.

2. I love my country. I love it's mountains and it's oceans and it's trees. I love a great many of the individuals that I have met here. I love the pines and the palms and the cactus and the oak. I love the coyote, the black bear, the blue jays, the otters. I enjoy being part of a country in which I can be a woman, a homeowner, and a voter all at the same time. I enjoy being able to expose myself to so many other cultures without leaving the borders of my own state.

3. That being said...I am intensely disappointed in the United States. We have taken our freedoms, our strength, our power, and instead of using these things wisely we have squandered and abused them like surly teenagers. Which is exactly what we look like to the rest of the world. As a country - as a political being - we think we know it all and when others try to express a differing opinion we stick our collective fingers in our collective ears and sing "La la la...I can't hear you...la la la!!!" No wonder everyone hates us.

4. I DON'T think that we "deserve" what happened on Sept. 11th or at any other time that violence has occured within our borders. I DO think that if we showed any kind of compassion and understanding towards the world we wouldn't be in this situation. And I don't mean sending more "aid money". I mean each individual taking a good, long, hard look at the lives we are living and how said lives are affecting everyone else. EVERYONE ELSE.

5. I am spiritually opposed to this, and all, wars and I would leave the country before I would pick up a weapon. This is not because I am a coward or a communist. This is because there is NOTHING in the world that can justify killing in my mind and I will not allow my government to force me to cross that line. For the moment this is a moot point, being that women aren't included in the draft, but I know that would quickly change if push came to shove. I am fully prepared to give up everything I have to avoid being responsible for the death of another human being.

6. Just because one person (or one country) does something bad/wrong/evil doesn't mean that it is okay for another person (or country) to commit the same crime in retaliation. I tell my students this all the time when they are getting in trouble for hitting someone BACK. It's not okay to hit. EVER.

Anyway...just some poorly organized, overly emotional thoughts from this peace-monger. I will now return my head to the sand and pretend this isn't happening. Bleh.