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Aug. 4th, 2004
I hate to sound like a jerk, but...
Aug. 4th, 2004 05:54 pm...here I go anyway.
I came across this: http://www.notinourname.net/war/baghdad-ad-7jul04.htm
Basically, a bunch of folks got together and bought an ad in an Iraqi newspaper apologizing for invading their country, and saying that not all of us Americans agree with what our government is doing.
I guess that's good for making you feel all warm and fuzzy that you've apologized, but really... what good does this do?
I understand the intent, but part of me feels like it's so incredibly shallow. I feel guilty for what my country has done, so I'm going to apologize, even though that apology doesn't actually accomplish much of anything. If it were me, and we'd been invaded, and I didn't have running water or electricity and I couldn't leave the house for fear of being shot by soldiers or insurgents or god-knows-who, I think I'd be a little put out by some group of peaceniks from the opposition saying, "Oh, so sorry for the trouble!" And based on the man-on-the-street interviews they did to get reactions from locals about the ad buy, I'd say I'm probably not too far off from the truth.
Am I being too hard on these people? Probably. But I've always been one to favor action over words. If your conscience is bugging you that much, there are plenty of relief organizations out there that could use money and labor... not to mention folks who are collecting toys and other items to send to Iraq to make the lives of the people there a bit more bearable. At least that's DOING something concrete, that might actually HELP someone over there. And then, we need to vote... and hope that some changes in the leadership here will eventually translate into an improvement in conditions over there.
I came across this: http://www.notinourname.net/war/baghdad-ad-7jul04.htm
Basically, a bunch of folks got together and bought an ad in an Iraqi newspaper apologizing for invading their country, and saying that not all of us Americans agree with what our government is doing.
I guess that's good for making you feel all warm and fuzzy that you've apologized, but really... what good does this do?
I understand the intent, but part of me feels like it's so incredibly shallow. I feel guilty for what my country has done, so I'm going to apologize, even though that apology doesn't actually accomplish much of anything. If it were me, and we'd been invaded, and I didn't have running water or electricity and I couldn't leave the house for fear of being shot by soldiers or insurgents or god-knows-who, I think I'd be a little put out by some group of peaceniks from the opposition saying, "Oh, so sorry for the trouble!" And based on the man-on-the-street interviews they did to get reactions from locals about the ad buy, I'd say I'm probably not too far off from the truth.
Am I being too hard on these people? Probably. But I've always been one to favor action over words. If your conscience is bugging you that much, there are plenty of relief organizations out there that could use money and labor... not to mention folks who are collecting toys and other items to send to Iraq to make the lives of the people there a bit more bearable. At least that's DOING something concrete, that might actually HELP someone over there. And then, we need to vote... and hope that some changes in the leadership here will eventually translate into an improvement in conditions over there.
