2:28 am - Sun 1/12/03
Iraq Attack

For a time, after the shock and horror of 9/11 subsided, I thought "Well, it was a sad, horrible thing, but it doesn't really change my day-to-day existence...".

But I was wrong.

I realized recently that now, every time I turn on the tv or fire up the computer, I'm afraid there's going to be breaking news about some horrific terrorist violence.

Then I see there's nothing but the usual litany of pain and sorrow, and I go about my day...until the next time I turn on the tv, or fire up the computer, or read the newspaper headlines.

While I continue to be confused and uncertain about our "War On Terrorism", I've felt myself recently leaning more towards pacifism than I was previously. I'm not sure what's changed for me, exactly, but there it is.

I guess what I'm feeling is that no one's given me satisfactory answers to questions like "Where does it stop?", and "Why now?" and "Is this what you say it's about, or is this just another roundabout effort to protect our low gas prices?" (I'm no kind of environmentalist, but even I'm starting to get frustrated with our goverment's refusal to explore alternative sources of energy; Forget about saving the planet's resources, it just seems to make sense from the standpoint of American independence)

But by the same token, I haven't heard the anti-war people saying what their big plan is either. If you're not going to war, and an embargo is inhumane, and the guy is impervious to world opinion, how do you make him behave?

I'd like to believe holding hands, and wishing upon a star, and chanting a buddhist mantra would make a big difference...but I really don't think it will.

Ugh...This is why I don't write about politics more often in here!

Well, it's late, and I'm more tired than I realized, so I'm going to call it a night, and do my usual Jim-centric entry later today...

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