A Really Bad Analogy
Periodically, I get weird flashes in my head. Since they don’t incite me to perform anti-social behavior, I generally ignore them. This morning, though, a flash got me thinking…
Our local NPR station is having its fund drive, so this morning I was checking out different radio stations. I paused at an interview with Carl Levin (D-Michigan); he was on the syndicated Bill Press Show talking about the bipartisan resolution against troop increase in Iraq. During the discussion, he mentioned that instead of more troops, they were hoping to enact diplomatic measures in Iraq. I found myself asking, “At this point, will talks even work? Or will they need to keep pounding on the insurgents until they surrender or die?”
FLASH!
Immediately, an image formed in my head. You’ve seen this in lots of movies (OK, maybe you don’t these kind of movies, so you’ll have to take my word on it). Someone has just perpetrated a spontaneous heinous act (usually murder), and now reality is sinking in. What did I do? How could I have done that? How will I get away with it? Panic and desperation set in, and soon that one act leads to others; killing witnesses, bystanders, anyone who stands between the criminal and freedom. There’s no plan; there seems to be an irrational thought that “if I can remove any link to the crime I can make it all go away.” Of course, the offender is caught and thus faces a host of sins instead of just the original one.
So why did that picture pop into my head? Does this scenario parallel the war in Iraq? Having made a mistake originally by attacking Iraq (debatable, I know), will a troop increase just compound errors in judgment? Can the chaos in Iraq be fixed with further violence?
I’m asking a real question here, and no one can know the answer yet. Perhaps diplomacy can’t work at this stage; without trying it, we won’t know. But one thing is certain: we’ll never be able to “make it all go away…”
Be brave. Be human.
Susan
