On the 12th of June, a fire was started in the southern most reaches of the Coronado Forest. From the way the fire has spread, it is currently being investigated as an arson set against one of our National Monuments with intent to obfuscate smugglers or border jumpers invading our country.
Having seen what I have seen and done what I have done over the past 24 years, I can do little but see this as an act of terrorism against my country, my county, my beloved mountains, my community, my friends and my home.
Since the 12th, the beast has raged across the southern boundary of the place I now call home. A monument on top of a mountain I love to scale because of its magnificent southern exposure to the Montezuma Pass is now covered in ashes and soot. Friends are now homeless refugees evacuated from the smoke and flame. They sit awaiting news on if their houses still stand and are safe to inhabit again.
Since the 15th, the beast has more than doubled its carnage, spreading from just under 8000 acres to now, on the 17th of June, over 18,000 acres. 7000 acres were consumed between 8pm last night and 9am this morning. This beast will not be tamed easily.
I have done some to assist those I could. I feel retrained and limited in what I can do at this time. If you have ever faced such devastation first hand, the words "awesome" and "awful" seem to intermingle in meaning at the pure power the elements bring to bare. Wind and Flame consume the Earth, water is doing little to suppress. While Japan reeled from water's forces, here we sit besieged by water's mirror twin. On the east coast, I read of people hoping flooding doesn't increase from storms. Here, we wish for those storms.
Mark my words, should I find those who started this fire within my sights, I will roast them slowly on a spit and feed them to the four-legged coyotes who wander the valley out my north-facing windows. There can be no doubt, if they did this intentionally or as part of a criminal act such as invading my country, they have committed an act of terrorism.
Just as when terrorists struck our country in 2001, I have stood vigil and ready for action. Just like when in 2003 we went to war against one of the countries found to have supported those terrorists, I stand ready to charge into the fray. As we carried one refugee back towards his home to assist getting the rest of his family to safety, I looked up and saw the blackest of clouds.
The black cloud and the dust painted orange from the flames reminded me of the push from the Karbala Gap towards Baghdad. A huge sandstorm blew in. Many structures and military vehicles burned black across the horizon. We dubbed those the "three days of eternal night", as we could only tell the time of day from a watch. It was the war and devastation from Iraq in 2003 that I saw when I looked south at that smoke and blowing dust that marked the stampede of the beast. The beast has a name. "The Arizona Monument Fire". It has an equally angry twin in the Chiricahua Mountains to the East of Tombstone, named "The Second Horseshoe Canyon Fire". A third that burned a short time near Patagonia Arizona last month is another part of this plague. Terrorists and criminals from Mexico most likely released all three of these beasts from their cage in order to divert attention away from their invasion and to induce fear among the innocent and hard working citizens of Arizona.
The Red Cross is running short of funds and supplies. They could use some volunteers. Contact them and see what you can do to help.
I am running a bit of a fundraiser tomorrow to help raise some funds. If you like to or are interested in trying your hand at some live-action role-play, come to Pyramid Comics in Sierra Vista.
Sunday I will be back out there, doing with my hands, head, and heart what I can.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Socialism Attacking Our Military as Atlas Feels a Cramp in His Traps.
In the past few days several articles have hit the news and other publication covering the topic. Now, it isn't big enough news for Fox, CNN, MSNBC, etc. to carry in headlines. I guess that taking steps against long-fought strides towards warranted equity in compensation for services rendered by those who support and defend the US Constitution just isn't a big enough news story compared to the sensationalism of a single murder trial. But several "trade" publications for professional Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air-matresses find it front page news. Military.com just released an article. Army Times came out last Tuesday with an article detailing the proposals for cuts in pay, pension, and benefits for both active and retirees. So, some quick searches and research will get backing information.
I have served 24 years now. I am retiring from military service, finally. I will say that I have earned my pension and benefits. I know of private sector companies who provide compensations and benefits for retirement after only ten years with the company. The same goes with Police and Fire workers. Well, I have done 24, more than twice that time. During the past 12, I have paid into a federal employee pension fund similar to a 401k, as well. To threaten to cut my military pension AND my "401k" ROI Is ludacris. I am not looking for some entitlement just for breathing. I did the work. I earned this. I am OWED this.
Also, during my 24 years, I have witnessed several veterans lobbying groups fight for military pay to have a closer equity to private sector jobs. When I came active, minimum wage was $3.35 an hour. The dude who sat in a chair and watched to see if a red light blinked on an assembly line in an automotive plant made $17.00 an hour. A highly trained soldier at the rank of Specialist (E-4) with 3 years of experience beyond basic training made a salary of $1300 a month. That job entailed working through 2 weekends every month, being in the field, getting 4 hours of sleep a night. That sleep usually was interrupted with 1-2 hours of guard duty in the middle of it, meaning it was not consecutive hours. This was "peace time". This did not include deployed soldiers. This was just "training", or maintaining a state of readiness to have to do the job. Some jobs in the military involved actually doing the job for real world missions even during peace time. Jobs like intelligence who actively search for any threats to our national security, or medics who tend to the sick the best they can. EMTs who are expected to practice medicine at the levels of a medical school graduate just starting his internship. Work hours when not in the field were 12-14 hour days. When in the field, they are 20 hour days, for 15 days straight. If you add up the hours worked in an average month, you get about 400. If paid minimum wage, considering overtime pay, the soldier would have made almost $1800 a month. And that is at minimum wage, what is paid to unskilled laborer just starting at McDonald's. After 3 months, the McDonald's worker gets a raise. The E-4 pay is after 3 promotions plus a longevity raise. I have seen lobbyists push laws to correct this trend.
We used to have SGTs, who are lower management equivilants in private sector jobs, perhaps equal to a foreman at a factory, qualifying to FOOD STAMPS! And I am not talking about your 20 year old E3 who married the first girl to kiss him in HS and escaped from the trailer park. I am talking about your 6-8 year longevity professional in his mid to late 20s with a wife of 2 years and a single, six month old child. Steps were made to rectify that.
The medical system, stateside, made the horrors depicted in movies about the lack of medical care at post-Vietnam VA Clinics look efficient. It was a purely socialist style system where only those who could prove sufficient need were treated. I know of guys who walked on broken legs for six months to a year before finally getting an X-ray or MRI. Instead of a cast for a few weeks, they end up having surgery, on cruches for months after, and discharged from the military for no longer being fit for duty due to the injury. The military got smart and went to a hybrid system that is partially private sector. The government bought into health insurance benefits for the serving soldiers coupled with an option to PURCHASE the same or slightly better care for family members. Over the years, the military has taken steps to improve its internal system by workign with the private sector industry. Soldiers no longer have to take bus and train rides across several states to see the one military surgeon capable of putting a couple of screws into a shattered patellar plane at the top of the tibia. With the private sector hybrid system, he could now, finally, go to the nearest hospital and have a local specialist do the same operation. This saved travel costs, healing time, etc. It also enabled soldiers to be treated in a timely fashion, and remain in service after healing. The military has changed insurance companies and plans a few times and finally has something that almost comes close to what you can get with a Humanna plan.
Huge steps have been taken over the past 24 years, and rightly so. But many socialists, also known as "progressives", also known as "liberals" want to take earned pay and benefits away. Suggestions to do so have been made since mid-2008. These champions of the lazy, the illegal, the illiterate, and the immoral compare the pay and benefits earned by a Soldier to the so-called entitlements paid out to unemployed drug addicts that trade their bodies for poison and pop out infants born addicted to the same drugs. With the rise in unemployment, they equate militay pay and benefits to unemployment insurance payouts. They see the WORKING Soldiers as equal to or less than those without jobs either by choice or poor economic conditions. I understand that good people are out of work. But if they are not working, currently, they are not earning. How can you compare somebody who IS employed and is bound by federal laws and a legal contract to provide the services they are providing to those who are not? But the "progressives" see the earnings of Soldiers as the same as "entitlements" handed out to those who are not.
Go to your local Police or Fire union and tell them that your local government is cutting their pay because the unemployed, crack-smoking parolee that passes out and sets fires in their drug-induced withdrawl stupor is "entitled" to more than they are. Go to your local public school and tell the faculty that all of their paychecks will be cut by 25%, and that they will pay double their health insurance premiums (or in some states, actually have to pay their own health care premiums, in part) so that the school can provide gormet lunches to the anchor-babies and illegal immigrants in their classes.
Now the new SECDEF is planning to cut those benefits, or force the soldier to pay more for the benefits. I say "pay more" because the benefits for family members are NOT included in miltary paychecks. Well, now they want to make even the Soldiers' policy no longer part of the paycheck. By the proposal, it would mean that soldiers would have to pay for medical treatment, even in combat. The proposal includes soldiers having to make co-pays for all medications issued. It also includes a proposal for Soldiers injured in combat to pay a deductible for care recieved while serving. The new SECDEF has also supported freezing annual cost of living raises (usually about 2% a year). Then he PROPOSED possibly cutting military salaries.
And one thing for everybody to think about. Go READ Article One of the US Constitution. It EXPLICITY states that congress will enact laws to extract revenues from the citizens and use it for very EXPLICITY stated functions. Among these things they must budget revenues to maintain are the military and national defense. NOWHERE are they given the authority to collect taxes and levies to give "entitlements" to the unemployed, crack-whore parolee. So, somebody needs to explain to them, and to those of us literite enough to read the 26 page long document known as the US Constitution where they get off taking what is earned by those who WORK HARD and put life and limb on the line to protect this great nation in order to not have to cut the unconstitutional pay-outs to the unearning and undeserving.
I have served 24 years now. I am retiring from military service, finally. I will say that I have earned my pension and benefits. I know of private sector companies who provide compensations and benefits for retirement after only ten years with the company. The same goes with Police and Fire workers. Well, I have done 24, more than twice that time. During the past 12, I have paid into a federal employee pension fund similar to a 401k, as well. To threaten to cut my military pension AND my "401k" ROI Is ludacris. I am not looking for some entitlement just for breathing. I did the work. I earned this. I am OWED this.
Also, during my 24 years, I have witnessed several veterans lobbying groups fight for military pay to have a closer equity to private sector jobs. When I came active, minimum wage was $3.35 an hour. The dude who sat in a chair and watched to see if a red light blinked on an assembly line in an automotive plant made $17.00 an hour. A highly trained soldier at the rank of Specialist (E-4) with 3 years of experience beyond basic training made a salary of $1300 a month. That job entailed working through 2 weekends every month, being in the field, getting 4 hours of sleep a night. That sleep usually was interrupted with 1-2 hours of guard duty in the middle of it, meaning it was not consecutive hours. This was "peace time". This did not include deployed soldiers. This was just "training", or maintaining a state of readiness to have to do the job. Some jobs in the military involved actually doing the job for real world missions even during peace time. Jobs like intelligence who actively search for any threats to our national security, or medics who tend to the sick the best they can. EMTs who are expected to practice medicine at the levels of a medical school graduate just starting his internship. Work hours when not in the field were 12-14 hour days. When in the field, they are 20 hour days, for 15 days straight. If you add up the hours worked in an average month, you get about 400. If paid minimum wage, considering overtime pay, the soldier would have made almost $1800 a month. And that is at minimum wage, what is paid to unskilled laborer just starting at McDonald's. After 3 months, the McDonald's worker gets a raise. The E-4 pay is after 3 promotions plus a longevity raise. I have seen lobbyists push laws to correct this trend.
We used to have SGTs, who are lower management equivilants in private sector jobs, perhaps equal to a foreman at a factory, qualifying to FOOD STAMPS! And I am not talking about your 20 year old E3 who married the first girl to kiss him in HS and escaped from the trailer park. I am talking about your 6-8 year longevity professional in his mid to late 20s with a wife of 2 years and a single, six month old child. Steps were made to rectify that.
The medical system, stateside, made the horrors depicted in movies about the lack of medical care at post-Vietnam VA Clinics look efficient. It was a purely socialist style system where only those who could prove sufficient need were treated. I know of guys who walked on broken legs for six months to a year before finally getting an X-ray or MRI. Instead of a cast for a few weeks, they end up having surgery, on cruches for months after, and discharged from the military for no longer being fit for duty due to the injury. The military got smart and went to a hybrid system that is partially private sector. The government bought into health insurance benefits for the serving soldiers coupled with an option to PURCHASE the same or slightly better care for family members. Over the years, the military has taken steps to improve its internal system by workign with the private sector industry. Soldiers no longer have to take bus and train rides across several states to see the one military surgeon capable of putting a couple of screws into a shattered patellar plane at the top of the tibia. With the private sector hybrid system, he could now, finally, go to the nearest hospital and have a local specialist do the same operation. This saved travel costs, healing time, etc. It also enabled soldiers to be treated in a timely fashion, and remain in service after healing. The military has changed insurance companies and plans a few times and finally has something that almost comes close to what you can get with a Humanna plan.
Huge steps have been taken over the past 24 years, and rightly so. But many socialists, also known as "progressives", also known as "liberals" want to take earned pay and benefits away. Suggestions to do so have been made since mid-2008. These champions of the lazy, the illegal, the illiterate, and the immoral compare the pay and benefits earned by a Soldier to the so-called entitlements paid out to unemployed drug addicts that trade their bodies for poison and pop out infants born addicted to the same drugs. With the rise in unemployment, they equate militay pay and benefits to unemployment insurance payouts. They see the WORKING Soldiers as equal to or less than those without jobs either by choice or poor economic conditions. I understand that good people are out of work. But if they are not working, currently, they are not earning. How can you compare somebody who IS employed and is bound by federal laws and a legal contract to provide the services they are providing to those who are not? But the "progressives" see the earnings of Soldiers as the same as "entitlements" handed out to those who are not.
Go to your local Police or Fire union and tell them that your local government is cutting their pay because the unemployed, crack-smoking parolee that passes out and sets fires in their drug-induced withdrawl stupor is "entitled" to more than they are. Go to your local public school and tell the faculty that all of their paychecks will be cut by 25%, and that they will pay double their health insurance premiums (or in some states, actually have to pay their own health care premiums, in part) so that the school can provide gormet lunches to the anchor-babies and illegal immigrants in their classes.
Now the new SECDEF is planning to cut those benefits, or force the soldier to pay more for the benefits. I say "pay more" because the benefits for family members are NOT included in miltary paychecks. Well, now they want to make even the Soldiers' policy no longer part of the paycheck. By the proposal, it would mean that soldiers would have to pay for medical treatment, even in combat. The proposal includes soldiers having to make co-pays for all medications issued. It also includes a proposal for Soldiers injured in combat to pay a deductible for care recieved while serving. The new SECDEF has also supported freezing annual cost of living raises (usually about 2% a year). Then he PROPOSED possibly cutting military salaries.
And one thing for everybody to think about. Go READ Article One of the US Constitution. It EXPLICITY states that congress will enact laws to extract revenues from the citizens and use it for very EXPLICITY stated functions. Among these things they must budget revenues to maintain are the military and national defense. NOWHERE are they given the authority to collect taxes and levies to give "entitlements" to the unemployed, crack-whore parolee. So, somebody needs to explain to them, and to those of us literite enough to read the 26 page long document known as the US Constitution where they get off taking what is earned by those who WORK HARD and put life and limb on the line to protect this great nation in order to not have to cut the unconstitutional pay-outs to the unearning and undeserving.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Schuyler B. Haynes
So many fond memories. The order of them has muddled over the years.
We discussed the deep philosophical topics such as Marvel versus DC comics and their universes. In the end, we both agreed that Batman and Wolverine kicked butt and should team up.
When he found I had an interest in Rugby, he let me know he had just finished a tour on the Fort Lewis team that had won the all-Army competition. So, he taught me how to play.
He always picked his feet up as he walked, like he was marching in as part of the Old Guard at Arlington.
In Panama, he was there to commiserate the seemingly childish pranks the other guys played on each other to blow off steam. Then he calmed me down after I had to rescue the same refugee from killing himself for the third time in a week.
When Matt and I "gothed-up" to hit the underground sub-culture clubs in Seattle, he made the small-minded Soldiers think twice about their pre-judgments. Then again, Matt is huge guy. We almost got Schuyler to go with us once. Instead, we all ended up at Cheers West drinking Guinness, except for Matt, who didn't drink. That worked out as Matt served as the perfect DD. Matt and I did get Schuyler to go with us to another hidden haunt called "The Owl and Thistle". Schuyler loved the place with it's Scottish theme decked out in Rugby memorabilia. It became a Saturday afternoon routine.
When Schuyler moved to Alaska, I was the only one in the unit he kept in contact with. We sent postcards back and forth for years until in 1998 I ended up back in Germany. We lost contact somehow. I think the digital age had caught up with us and we never got the chance to exchange email addresses.
After our tour to Panama, I had come to a decision to re-enlist in the Army for another hitch. I decided to give MI a try. I made a stink that I would do those 3 years and be done, head off to law school. He chuckled and said "Nah, you're gonna love MI and fit in with those geeks. You'll be a lifer".
That theme seemed to wiggle its way into our discussions for years, even in those postcards. On the day of my re-up, he was the re-enlistment NCO for the company. When he walked up to give me the handshake and traditional shot in the arm for being a jackass and signing those papers the subject came up for debate for the final time. "Tell you what, Lifer, I have a bet for you. Whichever of us gets out last will buy the one who gets out first a scotch after he retires".
"Bet," I responded, "I'll meet you here in Seattle to collect".
"And don't try to go all Jew-boy on me and buy cheap, blended swill either".
Our letters and postcards always contained the post-script "who's buying that scotch?"
On November 15th 2006, the fucker beat me out of the service. He and his crew were killed by an IED in Baqubah, Iraq. It wasn't until May 2007 that I learned of his death through reading the Doonesbury tribute to the OIF KIA. I didn't believe it. I looked everywhere to see if it was some other SFC Schuyler Haynes. When I saw the picture on his obituary and tribute, there was no more doubt.
http://militarytimes.com/valor/army-sgt-1st-class-schuyler-b-haynes/2384318/
I will spend my last day in uniform on 10 June 2011. I will officially retire on 1 August 2011 after 24 years doing the job we both loved for the country we both loved more.
I owe him that scotch. I'd rather he be here to collect it.
Keep Up the Fire, Fucker.
We discussed the deep philosophical topics such as Marvel versus DC comics and their universes. In the end, we both agreed that Batman and Wolverine kicked butt and should team up.
When he found I had an interest in Rugby, he let me know he had just finished a tour on the Fort Lewis team that had won the all-Army competition. So, he taught me how to play.
He always picked his feet up as he walked, like he was marching in as part of the Old Guard at Arlington.
In Panama, he was there to commiserate the seemingly childish pranks the other guys played on each other to blow off steam. Then he calmed me down after I had to rescue the same refugee from killing himself for the third time in a week.
When Matt and I "gothed-up" to hit the underground sub-culture clubs in Seattle, he made the small-minded Soldiers think twice about their pre-judgments. Then again, Matt is huge guy. We almost got Schuyler to go with us once. Instead, we all ended up at Cheers West drinking Guinness, except for Matt, who didn't drink. That worked out as Matt served as the perfect DD. Matt and I did get Schuyler to go with us to another hidden haunt called "The Owl and Thistle". Schuyler loved the place with it's Scottish theme decked out in Rugby memorabilia. It became a Saturday afternoon routine.
When Schuyler moved to Alaska, I was the only one in the unit he kept in contact with. We sent postcards back and forth for years until in 1998 I ended up back in Germany. We lost contact somehow. I think the digital age had caught up with us and we never got the chance to exchange email addresses.
After our tour to Panama, I had come to a decision to re-enlist in the Army for another hitch. I decided to give MI a try. I made a stink that I would do those 3 years and be done, head off to law school. He chuckled and said "Nah, you're gonna love MI and fit in with those geeks. You'll be a lifer".
That theme seemed to wiggle its way into our discussions for years, even in those postcards. On the day of my re-up, he was the re-enlistment NCO for the company. When he walked up to give me the handshake and traditional shot in the arm for being a jackass and signing those papers the subject came up for debate for the final time. "Tell you what, Lifer, I have a bet for you. Whichever of us gets out last will buy the one who gets out first a scotch after he retires".
"Bet," I responded, "I'll meet you here in Seattle to collect".
"And don't try to go all Jew-boy on me and buy cheap, blended swill either".
Our letters and postcards always contained the post-script "who's buying that scotch?"
On November 15th 2006, the fucker beat me out of the service. He and his crew were killed by an IED in Baqubah, Iraq. It wasn't until May 2007 that I learned of his death through reading the Doonesbury tribute to the OIF KIA. I didn't believe it. I looked everywhere to see if it was some other SFC Schuyler Haynes. When I saw the picture on his obituary and tribute, there was no more doubt.
http://militarytimes.com/valor/army-sgt-1st-class-schuyler-b-haynes/2384318/
I will spend my last day in uniform on 10 June 2011. I will officially retire on 1 August 2011 after 24 years doing the job we both loved for the country we both loved more.
I owe him that scotch. I'd rather he be here to collect it.
Keep Up the Fire, Fucker.
Names of the Fallen, and WHY they should be honored
I am NOT a fan of his politics, but...
Gary Trudeau, author and creator of Doonesbury, has, several times, done a Sunday strip for Memorial Day listing those who did not make it home from Iraq.
Agree with his generally left-wing slant or not, agree with his purpose in posting these names as the "cost too high" or not; the comic in and of itself is a tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for our continuing freedom from tyranny, terrorism, and the oppression of a socialist regime.
I will get on my own political soapbox here for just a moment and give some facts for those who wonder "what is wrong with social programs". Socialism is evil. It allows for tyrannic dictators to gain power of the people by enslaving them to a dependency upon government directed programs. It shackles creativity and progress, redistributing the wealth of those industrious producers who don't bend their knees to that elitist few. It steals the earned rewards from those who create and gives it to the undeserving, lazy leeches who believe themselves entitled, just for breathing, to what somebody else has earned through achievement. Then those shackled entitlement junkies become enslaved to those programs, afraid to loose their free lunch by actually doing something to better themselves.
These are facts, not conjecture. The proof is in history in regimes like Adolph Hitler's Socialist regime, Stalin's Socialist regime, and the Ba'ath Party (a socialist party) of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Their policy is to convince or force you to bend your knee and take the handouts, giving all your efforts to the causes they dictate and not the ones chosen by your own morality. They take away your power to choose. They oppress, destroy, of kill any who express a vision of greater good through personal gain (capitalism). You not longer get to build for your own merits, just labor for theirs. Industry belongs to the state and all incentive to innovate is crushed. There will be no more great inventions like "smartphones" or iPads or the internet or Hybrid cars or good running shoes.
Would you build a house for your family if you knew the government was going to tell you to let eight strangers move in with you? Would you buy a car if you were told that, in doing so, you had to drive 4 drug addicts to their dealers' houses every day on your way to work? Probably not. So, why support the social programs that are the stepping stones to that? Say no to "welfare". Say "no" to nationalizing and socializing the health care industry. Say "yes" to human innovation and invention. That is what creates jobs and the spirit to achieve, succeed, provide, and LIVE.
Ok, now that I put you through my tirade, I will make my true point. Every name here died fighting against a socialist regime and tyrannic extremist terrorism to make the world a better place for our country to thrive with a reduced risk threat of these things oppressing and killing the people of our great nation. That is what these great patriots fought and died for -- for you to LIVE, thrive, produce, think, and enjoy the blessings of liberty. You owe each of them your eternal gratitude; unless, of course, you are one of those elitist left-wingers seeking to oppress the little people and force others to "give back" to the undeserving in order to enslave them.
Here are the Sunday Comics (it may be easier to go to the links at the bottom and zoom the view to read):
By the way, it was through this comic, the second set, last panel, 5th name; that I found out about the death of my friend Schuyler. What a shitty way to find out, huh?
http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2004/05/30
http://cdn.svcs.c2.uclick.com/c2/fe5ac2505e0c012ee3bf00163e41dd5b
http://cdn.svcs.c2.uclick.com/c2/3bbd89305e0e012ee3bf00163e41dd5b
Gary Trudeau, author and creator of Doonesbury, has, several times, done a Sunday strip for Memorial Day listing those who did not make it home from Iraq.
Agree with his generally left-wing slant or not, agree with his purpose in posting these names as the "cost too high" or not; the comic in and of itself is a tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for our continuing freedom from tyranny, terrorism, and the oppression of a socialist regime.
I will get on my own political soapbox here for just a moment and give some facts for those who wonder "what is wrong with social programs". Socialism is evil. It allows for tyrannic dictators to gain power of the people by enslaving them to a dependency upon government directed programs. It shackles creativity and progress, redistributing the wealth of those industrious producers who don't bend their knees to that elitist few. It steals the earned rewards from those who create and gives it to the undeserving, lazy leeches who believe themselves entitled, just for breathing, to what somebody else has earned through achievement. Then those shackled entitlement junkies become enslaved to those programs, afraid to loose their free lunch by actually doing something to better themselves.
These are facts, not conjecture. The proof is in history in regimes like Adolph Hitler's Socialist regime, Stalin's Socialist regime, and the Ba'ath Party (a socialist party) of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Their policy is to convince or force you to bend your knee and take the handouts, giving all your efforts to the causes they dictate and not the ones chosen by your own morality. They take away your power to choose. They oppress, destroy, of kill any who express a vision of greater good through personal gain (capitalism). You not longer get to build for your own merits, just labor for theirs. Industry belongs to the state and all incentive to innovate is crushed. There will be no more great inventions like "smartphones" or iPads or the internet or Hybrid cars or good running shoes.
Would you build a house for your family if you knew the government was going to tell you to let eight strangers move in with you? Would you buy a car if you were told that, in doing so, you had to drive 4 drug addicts to their dealers' houses every day on your way to work? Probably not. So, why support the social programs that are the stepping stones to that? Say no to "welfare". Say "no" to nationalizing and socializing the health care industry. Say "yes" to human innovation and invention. That is what creates jobs and the spirit to achieve, succeed, provide, and LIVE.
Ok, now that I put you through my tirade, I will make my true point. Every name here died fighting against a socialist regime and tyrannic extremist terrorism to make the world a better place for our country to thrive with a reduced risk threat of these things oppressing and killing the people of our great nation. That is what these great patriots fought and died for -- for you to LIVE, thrive, produce, think, and enjoy the blessings of liberty. You owe each of them your eternal gratitude; unless, of course, you are one of those elitist left-wingers seeking to oppress the little people and force others to "give back" to the undeserving in order to enslave them.
Here are the Sunday Comics (it may be easier to go to the links at the bottom and zoom the view to read):
By the way, it was through this comic, the second set, last panel, 5th name; that I found out about the death of my friend Schuyler. What a shitty way to find out, huh?
http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2004/05/30
http://cdn.svcs.c2.uclick.com/c2/fe5ac2505e0c012ee3bf00163e41dd5b
http://cdn.svcs.c2.uclick.com/c2/3bbd89305e0e012ee3bf00163e41dd5b
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Memories of Love and Faith
Once upon a time, Memorial Day weekend was, for me like many of you, a day off from work. The weekend was an excuse to see friends and hold a BBQ on Sunday that lasted to the wee hours of Monday. It was time to travel to see family. It was a break.
Since even my grade-school days, I have known the meaning behind the day. We would head to my grandparents' summer cottage and have a family gathering most years. It involved lots of food, some fishing, and the adults enjoying a few beers and some loud conversation. It usually also involved a lot of foul language directed at the Cubs game on the radio. So, despite knowledge of its meaning, it really didn't sink into my heart or mind.
Once in uniform, I caught a little bit more of the meaning. I participated in several Memorial events from helping clean and decorate graves to some form of religious service. But, I often attempted to avoid being selected for these details preferring, instead, to stay up late and sleep later.
In early February 2003, things changed. I deployed to Kuwait and then fought the ground war against Saddam Hussayn's Iraqi army. It was not my first deployment. It was not even the first deployment where I had to shoot or was shot at. But it turned out to be the one deployment that changed my perspective dramatically.
Just as we were preparing to fire our first deep-strike salvo of missiles at key targets in Iraq in order to set conditions for 3rd ID to cross the border, I heard an explosion on the horizon. It would be a few hours before I got the news. One of my best friends was killed by a grenade. The grenade was thrown into his tent while he slept. The attacker was a traitor in a US Army uniform. Chris Seifert lay dead, never to kiss his wife again. Chris Seifert lay dead, never to hold his newborn son. The School Age Services building on Fort Huachuca is dedicated to his memory.
Chris was not the last friend I was to lose over the years of conflict. We lost a good NCO from the Brigade I was attached to. He died saving the rest of his crew. An enemy anti-armor rocket struck an ammunition carrier vehicle. Red died attempting to put out the fire and evacuate the crew.
A young HUMINT collector, Yari Mokri, was blown to vapor by an IED in early 2007. His warm laugh and personality made quite and impression upon me and his platoon. One of my other close friends was in the same patrol. She never recovered, emotionally, from the loss. I don't think any of us have.
That same year, a young Captain I worked with had changed his duties from Battalion Targeting Officer to take over his BN's scout platoon. There were things going on that had some members of the platoon and other officers from that unit facing some potential charges. I cannot discuss what I know on the subject. I can say that I worked out with Derek and other members of that platoon. We practiced martial arts together and lifted weights together. On a mission I had recommended, their helicopter crashed. There are conflicting reports. the official report currently reads "due to unforeseen mechanical failure". Half of the remaining platoon died in that crash, including Derek. I got the news early in the morning. My chief and I trashed our office when we heard the news. We had just finished cleaning the mess 2 hours later when the rest of our team arrived. They thought we were joking when we gave the news.
That same year, one of my oldest friends was blown up by an IED while on patrol near Baqubah, Iraq. Schuyler Haynes and I had been Manchus together and been deployed together several times when we were both still Infantry. I didn't find out until some time in mid 2008, just as I started preparing for my 4th tour to Iraq.
In 2009, I was at the FOB maintenance yard. It was a Friday, our day to get stuff fixed on the team's vehicles. Short and I were on top of the MRAP doing our inspection when a huge explosion rocked the earth. I hit the ground while Short just grabbed the roof of our vehicle. We then watched the fireball and secondary explosions. A quarter-mile down Marez Utility Road, a large Truck-borne IED exploded just outside of the HQ of the Iraqi Federal Police Brigade we advised. (We advised one of the BNs under it). To top it off, that BDE's entire monthly supply of vehicle fuel (gas and diesel) had just been delivered the night before. The HQ went up in flames. An MRAP carrying 5 infantry Soldiers (US Army) from one of our partner units was vaporized, except for the V-shaped hull. We went out to help recover the bits and pieces of bodies, both US Army and Iraqi. I did not know the US Soldiers. I did know several of the Iraqis that were killed, though. They were good men, fighting for their country, making money to support their wives and kids.
There are countless more names and stories I could post. I know they are countless because I used to count them. I used to count every single name of every single soldier I knew, even if just in passing. After 173, I stopped. I couldn't do it anymore. the effort to copy and paste one more name onto my list and tick that counter one number more became too difficult. I can leg-press over 1000lbs. But I couldn't manage the physical strength to move a mouse and click some computer keys. So, these are among the most vivid of my memories, these great men that WE lost.
So now I know what that far-off daze my father and grandfather both seemed to get during the pauses in merriment at those family gatherings. Both were veterans of wars to defend this country. My Grandfather was US Army Intelligence in WWII. My father served in Vietnam. I now see what they saw when they got that look: that look as though they were seeing another time and another place. I know now that they were hugging their brothers from those wars. I now know that they were doing their duty in not letting the memories of those men fade from existence. They were keeping their promises to never forget.
I never will.
That is the prologue or introduction to my latest poem. If you have made it this far in my essay, I invite and ask you to make it just a few lines more. I ask you to do so not for me, but for the meaning of Memorial Day. I ask you to do it so these great men and women look down from heaven and see they are still loved and cherished in the hearts of the citizens of this great nation.
Since even my grade-school days, I have known the meaning behind the day. We would head to my grandparents' summer cottage and have a family gathering most years. It involved lots of food, some fishing, and the adults enjoying a few beers and some loud conversation. It usually also involved a lot of foul language directed at the Cubs game on the radio. So, despite knowledge of its meaning, it really didn't sink into my heart or mind.
Once in uniform, I caught a little bit more of the meaning. I participated in several Memorial events from helping clean and decorate graves to some form of religious service. But, I often attempted to avoid being selected for these details preferring, instead, to stay up late and sleep later.
In early February 2003, things changed. I deployed to Kuwait and then fought the ground war against Saddam Hussayn's Iraqi army. It was not my first deployment. It was not even the first deployment where I had to shoot or was shot at. But it turned out to be the one deployment that changed my perspective dramatically.
Just as we were preparing to fire our first deep-strike salvo of missiles at key targets in Iraq in order to set conditions for 3rd ID to cross the border, I heard an explosion on the horizon. It would be a few hours before I got the news. One of my best friends was killed by a grenade. The grenade was thrown into his tent while he slept. The attacker was a traitor in a US Army uniform. Chris Seifert lay dead, never to kiss his wife again. Chris Seifert lay dead, never to hold his newborn son. The School Age Services building on Fort Huachuca is dedicated to his memory.
Chris was not the last friend I was to lose over the years of conflict. We lost a good NCO from the Brigade I was attached to. He died saving the rest of his crew. An enemy anti-armor rocket struck an ammunition carrier vehicle. Red died attempting to put out the fire and evacuate the crew.
A young HUMINT collector, Yari Mokri, was blown to vapor by an IED in early 2007. His warm laugh and personality made quite and impression upon me and his platoon. One of my other close friends was in the same patrol. She never recovered, emotionally, from the loss. I don't think any of us have.
That same year, a young Captain I worked with had changed his duties from Battalion Targeting Officer to take over his BN's scout platoon. There were things going on that had some members of the platoon and other officers from that unit facing some potential charges. I cannot discuss what I know on the subject. I can say that I worked out with Derek and other members of that platoon. We practiced martial arts together and lifted weights together. On a mission I had recommended, their helicopter crashed. There are conflicting reports. the official report currently reads "due to unforeseen mechanical failure". Half of the remaining platoon died in that crash, including Derek. I got the news early in the morning. My chief and I trashed our office when we heard the news. We had just finished cleaning the mess 2 hours later when the rest of our team arrived. They thought we were joking when we gave the news.
That same year, one of my oldest friends was blown up by an IED while on patrol near Baqubah, Iraq. Schuyler Haynes and I had been Manchus together and been deployed together several times when we were both still Infantry. I didn't find out until some time in mid 2008, just as I started preparing for my 4th tour to Iraq.
In 2009, I was at the FOB maintenance yard. It was a Friday, our day to get stuff fixed on the team's vehicles. Short and I were on top of the MRAP doing our inspection when a huge explosion rocked the earth. I hit the ground while Short just grabbed the roof of our vehicle. We then watched the fireball and secondary explosions. A quarter-mile down Marez Utility Road, a large Truck-borne IED exploded just outside of the HQ of the Iraqi Federal Police Brigade we advised. (We advised one of the BNs under it). To top it off, that BDE's entire monthly supply of vehicle fuel (gas and diesel) had just been delivered the night before. The HQ went up in flames. An MRAP carrying 5 infantry Soldiers (US Army) from one of our partner units was vaporized, except for the V-shaped hull. We went out to help recover the bits and pieces of bodies, both US Army and Iraqi. I did not know the US Soldiers. I did know several of the Iraqis that were killed, though. They were good men, fighting for their country, making money to support their wives and kids.
There are countless more names and stories I could post. I know they are countless because I used to count them. I used to count every single name of every single soldier I knew, even if just in passing. After 173, I stopped. I couldn't do it anymore. the effort to copy and paste one more name onto my list and tick that counter one number more became too difficult. I can leg-press over 1000lbs. But I couldn't manage the physical strength to move a mouse and click some computer keys. So, these are among the most vivid of my memories, these great men that WE lost.
So now I know what that far-off daze my father and grandfather both seemed to get during the pauses in merriment at those family gatherings. Both were veterans of wars to defend this country. My Grandfather was US Army Intelligence in WWII. My father served in Vietnam. I now see what they saw when they got that look: that look as though they were seeing another time and another place. I know now that they were hugging their brothers from those wars. I now know that they were doing their duty in not letting the memories of those men fade from existence. They were keeping their promises to never forget.
I never will.
That is the prologue or introduction to my latest poem. If you have made it this far in my essay, I invite and ask you to make it just a few lines more. I ask you to do so not for me, but for the meaning of Memorial Day. I ask you to do it so these great men and women look down from heaven and see they are still loved and cherished in the hearts of the citizens of this great nation.
In Memoriam of love and faith
To the brave and bold
My eternal thanks
I will never forget
To the brave and bold
My eternal thanks
I will never forget
To the Army of the Potomac
Who shivered at Valley Forge
And the Minute Men
For the Freedom you gave me
I thank you
Who shivered at Valley Forge
And the Minute Men
For the Freedom you gave me
I thank you
To those who stood strong
When in 1812 they came to reclaim
What was gained in 1776
Your valor retained
For that I thank you
When in 1812 they came to reclaim
What was gained in 1776
Your valor retained
For that I thank you
Those who charged in answer
The massacre at the Alamo
And those battles that followed
For proving our nation’s mettle
I thank you
The massacre at the Alamo
And those battles that followed
For proving our nation’s mettle
I thank you
When the powder keg blew
And the Great War ensued
You who manned the trenches
Under our banner of Liberty
Standing forever stalwart
I thank you
And the Great War ensued
You who manned the trenches
Under our banner of Liberty
Standing forever stalwart
I thank you
An island territory attacked
And a genocidal tyrant ran rampant
Those who answered the call
To restore peace and freedom
For us and the world
A generation of great heroes
I thank you
And a genocidal tyrant ran rampant
Those who answered the call
To restore peace and freedom
For us and the world
A generation of great heroes
I thank you
An Asian Domino teetered and poised
To fall and bring hateful oppression
Into our world
For fortitude and bravery at Chosin
And defending Seoul with all your might
I thank you
To fall and bring hateful oppression
Into our world
For fortitude and bravery at Chosin
And defending Seoul with all your might
I thank you
The Marines who landed near Danang
And Soldiers who patrolled
Rice Patties, Jungle and mountains
Trying to hold back Ho Chi Minh
My father and his brothers-in-arms
I salute you
And Soldiers who patrolled
Rice Patties, Jungle and mountains
Trying to hold back Ho Chi Minh
My father and his brothers-in-arms
I salute you
For Grenada, Panama, Somalia
Desert Storm and freeing Kuwait
Bringing Peace to Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia
Braving the flooding rains in Albania
To end genocide in Kosovo
I thank you
Desert Storm and freeing Kuwait
Bringing Peace to Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia
Braving the flooding rains in Albania
To end genocide in Kosovo
I thank you
For those who watched the towers fall
And a jet crash into the Pentagon
Then answered the call
For those who fought by my side
dodging mortars and rockets
In Baghdad and Balad alike
Who charged into the mountains near Kandahar
To those who sucked sand and fumes
In Restrepo, Kirkuk, Wasit, Peshwar
Who braved bombs in Mosul and Tikrit
And didn’t make it back
I miss you.
And a jet crash into the Pentagon
Then answered the call
For those who fought by my side
dodging mortars and rockets
In Baghdad and Balad alike
Who charged into the mountains near Kandahar
To those who sucked sand and fumes
In Restrepo, Kirkuk, Wasit, Peshwar
Who braved bombs in Mosul and Tikrit
And didn’t make it back
I miss you.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
I Am Not Posting My Rant, Yet
Events and issues brought to a less local light over the past week are pushing my buttons to write a long rant about illegal immigration. But I will refrain for now.
Items of note, however, that have my blood boiling include:
1. Large wildfire in Horseshoe Canyon caused over $10 Million in private and public property damages. It was most likely caused by two-legged coyotes.
2. La Raza has so integrated into the Arizona Public School System that in Tucson, 3rd graders get an "ethics class" that preaches hatred of "Gringos". This "textbook" contains obscenities that, if uttered when I was that age, would have led to munching on a bar of Ivory soap as an after-school snack.
3. Talking with many of my neighbors who work for DHS or USBP, detentions of illegal aliens are down because the Executive branch of our Federal Government has issued a policy of "TBS" (Turn Back South). So, they cannot detain illegals unless they are flat-out caught with drugs or unregistered weapons. This has enabled smugglers instead of deterring them.
4. Two more USBP agents stationed in Arizona (and legal residents of Arizona) have been shot and killed in the line of duty. These guys face ROE stricter than the overly-restrictive ROE I faced in Iraq and what is currently in place in Afghanistan. There has been a public outcry that the ROEs in those theaters of conflict are too restrictive and are putting out Soldiers at unnecessary risk. Yet, our BP agents are facing similar threats under a much more constrictive ROE. And they are dying. Five guys I have been acquainted with have died in the line of duty in the past 6 months. This is HERE in ARIZONA!
5. President Obama goes to El Paso, TX and jokes that we, the citizens of Arizona, won't be happy with border security until we have a moat. His joke was that if he built a moat, we'd want alligators in it. No, Mr. President, no alligators. Alligators would not do well in the desert. I want a MINEFIELD! As much as I despised the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, they did have that practice down. But I don't think we need to keep our people in as much as illegal immigrants OUT!
So, just five little things. Each of those I could so a multi-paged rant about. I'll spare you. However, I will encourage you to read the editorial our beloved Cochise County Arizona Sheriff posted in the New York Times:
Sheriff Dever's NYT Editorial
Items of note, however, that have my blood boiling include:
1. Large wildfire in Horseshoe Canyon caused over $10 Million in private and public property damages. It was most likely caused by two-legged coyotes.
2. La Raza has so integrated into the Arizona Public School System that in Tucson, 3rd graders get an "ethics class" that preaches hatred of "Gringos". This "textbook" contains obscenities that, if uttered when I was that age, would have led to munching on a bar of Ivory soap as an after-school snack.
3. Talking with many of my neighbors who work for DHS or USBP, detentions of illegal aliens are down because the Executive branch of our Federal Government has issued a policy of "TBS" (Turn Back South). So, they cannot detain illegals unless they are flat-out caught with drugs or unregistered weapons. This has enabled smugglers instead of deterring them.
4. Two more USBP agents stationed in Arizona (and legal residents of Arizona) have been shot and killed in the line of duty. These guys face ROE stricter than the overly-restrictive ROE I faced in Iraq and what is currently in place in Afghanistan. There has been a public outcry that the ROEs in those theaters of conflict are too restrictive and are putting out Soldiers at unnecessary risk. Yet, our BP agents are facing similar threats under a much more constrictive ROE. And they are dying. Five guys I have been acquainted with have died in the line of duty in the past 6 months. This is HERE in ARIZONA!
5. President Obama goes to El Paso, TX and jokes that we, the citizens of Arizona, won't be happy with border security until we have a moat. His joke was that if he built a moat, we'd want alligators in it. No, Mr. President, no alligators. Alligators would not do well in the desert. I want a MINEFIELD! As much as I despised the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, they did have that practice down. But I don't think we need to keep our people in as much as illegal immigrants OUT!
So, just five little things. Each of those I could so a multi-paged rant about. I'll spare you. However, I will encourage you to read the editorial our beloved Cochise County Arizona Sheriff posted in the New York Times:
Sheriff Dever's NYT Editorial
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Loyalty and Fidelity
I once heard a great man speak on his philosophies of life and leadership. It was an amazing time with lessons that remain burned into my very being. I have had the privileged to witness many great men and many vaulted men (and women) speak. Some have had great things to say peppered throughout their verbiage. Others looked good and had pleasant sounding voices that entranced mindless sheople into nodding assent without critically weighing the word-vomit.
One phrase, however, this particular great man spoke set my mind to thinking. I liked what he said and how he said it. I feel that my own philosophy enabled me to truly hear his words and their meaning. I comprehended. I more than comprehended. I agreed with him long before I heard his words. Given the greatness of his words, I'm using them. This man said "Do not do me the dishonor of agreeing with me. Do not do me the disloyalty of telling me what you think I want to hear. If you are loyal, you will tell me the truth of what you think." Who was this great philosopher? He is none other than General (retired) Colin Powell.
I love that man. He exudes charisma and true leadership. He lives a life that pales the words he speaks. His path is the one not of perfection, but of excellence.
I challenge you to go back and read his words once again. Think about them. When you are ready, if it pleases you, continue taking in my diatribe.
Loyalty is NOT blind faith. Loyalty is NOT blind obedience. If I wanted blind obedience, I'd have a dog. Actually, if such a dog existed, I'd probably put him down for being too dumb to exist. No. that is not cruel. I am pretty sure that most people can agree that a good dog, one with whom you have bonded and trained, is a wonderful companion. Some may even say that you would be hard-pressed to find better companionship. However, even a well-trained, obedient dog will cock his head and look at you like you are a moron if you try to tell it to do something it knows to be a poor decision. That is a good dog.
So, now I ask you, if you are in charge or placed in a position of responsibility, management, or leadership, do you really want those "under" you to be dumber than a dog? Probably not. Dogs are loyal. They are faithful. But they are no blindly obedient. They do not have blind faith. So why surround yourself with idiot people who are?
Leaders cannot lead unless they have the loyalty of the led. That is how it works. The better leaders have followers who criticize the decisions a leader makes. They followers are willing to grant their insight, experience, and thoughts to their chosen leader. They support the leader's ability to make a decision. They do not hamstring the leader by nodding assent and keeping things from the leaders. To do so sets a leader up to become a tyrant. It also leads the way for the led to become sub-human. True loyalty means bearing true faith in the leader to make decisions and to accept the consequences of those decisions, good or poor. True loyalty means supporting those decisions, once made, and assessing how well they worked.
On the other side, leaders need to have fidelity in those they lead. They have to be open to their input. They have to judiciously weigh that input. They owe it to the led to make the most informed and active decision possible, and to execute. If the leaders expect blind obedience and blind faith (which is NOT true faith), then they are tyrants. They will find themselves oppressing the governed into indentured servitude at the end of a gun. They will no longer be followers, but slaves.
Loyalty means you support the leaders' decision. You gave them the responsibility to make those decisions and the authority to execute them. So, do so. But question the decisions in the process. That is true loyalty.
Fidelity means trusting those in your charge to support you with honest data and insight. It means having faith that the led want to accomplish the intended goals. It means faith that they will honestly do so by presenting you with what you need to hear; not what you want to hear.
So, what sort of leader are you? Do want the companionship of a loyal dog (or better, a free-thinking and honest person); or do you prefer the enslaved obedience of a puppet? Do you have fidelity or are you a tyrant? (Tyrants get overthrown, eventually)
What sort of follower are you? Are you a slave? Are you a mindless sub-human drone? Are you a puppet? Or are you a free-thinking human?
Decide.
One phrase, however, this particular great man spoke set my mind to thinking. I liked what he said and how he said it. I feel that my own philosophy enabled me to truly hear his words and their meaning. I comprehended. I more than comprehended. I agreed with him long before I heard his words. Given the greatness of his words, I'm using them. This man said "Do not do me the dishonor of agreeing with me. Do not do me the disloyalty of telling me what you think I want to hear. If you are loyal, you will tell me the truth of what you think." Who was this great philosopher? He is none other than General (retired) Colin Powell.
I love that man. He exudes charisma and true leadership. He lives a life that pales the words he speaks. His path is the one not of perfection, but of excellence.
I challenge you to go back and read his words once again. Think about them. When you are ready, if it pleases you, continue taking in my diatribe.
Loyalty is NOT blind faith. Loyalty is NOT blind obedience. If I wanted blind obedience, I'd have a dog. Actually, if such a dog existed, I'd probably put him down for being too dumb to exist. No. that is not cruel. I am pretty sure that most people can agree that a good dog, one with whom you have bonded and trained, is a wonderful companion. Some may even say that you would be hard-pressed to find better companionship. However, even a well-trained, obedient dog will cock his head and look at you like you are a moron if you try to tell it to do something it knows to be a poor decision. That is a good dog.
So, now I ask you, if you are in charge or placed in a position of responsibility, management, or leadership, do you really want those "under" you to be dumber than a dog? Probably not. Dogs are loyal. They are faithful. But they are no blindly obedient. They do not have blind faith. So why surround yourself with idiot people who are?
Leaders cannot lead unless they have the loyalty of the led. That is how it works. The better leaders have followers who criticize the decisions a leader makes. They followers are willing to grant their insight, experience, and thoughts to their chosen leader. They support the leader's ability to make a decision. They do not hamstring the leader by nodding assent and keeping things from the leaders. To do so sets a leader up to become a tyrant. It also leads the way for the led to become sub-human. True loyalty means bearing true faith in the leader to make decisions and to accept the consequences of those decisions, good or poor. True loyalty means supporting those decisions, once made, and assessing how well they worked.
On the other side, leaders need to have fidelity in those they lead. They have to be open to their input. They have to judiciously weigh that input. They owe it to the led to make the most informed and active decision possible, and to execute. If the leaders expect blind obedience and blind faith (which is NOT true faith), then they are tyrants. They will find themselves oppressing the governed into indentured servitude at the end of a gun. They will no longer be followers, but slaves.
Loyalty means you support the leaders' decision. You gave them the responsibility to make those decisions and the authority to execute them. So, do so. But question the decisions in the process. That is true loyalty.
Fidelity means trusting those in your charge to support you with honest data and insight. It means having faith that the led want to accomplish the intended goals. It means faith that they will honestly do so by presenting you with what you need to hear; not what you want to hear.
So, what sort of leader are you? Do want the companionship of a loyal dog (or better, a free-thinking and honest person); or do you prefer the enslaved obedience of a puppet? Do you have fidelity or are you a tyrant? (Tyrants get overthrown, eventually)
What sort of follower are you? Are you a slave? Are you a mindless sub-human drone? Are you a puppet? Or are you a free-thinking human?
Decide.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Some Notes About The Author
I am a warrior at heart and above all else. I am a person of action much more than rhetoric. I tend not to talk too much about myself and my beliefs leaving my writings more open to the readers' interpretation and ability to extract any value from their own perspectives.
However, there comes a time when some amount of revelation seems appropriate. I do not seek to brag. I seek only to grant some minor piece of insight into the derivation of my points of view.
First of all, my philosophy is my own. Yes, it is heavily influenced by a number of things. Philosophy being grounded in the study of life must come from life experiences, studies, and influences. If it is not, then it worthless rhetoric and emotive verbiage. So, if you are seeking my philosophical or theological inspirations and influences, you must read all of my works, this entire article, and know my entire life to create anything close to resembling a full bibliographic enumeration of references. However, this article alone may give you just enough of a glimpse to garner some minor bit of acceptance of the value of my words. That value is dependent, however, on your perspectives and thoughts. I no more control yours than you can control mine.
I have an education. I have studied economics, marketing, literature, philosophy, psychology, and civics. In addition, I studied and achieved a certification in athletic training, sports fitness, and nutrition that allowed me to be a personal trainer as well as an aerobics instructor. So, I am quite well rounded, well-read, and educated. My education is far from complete and may see its completion only shortly after my moment of death. There is so much in the world worth experiencing, investigating, studying, and pondering that wasting a minute without all perceptions wide open is inconceivable.
I joined the military at a young age. I enlisted in the National Guard in an effort to defray the fact my academic scholarship, like most academic scholarships, was not a "full ride". I do find it reprehensible that academic institutions give full scholarships to athletes while not supporting the true purpose for an institute of higher learning. Despite having an education, I found regular employment elusive. I was able to get hired and do jobs easily enough. That was half of the problem: they didn't challenge me. I was bored. So I'd either drop my performance while chasing more interesting pursuits or I would challenge my employers in some manner that ended with my termination. So, after five years as a reservist, I followed the one job that held my interest -- The Army.
In 1991, I applied to transfer to active military service. I did close to five years as an infantryman in the regular army. I began to find the job not as mentally challenging as I liked. So, I decided to give the Army another three years to convince me to stay for a full career. Part of that meant the Army had to find another job for me. I ended up in the intelligence field. Since then, I have spent the last 15 or so years deployed for at least 90 days in each calender year. So, I have traveled, studied, and experienced places and cultures most people would never imagine. I was able to do a little of the standard tourism bit here and there. Mostly, though, I was immersed at some level in the reality of those societies and cultures. For some examples of the people I have lived and worked with/among: Cuban refugees in Panama as well as the Panamanian natives; I trained the Hungarian Army after they officially left the Warsaw Pact and joined NATO; I spent time training with the Jordanian forces; and, on my final tour to Iraq, I advised an Iraqi Federal Police special battalion -- living and working with the Iraqi Police as well as spending a lot of time in contact with local civilians. I am not some naive couch jockey whose views are limited only to the rhetoric and narrow views espoused by CNN or MSNBC. I have been there, witnessed, and lived what they report and, more importantly, what they didn't report or are not even privy to know.
I have a bit of perspective on psychology. First, I have what they misnomer as PTSD. I prefer the moniker "Post-Combat Stress Syndrome (PCSS)" to PTSD. While a soldier on patrol who witnesses his buddy blown to bits or was seriously injured himself may have actual PTSD, PCSS comes from the constant immersion into a hyper-vigilant sensory state combined with an prolonged necessity of the "flight or fight" response in a continuous environment of life threatening propensity. In other words, even those stuck on FOBs were forced to constantly look for real threats and be ready to respond to things such as rocket and mortar attacks or suicide bombers infiltrating the post. If you think it near impossible, I refer you to the suicide bomber that detonated in the dining facility on FOB Marez in 2004, as just one of many examples. In four tours, I saw quite a bit. In addition, my skill set made me invaluable out in sector instead of just remaining on a FOB as many believe intelligence personnel do. My first tour was the invasion in 2003. We didn't have FOBs or improved, secure bases. I slept across the front seats of a HMMWV when not doing my job, inspecting perimeter security, driving, or being shot at. As stated, my last tour was spent on a team advising a Federal Police unit. That meant I was daily a potential target for insurgents, organized criminals, street gangs, and terrorists. However, like conventional PTSD sufferers, I did also witness a few traumatic events. So, more than likely, I do have both PCSS and PTSD.
I also studied a bit of psychology and have a subscription to Psychology Today's e-zine. I have taken numerous stress management courses during my military career. These were not command directed courses but were college classes intended on giving leaders and managers in military and business occupations tools to mitigate stress in the workplace. In other words, I have some amount of education is doing basic level counseling and advice on stress. I know enough to tell somebody they need a break or outlet. I also know enough to tell somebody that they do require professional help. Another way of looking at it is that I know enough to identify stress and stress levels but also know enough to know that I am not equipped to provide any form of treatment. I can just offer some small amounts of routine advice derived from experts. It also means I have a pretty good personal toolbox of coping skills.
Politically I will remain a bit of an enigma to those with myopic views of history. I read the US Constitution regularly. As a Soldier sworn to uphold and defend that document, I find it irresponsible to not know what I am sworn to defend. So, I read it, often -- at least once a week. It is only 26 pages long. I am pro-choice. I am pro-gay-rights (as far as they deserve equal treatment under the law, but no special treatment). I am pro-military. I despise the seeming political belief that "freedom of religion" means repression of ALL religion in public venue. The Second Amendment does not state that any government: state, local, or federal; has the authority to restrict firearm ownership by law-abiding adult citizens. In fact, I believe that cit. amendment implies concealed carry authority without requiring a permit. I support the Tenth Amendment which states that there are no implied powers in the federal government. I believe that the US Constitution was established as protections for the citizens of our country to succeed or FAIL on their own merits, actions, or inactivity. That means that you are entitled only to what you earn, nothing more, and nothing less. So, I am opposed to welfare. On the flip side, I strongly support charity, as long as it is freely given and not stolen at gunpoint by some federal or state agency. Am I a conservative? some would argue that I am while others would say I am not.
I do oppose socialism. I am a veteran of the Cold War. I have witnessed, first hand, the oppression socialism creates and the evils it proliferates under the fraudulent banner of "public good and general welfare". The Ba'ath Party that Saddam Hussayn established as the controlling governance in Iraq was a socialist regime. Economically, I am a capitalist. If you call that evil then you call the discoveries and inventions of electricity, light bulbs, penicillin, Viagra, aspirin, television, radio, the internet, cinema (that means movies), the electric guitar, computers, automobiles, hybrid technology, solar energy, and refrigeration "evil". I consider them great attestations to the capitalist system. As such, I believe that those in these industries who produce and improve and produce again earned every cent coming to them. That includes the CEOs and CFOs who manage the companies and insure that they do produce. Without them, the nugs on the factory lines wouldn't have jobs or paychecks. Unions are forms of socialism. I would prefer many factories got rid of hourly wages and paid by the unit produced that passed QC/QA. That would provide for better built products and reward workers for actually working. So, yes I am an evil capitalist such as the "liberal progressives" in Hollywood love to vilify. Don't let them fool you. They want you to redistribute the wealth of the upper and middle classes as long as it isn't THEIR money that is being redistributed.
I am also a martial artist. I am not some MMA fighter in some venue of sport competition fighting. I walk a way and a path. I am a knight-protector. I am a defender. I also do whatever I can to avoid physical conflict and to resolve conflicts. I fight first with my mind and spirit long before taking physical actions. I walk away from conflicts that do not threaten life, limb, eyesight, property or livelihood. Even the threat to property is questionable as some property is less important than life and well-being. Other property IS security and livelihood. I am mostly peaceful and laisez-faire. I do not like conflict as it does tick on my "fight or flight" response. As a warrior, that usually equates to a fight response. My biochemical reactions to that inclination are not healthy. So, I do my best to walk away in most cases. I am developing my own system, my own art. I have had some bit of opportunity to test the basics of it on some kids and parents. I have no aspirations of opening a dojo and teaching for money. So I am not a certified instructor. I do not think I ever will be. However, for a select few students that find themselves ready, I will present myself and offer what I am comfortable in teaching. I am also a constant student and always looking for mentoring and instruction. I know I am far from knowing all I am capable of learning and refuse to consider myself an expert in anything other than my own art and style. And those are constantly evolving.
I love kids. I have wonderful nieces and nephews who I adore. I have a little girl in my life that is also amazing and a great living miracle. Though, like all kids, she can be frustrating at times, I mostly find her a joy to be around and treasure the moments with her. She is not my daughter nor do I have any illusion that she is. My fiancee is a wonderful mother who I love and adore. Family is very important to me. many believe that physical proximity to family is important. From the way my life has been, I can say that concept is false. I am close to my father and my siblings, though we do not live near each other. I know each of them would give everything they have, to include some organs, if they received word I was in need. They know I would do the same for them without hesitation.
I am a very private person. If you think I have opened myself up in this article and revealed all of who I am, you are greatly deluded. I am not an open person. those closest to me know I am not. Through all of this rhetoric, I have not told you much, at all, about who I am. Who I am is ever-changing; always seeking to grow and improve. The person I am at the moment I publish this will cease to be when the sun rises on the next day. I challenge all who read this to seek to do the same. Stagnation is death. I refuse to stagnate.
I am a warrior, philosopher, humanitarian, poet, author, dream-weaver, son, brother, patriot, leader, follower, teacher and student. I am me -- nothing more and nothing less. Who are you?
However, there comes a time when some amount of revelation seems appropriate. I do not seek to brag. I seek only to grant some minor piece of insight into the derivation of my points of view.
First of all, my philosophy is my own. Yes, it is heavily influenced by a number of things. Philosophy being grounded in the study of life must come from life experiences, studies, and influences. If it is not, then it worthless rhetoric and emotive verbiage. So, if you are seeking my philosophical or theological inspirations and influences, you must read all of my works, this entire article, and know my entire life to create anything close to resembling a full bibliographic enumeration of references. However, this article alone may give you just enough of a glimpse to garner some minor bit of acceptance of the value of my words. That value is dependent, however, on your perspectives and thoughts. I no more control yours than you can control mine.
I have an education. I have studied economics, marketing, literature, philosophy, psychology, and civics. In addition, I studied and achieved a certification in athletic training, sports fitness, and nutrition that allowed me to be a personal trainer as well as an aerobics instructor. So, I am quite well rounded, well-read, and educated. My education is far from complete and may see its completion only shortly after my moment of death. There is so much in the world worth experiencing, investigating, studying, and pondering that wasting a minute without all perceptions wide open is inconceivable.
I joined the military at a young age. I enlisted in the National Guard in an effort to defray the fact my academic scholarship, like most academic scholarships, was not a "full ride". I do find it reprehensible that academic institutions give full scholarships to athletes while not supporting the true purpose for an institute of higher learning. Despite having an education, I found regular employment elusive. I was able to get hired and do jobs easily enough. That was half of the problem: they didn't challenge me. I was bored. So I'd either drop my performance while chasing more interesting pursuits or I would challenge my employers in some manner that ended with my termination. So, after five years as a reservist, I followed the one job that held my interest -- The Army.
In 1991, I applied to transfer to active military service. I did close to five years as an infantryman in the regular army. I began to find the job not as mentally challenging as I liked. So, I decided to give the Army another three years to convince me to stay for a full career. Part of that meant the Army had to find another job for me. I ended up in the intelligence field. Since then, I have spent the last 15 or so years deployed for at least 90 days in each calender year. So, I have traveled, studied, and experienced places and cultures most people would never imagine. I was able to do a little of the standard tourism bit here and there. Mostly, though, I was immersed at some level in the reality of those societies and cultures. For some examples of the people I have lived and worked with/among: Cuban refugees in Panama as well as the Panamanian natives; I trained the Hungarian Army after they officially left the Warsaw Pact and joined NATO; I spent time training with the Jordanian forces; and, on my final tour to Iraq, I advised an Iraqi Federal Police special battalion -- living and working with the Iraqi Police as well as spending a lot of time in contact with local civilians. I am not some naive couch jockey whose views are limited only to the rhetoric and narrow views espoused by CNN or MSNBC. I have been there, witnessed, and lived what they report and, more importantly, what they didn't report or are not even privy to know.
I have a bit of perspective on psychology. First, I have what they misnomer as PTSD. I prefer the moniker "Post-Combat Stress Syndrome (PCSS)" to PTSD. While a soldier on patrol who witnesses his buddy blown to bits or was seriously injured himself may have actual PTSD, PCSS comes from the constant immersion into a hyper-vigilant sensory state combined with an prolonged necessity of the "flight or fight" response in a continuous environment of life threatening propensity. In other words, even those stuck on FOBs were forced to constantly look for real threats and be ready to respond to things such as rocket and mortar attacks or suicide bombers infiltrating the post. If you think it near impossible, I refer you to the suicide bomber that detonated in the dining facility on FOB Marez in 2004, as just one of many examples. In four tours, I saw quite a bit. In addition, my skill set made me invaluable out in sector instead of just remaining on a FOB as many believe intelligence personnel do. My first tour was the invasion in 2003. We didn't have FOBs or improved, secure bases. I slept across the front seats of a HMMWV when not doing my job, inspecting perimeter security, driving, or being shot at. As stated, my last tour was spent on a team advising a Federal Police unit. That meant I was daily a potential target for insurgents, organized criminals, street gangs, and terrorists. However, like conventional PTSD sufferers, I did also witness a few traumatic events. So, more than likely, I do have both PCSS and PTSD.
I also studied a bit of psychology and have a subscription to Psychology Today's e-zine. I have taken numerous stress management courses during my military career. These were not command directed courses but were college classes intended on giving leaders and managers in military and business occupations tools to mitigate stress in the workplace. In other words, I have some amount of education is doing basic level counseling and advice on stress. I know enough to tell somebody they need a break or outlet. I also know enough to tell somebody that they do require professional help. Another way of looking at it is that I know enough to identify stress and stress levels but also know enough to know that I am not equipped to provide any form of treatment. I can just offer some small amounts of routine advice derived from experts. It also means I have a pretty good personal toolbox of coping skills.
Politically I will remain a bit of an enigma to those with myopic views of history. I read the US Constitution regularly. As a Soldier sworn to uphold and defend that document, I find it irresponsible to not know what I am sworn to defend. So, I read it, often -- at least once a week. It is only 26 pages long. I am pro-choice. I am pro-gay-rights (as far as they deserve equal treatment under the law, but no special treatment). I am pro-military. I despise the seeming political belief that "freedom of religion" means repression of ALL religion in public venue. The Second Amendment does not state that any government: state, local, or federal; has the authority to restrict firearm ownership by law-abiding adult citizens. In fact, I believe that cit. amendment implies concealed carry authority without requiring a permit. I support the Tenth Amendment which states that there are no implied powers in the federal government. I believe that the US Constitution was established as protections for the citizens of our country to succeed or FAIL on their own merits, actions, or inactivity. That means that you are entitled only to what you earn, nothing more, and nothing less. So, I am opposed to welfare. On the flip side, I strongly support charity, as long as it is freely given and not stolen at gunpoint by some federal or state agency. Am I a conservative? some would argue that I am while others would say I am not.
I do oppose socialism. I am a veteran of the Cold War. I have witnessed, first hand, the oppression socialism creates and the evils it proliferates under the fraudulent banner of "public good and general welfare". The Ba'ath Party that Saddam Hussayn established as the controlling governance in Iraq was a socialist regime. Economically, I am a capitalist. If you call that evil then you call the discoveries and inventions of electricity, light bulbs, penicillin, Viagra, aspirin, television, radio, the internet, cinema (that means movies), the electric guitar, computers, automobiles, hybrid technology, solar energy, and refrigeration "evil". I consider them great attestations to the capitalist system. As such, I believe that those in these industries who produce and improve and produce again earned every cent coming to them. That includes the CEOs and CFOs who manage the companies and insure that they do produce. Without them, the nugs on the factory lines wouldn't have jobs or paychecks. Unions are forms of socialism. I would prefer many factories got rid of hourly wages and paid by the unit produced that passed QC/QA. That would provide for better built products and reward workers for actually working. So, yes I am an evil capitalist such as the "liberal progressives" in Hollywood love to vilify. Don't let them fool you. They want you to redistribute the wealth of the upper and middle classes as long as it isn't THEIR money that is being redistributed.
I am also a martial artist. I am not some MMA fighter in some venue of sport competition fighting. I walk a way and a path. I am a knight-protector. I am a defender. I also do whatever I can to avoid physical conflict and to resolve conflicts. I fight first with my mind and spirit long before taking physical actions. I walk away from conflicts that do not threaten life, limb, eyesight, property or livelihood. Even the threat to property is questionable as some property is less important than life and well-being. Other property IS security and livelihood. I am mostly peaceful and laisez-faire. I do not like conflict as it does tick on my "fight or flight" response. As a warrior, that usually equates to a fight response. My biochemical reactions to that inclination are not healthy. So, I do my best to walk away in most cases. I am developing my own system, my own art. I have had some bit of opportunity to test the basics of it on some kids and parents. I have no aspirations of opening a dojo and teaching for money. So I am not a certified instructor. I do not think I ever will be. However, for a select few students that find themselves ready, I will present myself and offer what I am comfortable in teaching. I am also a constant student and always looking for mentoring and instruction. I know I am far from knowing all I am capable of learning and refuse to consider myself an expert in anything other than my own art and style. And those are constantly evolving.
I love kids. I have wonderful nieces and nephews who I adore. I have a little girl in my life that is also amazing and a great living miracle. Though, like all kids, she can be frustrating at times, I mostly find her a joy to be around and treasure the moments with her. She is not my daughter nor do I have any illusion that she is. My fiancee is a wonderful mother who I love and adore. Family is very important to me. many believe that physical proximity to family is important. From the way my life has been, I can say that concept is false. I am close to my father and my siblings, though we do not live near each other. I know each of them would give everything they have, to include some organs, if they received word I was in need. They know I would do the same for them without hesitation.
I am a very private person. If you think I have opened myself up in this article and revealed all of who I am, you are greatly deluded. I am not an open person. those closest to me know I am not. Through all of this rhetoric, I have not told you much, at all, about who I am. Who I am is ever-changing; always seeking to grow and improve. The person I am at the moment I publish this will cease to be when the sun rises on the next day. I challenge all who read this to seek to do the same. Stagnation is death. I refuse to stagnate.
I am a warrior, philosopher, humanitarian, poet, author, dream-weaver, son, brother, patriot, leader, follower, teacher and student. I am me -- nothing more and nothing less. Who are you?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
What's Been Lost: The First Casualty of War
Everybody has suffered some form of loss. It may come in the form of material possessions, security, or loved ones. Everybody knows loss on some level. Infants know loss in the form of losing that time in the womb. They know loss in the form of losing a pacifier or being taken away from mommy and held by somebody else for a few minutes. Everybody has misplaced something or had something break. I am willing to bet that most people have had things stolen from them. I also cannot believe that there is any non-sociopath adult in this world who has not lost love. Yes, everybody gets their heartbroken. It is part of growing up.
Just as breaking up is part of growing up and learning to love; death is part of life. It is unavoidable. Like most people, I have lost those close to me. I stopped counting how many military people I knew who have died at war over the past 7 years. I can honestly say that the first friend I lost cut the deepest. It didn't hurt the worst, but that scar is the one I will always remember. CPT Christopher S. Seifert was taken from us by a traitor named Akbar. Akbar is currently on death row for treason, mutiny, and murder. From Sept 06-Sept 07 I lost 47 brothers-in-arms who were in the same unit as I. The night I lost 10 of them in the same incident still haunts me.
So, I know loss.
For most of the things I've lost, I have gained important things thereby creating the equity of a near-zero balance. Even with all the friends I have lost in the war; I have established new friends with strong bonds. I also retain the fond memories of those I did lose. But the thing that can never be recompensed or replaced: I lost my innocence. By innocence, I don't mean virginity. You can lose that without losing your innocence, if it is given up as an act of love, not just pleasure. But my innocence, that was ripped away in a world where good people are forced to do evil things in the name of good and right.
One of the other GBE bloggers wrote a rather startling story about the loss of innocence. It was in regards to child molestation and pedophilia. while I understand the definition of innocence that she utilized in her blog, I have a slightly different definition. What the main character in the story lost was not innocence but naivety. Naivety is that form of innocence that comes from not knowing evil. It is what Adam and Eve lost in the garden once they acquired the knowledge of good and evil.
Naivety is lost when one comes to know evil and wrong. Children might be mischievous, doing "wrong" or "bad" things. But they are still naive until they are exposed to and gain knowledge of true evil. Being a victim does not claim innocence. It reveals evil. It steals naivety.
I have not been naive since my pre-teen years. I will openly admit that I was a troublemaker. I was also the smart one that had an alibi ready for everything, or had a way of convincing people that I didn't know what I was doing was wrong. I also tended to get away with things because I was "such a good boy". Then again, when I did stuff, it was preplanned. I also watched the frequency of my mischief so that others would find it difficult to accept that I did the things I did. Yes, I got away with quite a lot of mischief and mayhem. However, I still held onto my innocence. I knew some of the things I did were "wrong". However, none of them were truly evil.
Evil rests in doing things in order to intentionally harm others. Evil rests in doing things to intentionally defy God. Evil is not mischief. Evil is not falling to occasional temptation. Evil is tempting others to do those acts. Evil is deliberate.
From my philisophical perspective, innocence is lost when you find you have no choice but to choose a path you know to be evil. It comes from intentionally performing an act you know to be evil, to be wrong, to harm others. The choice may be a difficult one. In my case, it was because the alternative was worse. It was to allow worse evil to take place. Standing by and knowing allow an evil act to occur without doing anything in an attempt to stop it. In many cases, the evil of inaction is worse that the evil act itself.
War is a necessary evil. It is a last resort for when all else has failed. It should never be entered into lightly. Once begun, it must be seen through to its logical conclusion (the utter and complete destruction of the enemy). It also needs to be painstakingly prosecuted to prevent or mitigate as much of that evil from spilling over to non-combatants as possible. A fine example is the crusade in which the Saracen commander, Salah ad Din (a Muslim Kurd), stated his intentions to reclaim Jerusalem. He then gave safe passage for all women, children, priests, and non-combatants to leave the city before he commenced his assault. In modern warfare, we make a list of protected sites and utilize precision weapons. In the crusade, there were women who refused to leave their husbands. In modern times, collateral damage still occurs.
In 2003, I went to war in Iraq. This is when my innocence first started to wiggle away. There was an incident involving some Fedayeen Saddam attacking my unit's perimeter. I was the first person to return fire. I shot where I saw the muzzle flashes breaking the darkness. By the time others starting shooting back, the fire had ceased. To this day, I don't know if any enemy were killed or if I was the one who killed them.
This was, by far, not the first time I had used force to defend myself or somebody else. A friend and I had thwarted an attempted rape in Seattle back in the mid-90s, for one example. In high school, I had blocked off the attacks of another until I realized the only way to make the person stop was to hit him. I did. I punched and kicked (and bludgeoned with trash-can lids) until the idiot stopped. I can enumerate many other instances. In each, my offense was taken for defensive reasons, and never beyond the minimum necessary to reduce the threat. I will admit that there were times I wanted to beat somebody to a pulp just to teach them a lesson. But that would have been sinking to their level, or worse. But I still hold that taking those actions was always within the realm of not crossing the line into having to do evil to prevent evil. I maintain that I was innocent, and remained so until 2003.
The exact moment I lost my innocence is hard to define.
In 2004, I worked a job that put me in the decision-chain for some counter-terrorist actions. I cannot get into the details of what I did and what operations were conducted. I can say that some of the things I recommended definitely fell to the side of "necessary evil". One day, in particular, sits in my mind. It rests there to the point I still dream of it. It still weighs upon my conscience. When asked if I would make the same recommendation again, I state that under the same circumstances I would. It was the best solution. However, once the act was done, I had to review tapes of a building exploding. I had to attempt to count body parts as they scattered in the blast. At least one terrorist was killed (I found out later that we had killed 3 of them). But one of their wives and children also died in the event. I was part of a decision the lead to the intentional death of children. I still believe that we had no other choice.
These men were responsible for the murders of thousands of people. they were planning future attacks against many more. Most of their targets were to be non-combatants. They attacked people of a different ideology than theirs. It had nothing to do with military threat. the majority of their targets were peaceful, religious people. I hold that the lessor evil was the best decision. It doesn't change the fact that I knew it was still an evil act.
But that is not the event that I consider to be the moment I lost my innocence. It is merely an example of the fact that I had. I hold that I am a good person. Since losing my innocence, I am far more careful and conscious of my actions regarding others. But now I know exactly what I am capable of and how far I am willing to go in order to protect and safeguard. I am willing to cross lines that , thank God, most people will never have to face. I sacrificed my innocence for the greater good. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I put myself in God's judgment alone on this.
Back during the ground assault, one particular event occurred that I consider the moment I knew my innocence was lost. We were on the way towards Baghdad. We halted our convoy for a quick maintenance stop. We also needed to stretch our legs and get blood moving in our bodies so we could press on towards our objective. My driver needed to relieve himself, so I covered him while he went into the reeds to do so. He called me over to see something. I walked over and saw, in the reed-line, a body. My soldier was doing his best to fight his urge to vomit. I just looked down at the decaying and bloated enemy body. It was an Iraqi soldier. I don't know how he was killed. It could have been from one of our rocket strikes. It could have been from our infantry. He may have been shot by one of his own people. As I looked down upon the carcass and tried to formulate how best to report it, I watched it explode into a cloud of flies. All I could think of at that moment was "you got what you deserved". Reflecting back, I cannot really say that. He was a soldier and was doing what he thought was right to protect his country. He probably had a family. He probably was not responsible for any of the evil that Saddam had done. He was young, too young to have been part of the Iran-Iraq war, the atrocities in Kurdistan, or the invasion of Kuwait. But in that moment, that was my thought. As I look back, that is the moment that I knew my innocence was forever gone.
War is a horrible thing. the worst part of it is when you have to face the horror you are capable of inflicting. It matters not if it was just. All that matters is that the person you once were no longer exists. Innocence is the first casualty.
I'm closing this with a poem by a famous historical figure, a warrior, a great general. Before doing so, I pose a few questions:
What have you lost?
Are you still innocent? If not, describe the moment you realized your innocence was lost.
THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY
by Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.
Through the travail of the ages,
Midst the pomp and toil of war,
Have I fought and strove and perished
Countless times upon this star.
In the form of many people
In all panoplies of time
Have I seen the luring vision
Of the Victory Maid, sublime.
I have battled for fresh mammoth,
I have warred for pastures new,
I have listed to the whispers
When the race trek instinct grew.
I have known the call to battle
In each changeless changing shape
From the high souled voice of conscience
To the beastly lust for rape.
I have sinned and I have suffered,
Played the hero and the knave;
Fought for belly, shame, or country,
And for each have found a grave.
I cannot name my battles
For the visions are not clear,
Yet, I see the twisted faces
And I feel the rending spear.
Perhaps I stabbed our Savior
In His sacred helpless side.
Yet, I've called His name in blessing
When after times I died.
In the dimness of the shadows
Where we hairy heathens warred,
I can taste in thought the lifeblood;
We used teeth before the sword.
While in later clearer vision
I can sense the coppery sweat,
Feel the pikes grow wet and slippery
When our Phalanx, Cyrus met.
Hear the rattle of the harness
Where the Persian darts bounced clear,
See their chariots wheel in panic
From the Hoplite's leveled spear.
See the goal grow monthly longer,
Reaching for the walls of Tyre.
Hear the crash of tons of granite,
Smell the quenchless eastern fire.
Still more clearly as a Roman,
Can I see the Legion close,
As our third rank moved in forward
And the short sword found our foes.
Once again I feel the anguish
Of that blistering treeless plain
When the Parthian showered death bolts,
And our discipline was in vain.
I remember all the suffering
Of those arrows in my neck.
Yet, I stabbed a grinning savage
As I died upon my back.
Once again I smell the heat sparks
When my Flemish plate gave way
And the lance ripped through my entrails
As on Crecy's field I lay.
In the windless, blinding stillness
Of the glittering tropic sea
I can see the bubbles rising
Where we set the captives free.
Midst the spume of half a tempest
I have heard the bulwarks go
When the crashing, point blank round shot
Sent destruction to our foe.
I have fought with gun and cutlass
On the red and slippery deck
With all Hell aflame within me
And a rope around my neck.
And still later as a General
Have I galloped with Murat
When we laughed at death and numbers
Trusting in the Emperor's Star.
Till at last our star faded,
And we shouted to our doom
Where the sunken road of Ohein
Closed us in it's quivering gloom.
So but now with Tanks a'clatter
Have I waddled on the foe
Belching death at twenty paces,
By the star shell's ghastly glow.
So as through a glass, and darkly
The age long strife I see
Where I fought in many guises,
Many names, but always me.
And I see not in my blindness
What the objects were I wrought,
But as God rules o'er our bickerings
It was through His will I fought.
So forever in the future,
Shall I battle as of yore,
Dying to be born a fighter,
But to die again, once more.
Just as breaking up is part of growing up and learning to love; death is part of life. It is unavoidable. Like most people, I have lost those close to me. I stopped counting how many military people I knew who have died at war over the past 7 years. I can honestly say that the first friend I lost cut the deepest. It didn't hurt the worst, but that scar is the one I will always remember. CPT Christopher S. Seifert was taken from us by a traitor named Akbar. Akbar is currently on death row for treason, mutiny, and murder. From Sept 06-Sept 07 I lost 47 brothers-in-arms who were in the same unit as I. The night I lost 10 of them in the same incident still haunts me.
So, I know loss.
For most of the things I've lost, I have gained important things thereby creating the equity of a near-zero balance. Even with all the friends I have lost in the war; I have established new friends with strong bonds. I also retain the fond memories of those I did lose. But the thing that can never be recompensed or replaced: I lost my innocence. By innocence, I don't mean virginity. You can lose that without losing your innocence, if it is given up as an act of love, not just pleasure. But my innocence, that was ripped away in a world where good people are forced to do evil things in the name of good and right.
One of the other GBE bloggers wrote a rather startling story about the loss of innocence. It was in regards to child molestation and pedophilia. while I understand the definition of innocence that she utilized in her blog, I have a slightly different definition. What the main character in the story lost was not innocence but naivety. Naivety is that form of innocence that comes from not knowing evil. It is what Adam and Eve lost in the garden once they acquired the knowledge of good and evil.
Naivety is lost when one comes to know evil and wrong. Children might be mischievous, doing "wrong" or "bad" things. But they are still naive until they are exposed to and gain knowledge of true evil. Being a victim does not claim innocence. It reveals evil. It steals naivety.
I have not been naive since my pre-teen years. I will openly admit that I was a troublemaker. I was also the smart one that had an alibi ready for everything, or had a way of convincing people that I didn't know what I was doing was wrong. I also tended to get away with things because I was "such a good boy". Then again, when I did stuff, it was preplanned. I also watched the frequency of my mischief so that others would find it difficult to accept that I did the things I did. Yes, I got away with quite a lot of mischief and mayhem. However, I still held onto my innocence. I knew some of the things I did were "wrong". However, none of them were truly evil.
Evil rests in doing things in order to intentionally harm others. Evil rests in doing things to intentionally defy God. Evil is not mischief. Evil is not falling to occasional temptation. Evil is tempting others to do those acts. Evil is deliberate.
From my philisophical perspective, innocence is lost when you find you have no choice but to choose a path you know to be evil. It comes from intentionally performing an act you know to be evil, to be wrong, to harm others. The choice may be a difficult one. In my case, it was because the alternative was worse. It was to allow worse evil to take place. Standing by and knowing allow an evil act to occur without doing anything in an attempt to stop it. In many cases, the evil of inaction is worse that the evil act itself.
- "A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury."
- John Stuart Mill
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War is a necessary evil. It is a last resort for when all else has failed. It should never be entered into lightly. Once begun, it must be seen through to its logical conclusion (the utter and complete destruction of the enemy). It also needs to be painstakingly prosecuted to prevent or mitigate as much of that evil from spilling over to non-combatants as possible. A fine example is the crusade in which the Saracen commander, Salah ad Din (a Muslim Kurd), stated his intentions to reclaim Jerusalem. He then gave safe passage for all women, children, priests, and non-combatants to leave the city before he commenced his assault. In modern warfare, we make a list of protected sites and utilize precision weapons. In the crusade, there were women who refused to leave their husbands. In modern times, collateral damage still occurs.
On 11 September 2001, many Americans lost their naivety when Al Q'aida destroyed the World Trade Center and attacked the Pentagon. This was not their first attack against a US target. It was just their first successful attack against us on our own soil. This was also their first attack that was affected against primarily non-combatants.
- "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
In 2003, I went to war in Iraq. This is when my innocence first started to wiggle away. There was an incident involving some Fedayeen Saddam attacking my unit's perimeter. I was the first person to return fire. I shot where I saw the muzzle flashes breaking the darkness. By the time others starting shooting back, the fire had ceased. To this day, I don't know if any enemy were killed or if I was the one who killed them.
This was, by far, not the first time I had used force to defend myself or somebody else. A friend and I had thwarted an attempted rape in Seattle back in the mid-90s, for one example. In high school, I had blocked off the attacks of another until I realized the only way to make the person stop was to hit him. I did. I punched and kicked (and bludgeoned with trash-can lids) until the idiot stopped. I can enumerate many other instances. In each, my offense was taken for defensive reasons, and never beyond the minimum necessary to reduce the threat. I will admit that there were times I wanted to beat somebody to a pulp just to teach them a lesson. But that would have been sinking to their level, or worse. But I still hold that taking those actions was always within the realm of not crossing the line into having to do evil to prevent evil. I maintain that I was innocent, and remained so until 2003.
- The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant.
The exact moment I lost my innocence is hard to define.
In 2004, I worked a job that put me in the decision-chain for some counter-terrorist actions. I cannot get into the details of what I did and what operations were conducted. I can say that some of the things I recommended definitely fell to the side of "necessary evil". One day, in particular, sits in my mind. It rests there to the point I still dream of it. It still weighs upon my conscience. When asked if I would make the same recommendation again, I state that under the same circumstances I would. It was the best solution. However, once the act was done, I had to review tapes of a building exploding. I had to attempt to count body parts as they scattered in the blast. At least one terrorist was killed (I found out later that we had killed 3 of them). But one of their wives and children also died in the event. I was part of a decision the lead to the intentional death of children. I still believe that we had no other choice.
These men were responsible for the murders of thousands of people. they were planning future attacks against many more. Most of their targets were to be non-combatants. They attacked people of a different ideology than theirs. It had nothing to do with military threat. the majority of their targets were peaceful, religious people. I hold that the lessor evil was the best decision. It doesn't change the fact that I knew it was still an evil act.
But that is not the event that I consider to be the moment I lost my innocence. It is merely an example of the fact that I had. I hold that I am a good person. Since losing my innocence, I am far more careful and conscious of my actions regarding others. But now I know exactly what I am capable of and how far I am willing to go in order to protect and safeguard. I am willing to cross lines that , thank God, most people will never have to face. I sacrificed my innocence for the greater good. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I put myself in God's judgment alone on this.
Back during the ground assault, one particular event occurred that I consider the moment I knew my innocence was lost. We were on the way towards Baghdad. We halted our convoy for a quick maintenance stop. We also needed to stretch our legs and get blood moving in our bodies so we could press on towards our objective. My driver needed to relieve himself, so I covered him while he went into the reeds to do so. He called me over to see something. I walked over and saw, in the reed-line, a body. My soldier was doing his best to fight his urge to vomit. I just looked down at the decaying and bloated enemy body. It was an Iraqi soldier. I don't know how he was killed. It could have been from one of our rocket strikes. It could have been from our infantry. He may have been shot by one of his own people. As I looked down upon the carcass and tried to formulate how best to report it, I watched it explode into a cloud of flies. All I could think of at that moment was "you got what you deserved". Reflecting back, I cannot really say that. He was a soldier and was doing what he thought was right to protect his country. He probably had a family. He probably was not responsible for any of the evil that Saddam had done. He was young, too young to have been part of the Iran-Iraq war, the atrocities in Kurdistan, or the invasion of Kuwait. But in that moment, that was my thought. As I look back, that is the moment that I knew my innocence was forever gone.
War is a horrible thing. the worst part of it is when you have to face the horror you are capable of inflicting. It matters not if it was just. All that matters is that the person you once were no longer exists. Innocence is the first casualty.
I'm closing this with a poem by a famous historical figure, a warrior, a great general. Before doing so, I pose a few questions:
What have you lost?
Are you still innocent? If not, describe the moment you realized your innocence was lost.
THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY
by Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.
Through the travail of the ages,
Midst the pomp and toil of war,
Have I fought and strove and perished
Countless times upon this star.
In the form of many people
In all panoplies of time
Have I seen the luring vision
Of the Victory Maid, sublime.
I have battled for fresh mammoth,
I have warred for pastures new,
I have listed to the whispers
When the race trek instinct grew.
I have known the call to battle
In each changeless changing shape
From the high souled voice of conscience
To the beastly lust for rape.
I have sinned and I have suffered,
Played the hero and the knave;
Fought for belly, shame, or country,
And for each have found a grave.
I cannot name my battles
For the visions are not clear,
Yet, I see the twisted faces
And I feel the rending spear.
Perhaps I stabbed our Savior
In His sacred helpless side.
Yet, I've called His name in blessing
When after times I died.
In the dimness of the shadows
Where we hairy heathens warred,
I can taste in thought the lifeblood;
We used teeth before the sword.
While in later clearer vision
I can sense the coppery sweat,
Feel the pikes grow wet and slippery
When our Phalanx, Cyrus met.
Hear the rattle of the harness
Where the Persian darts bounced clear,
See their chariots wheel in panic
From the Hoplite's leveled spear.
See the goal grow monthly longer,
Reaching for the walls of Tyre.
Hear the crash of tons of granite,
Smell the quenchless eastern fire.
Still more clearly as a Roman,
Can I see the Legion close,
As our third rank moved in forward
And the short sword found our foes.
Once again I feel the anguish
Of that blistering treeless plain
When the Parthian showered death bolts,
And our discipline was in vain.
I remember all the suffering
Of those arrows in my neck.
Yet, I stabbed a grinning savage
As I died upon my back.
Once again I smell the heat sparks
When my Flemish plate gave way
And the lance ripped through my entrails
As on Crecy's field I lay.
In the windless, blinding stillness
Of the glittering tropic sea
I can see the bubbles rising
Where we set the captives free.
Midst the spume of half a tempest
I have heard the bulwarks go
When the crashing, point blank round shot
Sent destruction to our foe.
I have fought with gun and cutlass
On the red and slippery deck
With all Hell aflame within me
And a rope around my neck.
And still later as a General
Have I galloped with Murat
When we laughed at death and numbers
Trusting in the Emperor's Star.
Till at last our star faded,
And we shouted to our doom
Where the sunken road of Ohein
Closed us in it's quivering gloom.
So but now with Tanks a'clatter
Have I waddled on the foe
Belching death at twenty paces,
By the star shell's ghastly glow.
So as through a glass, and darkly
The age long strife I see
Where I fought in many guises,
Many names, but always me.
And I see not in my blindness
What the objects were I wrought,
But as God rules o'er our bickerings
It was through His will I fought.
So forever in the future,
Shall I battle as of yore,
Dying to be born a fighter,
But to die again, once more.
Inner Peace: The Rules of the Road
Inner peace is an individual accomplishment constructed from individual perceptions and the fabric of the ineffable substance the entwines us with the universe. Having read many metaphysical treatises and theological/spiritual teachings, many common threads exist in describing its attainment. Being a simple blog, I do not have the space nor do most readers have the time for us to sift through a philosophical essay the length of Kant's "Treatise on Pure Reason", Descartes's "First Meditations", and Miyamato Musashi's "Go Rin No Sho" even in a "Readers' Digest" form.
I'd like to share a mantra or prayer that many have either read or recited. It is rather famous and is used to close many 12-step support group meetings.
This is known as the "Serenity Prayer". It is a prayer asking for guidance towards the path of inner peace. It is not asking for the peace to be granted automatically. In its words are the inherent contract that the supplicant has to do the work.
Inner Peace and Enlightenment are journeys, not destinations. The paths to them are, according to Buddhist teachings, as narrow and difficult to walk as a sword's edge.
To attain Inner Peace requires one to follow a set of spiritual rules that seem common in almost every credible teaching on the subject. First, you must recognize that it is a journey, not a destination. Like every journey, you have choices along the way. Some of these lead you the direction you want. Some lead you there the long way. Some are shorter. Some appear to be shortcuts. Inevitably, these "shortcuts" will get you lost or in the wrong direction. The problem lies in that we won't know if we made the correct choice until we are already along the path we chose. We really have no map to navigate by. However, there are some signposts along the way, if you pay attention.
Regardless, the true path can always be recognized. It is the one with obstacles along the way. It is the one that sometimes leaves us hoping we don't fall to one side or the other along a narrow bridge. To navigate the path of Inner Peace, you have to have balance in all things. You have to be grounded. If you are a "drama queen/king" your path will be filled with what you ask for, conflict. You will find yourself off-balance much of the time. Your perspective will be a skewed one. Of course, you will be so used to this slanted perspective that you will believe it to be normal and you will try to skew the rest of the world to be in line with your view. It is much easier to straighten yourself up than the move the whole world, but that will not dissuade your attempts. Eventually, you will find yourself on a twisted path that is canted to your view. That path does not lead to Inner Peace.
The same concept of balance goes with all things from what you put into your body (food, drugs, etc) to how you interact with your surroundings. If you do not first have balance, you will fall. If you don't fall, you will be like a man in the forest who has one leg longer than that other. You will seek a straight path, but find yourself always drifting off in another direction or walking in circles.
Along the same lines of the "drama queen" example, if you try to move everybody else to conflict, you cannot have peace in yourself. The world will always have conflict. there will always be pitfalls and obstacles. Why create more? From a military perspective, all obstacles we emplace for our protection always also work against us. A minefield designed to harm and slow the enemy also slows us or takes away one of our paths. the same goes with intentionally disturbing others' path toward Inner Peace. The better way is to also help others clear their paths. If their path is clearer, so is ours. This is called Compassion.
Along your path, there will be spots where you will question your ability to navigate. You will also question any aid offered. Life does not throw you things you cannot handle. It doesn't. Sure, there are obstacles you cannot overcome. But there is usually a path around them, if you are on the right path. For those few that there is no path around, there is somebody willing and able to help you. It may be a fellow traveller. It may also be your deity. However, it is up to you and your perception to make it past those obstacles. To do so, you have to have faith. You must have faith in you deity, in your fellow traveller, and (most importantly) in yourself.
As for those obstacles that come up, you cannot always anticipate them. but if you are ready for an obstacle at all times, they will not catch you unaware. But never, ever expect an easy path. If you anticipate and easy path, inevitably the greatest obstacles will meet you instead.
Many of you have already read one of my essays discussing "Now". The bottom line on "Now" is that you have to be present in order to be on your Path. "Now" is always the time. Yesterday is too late. You can look back to see what went right and what went wrong. However, you cannot change it. Don't try. Don't dwell on "what if I had..." or "if only I had...". Take the lesson and move on. Don't stop and ponder the future. The future is too ambiguous. It is contastantly changing and only takes form when it is no longer the future, but now. Here is always the place. If you constantly think about anywhere other than where you are now, you will not be walking your path.
Along with choices and being in the here and now, you have to act. What good is deciding on a path or solution if you stand still? Now, sometimes, choosing to stop and enjoy an moment is an action. But if you have Inner Peace, you can enjoy every moment. That is actually how you know you are on your path. But you will never be on path if you don't ACT! Newton's laws of inertia apply not only to the physical realm, but to the metaphysical, spiritual and ethical realms as well. To sit by and watch others do wrong is just as bad as doing wrong yourself, if not worse. If you do not put yourself into motion, you will stagnate. If you do not choose to change your path to a better one, you will stay lost.
Telling the future is easy. I do it for a living. Yes, I already stated that you shouldn't dwell on what is not yet come to be. But you can influence what that future will become when it becomes now by what you do NOW. I mentioned that there are signposts. They happen intermittantly along the way. You can learn to expect them and watch out for them. They may be difficult to see, but they are usually there. You see, everything happens in cycles. The seasons change. Good things happen and bad things happen. Children are born. People die. There will be times of joy and times of sadness. But you can find beauty, peace, and happiness in each. Every season has its beauty. Winter has the fresh fallen snow. Autumn has the colored leaves. Spring has new growth and birth. Summer has its frolicking and blooming. (In Arizona, Summer also has its invigorating storms with grand light shows and rock music called Monsoon Season). the same goes with all seasons in life. Recognize the cycles and prepare accordingly. If you are ready, you will not be caught unaware and you will not be miserable.
Take the tale of the two businessmen. One always wears a sharp suit, carries a small atache case, and wonders about all happy go lucky. He believes that whatever the day brings, that others will provide him with his supplies. The other moves at a setermined pace. He carries a larger briefcase. He carries spare pens, notepads, etc. He also carries an umbrella. One day, they are waiting for the bus. The buses go on strike. No bus will be coming. A storm hits. The man with the larger briefcase pulls out his umbrella. He has spare cash on hand and hails a cab. He makes it to work on time. the other man, who is competing for the same contract, shows up late. He is soaked and uncomfortable. When the perspective client asks for additional information, the one with the attache case seeks a pen and paper so he can write it down. The briefcase man pulls out a notecard and a pen, and writes down the information. The smile on briefcase man's face is always slight, but always there. Even "bad days" are not that bad. Attache case man has his ups and downs. Which is probably happier?
No matter what, you have to be true to yourself at all times. If you delude yourself to believe that you are on path when you are way off, you will remain lost. Honesty is always best. You should seek to be honest to yourself and to others at all times. Being honest to yourself is always of utmost importance. If it is raining and you tell yourself that it is a nice sunny day, it won't keep you from getting soaked. If you tell yourself that it is indeed raining, you can sing and dance in the rain! But the one thing that nobody else can take from you in life is your integrity. It is the one thing we have that only we can throw away.
Things in life are going to happen. That is why it is life. That is why Iner Peace is a path, not a destination. They will happen whether you get involved or not. You need to resign yourself to the fact that things happen. You have to capitulate. If you accept the inevitable, and prepare for it, life gets easier. You will be at peace. Now, there are things worth fighting for. But life is not to be fought against. You have to embrace it, surrender to it. Whatever happens, accept it. Rejoice in the here and now. Being happy doesn't mean being blissfully unaware of what is happening. It is finding beauty in sadness. It is embracing grief and realizing how wonderful it is to care and be cared about enough for loss to hurt. It really is that simple.
All of these inner perceptions are the bricks of life. They are the rocks that make the path called inner peace. But they are held together by a mortar. Something cements these rocks, holding them together, making the path stable enough to tread upon. This connecting substance is our unity with the universe. We are not alone. Our interactions with other living things is what binds these rocks together. Have you ever noticed that if you are in a room and suddenly somebody starts laughing that everybody wants to hear the joke? Why? We are all connected. We all want that laughter. When you are sitting alone and see a loving couple exchange affections you either will look and think "how nice, how cute" or you will be annoyed. Why? Because we all seek that connection with another. We are all individual cogs in one giant machine. We are all individual grains of sand that make up one paradise beach. Our Inner Peace does depend upon how we perceive others. Others' Inner Peace depends upon how we interact with them. Would you choose to be around, the gloomy nay-saying pessimist that expresses disdain for everything? That guy who is always complaining? Or would you rather be with the funny person with the good jokes? The person with the smile on his face? The guy who solves problems and helps everybody out? The guy who knows how to get the job done, done right, then go and have fun? I choose guy number two. The trick is this, make yourself guy number two and you will always have him/her around. Before you know it, those you are closest to will start to be guy number two as well.
Yes, it really is all that simple.
And yes, I am a warrior. I go to war. I fight the battles that must be fought. Many of them are battles that most people would not fight. My world is a world of chaos and conflict. Yet, at the moment, mine is a path of inner peace. At least I have faith that it is.
I'd like to share a mantra or prayer that many have either read or recited. It is rather famous and is used to close many 12-step support group meetings.
"God Grant Me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The Courage to change the things I can
And the Wisdom to know the difference"
The Courage to change the things I can
And the Wisdom to know the difference"
This is known as the "Serenity Prayer". It is a prayer asking for guidance towards the path of inner peace. It is not asking for the peace to be granted automatically. In its words are the inherent contract that the supplicant has to do the work.
Inner Peace and Enlightenment are journeys, not destinations. The paths to them are, according to Buddhist teachings, as narrow and difficult to walk as a sword's edge.
To attain Inner Peace requires one to follow a set of spiritual rules that seem common in almost every credible teaching on the subject. First, you must recognize that it is a journey, not a destination. Like every journey, you have choices along the way. Some of these lead you the direction you want. Some lead you there the long way. Some are shorter. Some appear to be shortcuts. Inevitably, these "shortcuts" will get you lost or in the wrong direction. The problem lies in that we won't know if we made the correct choice until we are already along the path we chose. We really have no map to navigate by. However, there are some signposts along the way, if you pay attention.
Regardless, the true path can always be recognized. It is the one with obstacles along the way. It is the one that sometimes leaves us hoping we don't fall to one side or the other along a narrow bridge. To navigate the path of Inner Peace, you have to have balance in all things. You have to be grounded. If you are a "drama queen/king" your path will be filled with what you ask for, conflict. You will find yourself off-balance much of the time. Your perspective will be a skewed one. Of course, you will be so used to this slanted perspective that you will believe it to be normal and you will try to skew the rest of the world to be in line with your view. It is much easier to straighten yourself up than the move the whole world, but that will not dissuade your attempts. Eventually, you will find yourself on a twisted path that is canted to your view. That path does not lead to Inner Peace.
The same concept of balance goes with all things from what you put into your body (food, drugs, etc) to how you interact with your surroundings. If you do not first have balance, you will fall. If you don't fall, you will be like a man in the forest who has one leg longer than that other. You will seek a straight path, but find yourself always drifting off in another direction or walking in circles.
Along the same lines of the "drama queen" example, if you try to move everybody else to conflict, you cannot have peace in yourself. The world will always have conflict. there will always be pitfalls and obstacles. Why create more? From a military perspective, all obstacles we emplace for our protection always also work against us. A minefield designed to harm and slow the enemy also slows us or takes away one of our paths. the same goes with intentionally disturbing others' path toward Inner Peace. The better way is to also help others clear their paths. If their path is clearer, so is ours. This is called Compassion.
Along your path, there will be spots where you will question your ability to navigate. You will also question any aid offered. Life does not throw you things you cannot handle. It doesn't. Sure, there are obstacles you cannot overcome. But there is usually a path around them, if you are on the right path. For those few that there is no path around, there is somebody willing and able to help you. It may be a fellow traveller. It may also be your deity. However, it is up to you and your perception to make it past those obstacles. To do so, you have to have faith. You must have faith in you deity, in your fellow traveller, and (most importantly) in yourself.
As for those obstacles that come up, you cannot always anticipate them. but if you are ready for an obstacle at all times, they will not catch you unaware. But never, ever expect an easy path. If you anticipate and easy path, inevitably the greatest obstacles will meet you instead.
Many of you have already read one of my essays discussing "Now". The bottom line on "Now" is that you have to be present in order to be on your Path. "Now" is always the time. Yesterday is too late. You can look back to see what went right and what went wrong. However, you cannot change it. Don't try. Don't dwell on "what if I had..." or "if only I had...". Take the lesson and move on. Don't stop and ponder the future. The future is too ambiguous. It is contastantly changing and only takes form when it is no longer the future, but now. Here is always the place. If you constantly think about anywhere other than where you are now, you will not be walking your path.
Along with choices and being in the here and now, you have to act. What good is deciding on a path or solution if you stand still? Now, sometimes, choosing to stop and enjoy an moment is an action. But if you have Inner Peace, you can enjoy every moment. That is actually how you know you are on your path. But you will never be on path if you don't ACT! Newton's laws of inertia apply not only to the physical realm, but to the metaphysical, spiritual and ethical realms as well. To sit by and watch others do wrong is just as bad as doing wrong yourself, if not worse. If you do not put yourself into motion, you will stagnate. If you do not choose to change your path to a better one, you will stay lost.
Telling the future is easy. I do it for a living. Yes, I already stated that you shouldn't dwell on what is not yet come to be. But you can influence what that future will become when it becomes now by what you do NOW. I mentioned that there are signposts. They happen intermittantly along the way. You can learn to expect them and watch out for them. They may be difficult to see, but they are usually there. You see, everything happens in cycles. The seasons change. Good things happen and bad things happen. Children are born. People die. There will be times of joy and times of sadness. But you can find beauty, peace, and happiness in each. Every season has its beauty. Winter has the fresh fallen snow. Autumn has the colored leaves. Spring has new growth and birth. Summer has its frolicking and blooming. (In Arizona, Summer also has its invigorating storms with grand light shows and rock music called Monsoon Season). the same goes with all seasons in life. Recognize the cycles and prepare accordingly. If you are ready, you will not be caught unaware and you will not be miserable.
Take the tale of the two businessmen. One always wears a sharp suit, carries a small atache case, and wonders about all happy go lucky. He believes that whatever the day brings, that others will provide him with his supplies. The other moves at a setermined pace. He carries a larger briefcase. He carries spare pens, notepads, etc. He also carries an umbrella. One day, they are waiting for the bus. The buses go on strike. No bus will be coming. A storm hits. The man with the larger briefcase pulls out his umbrella. He has spare cash on hand and hails a cab. He makes it to work on time. the other man, who is competing for the same contract, shows up late. He is soaked and uncomfortable. When the perspective client asks for additional information, the one with the attache case seeks a pen and paper so he can write it down. The briefcase man pulls out a notecard and a pen, and writes down the information. The smile on briefcase man's face is always slight, but always there. Even "bad days" are not that bad. Attache case man has his ups and downs. Which is probably happier?
No matter what, you have to be true to yourself at all times. If you delude yourself to believe that you are on path when you are way off, you will remain lost. Honesty is always best. You should seek to be honest to yourself and to others at all times. Being honest to yourself is always of utmost importance. If it is raining and you tell yourself that it is a nice sunny day, it won't keep you from getting soaked. If you tell yourself that it is indeed raining, you can sing and dance in the rain! But the one thing that nobody else can take from you in life is your integrity. It is the one thing we have that only we can throw away.
Things in life are going to happen. That is why it is life. That is why Iner Peace is a path, not a destination. They will happen whether you get involved or not. You need to resign yourself to the fact that things happen. You have to capitulate. If you accept the inevitable, and prepare for it, life gets easier. You will be at peace. Now, there are things worth fighting for. But life is not to be fought against. You have to embrace it, surrender to it. Whatever happens, accept it. Rejoice in the here and now. Being happy doesn't mean being blissfully unaware of what is happening. It is finding beauty in sadness. It is embracing grief and realizing how wonderful it is to care and be cared about enough for loss to hurt. It really is that simple.
All of these inner perceptions are the bricks of life. They are the rocks that make the path called inner peace. But they are held together by a mortar. Something cements these rocks, holding them together, making the path stable enough to tread upon. This connecting substance is our unity with the universe. We are not alone. Our interactions with other living things is what binds these rocks together. Have you ever noticed that if you are in a room and suddenly somebody starts laughing that everybody wants to hear the joke? Why? We are all connected. We all want that laughter. When you are sitting alone and see a loving couple exchange affections you either will look and think "how nice, how cute" or you will be annoyed. Why? Because we all seek that connection with another. We are all individual cogs in one giant machine. We are all individual grains of sand that make up one paradise beach. Our Inner Peace does depend upon how we perceive others. Others' Inner Peace depends upon how we interact with them. Would you choose to be around, the gloomy nay-saying pessimist that expresses disdain for everything? That guy who is always complaining? Or would you rather be with the funny person with the good jokes? The person with the smile on his face? The guy who solves problems and helps everybody out? The guy who knows how to get the job done, done right, then go and have fun? I choose guy number two. The trick is this, make yourself guy number two and you will always have him/her around. Before you know it, those you are closest to will start to be guy number two as well.
Yes, it really is all that simple.
And yes, I am a warrior. I go to war. I fight the battles that must be fought. Many of them are battles that most people would not fight. My world is a world of chaos and conflict. Yet, at the moment, mine is a path of inner peace. At least I have faith that it is.
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