What are we doing?
Besides our initial attack after 9/11 when I was emotionally charged and, admittedly, irrationally vengeful, I've never believed that bombing the Middle East is a reasonable strategy for peace. I won't lie, I was recently conflicted about Syria because I cannot stand to see innocent, defenseless people being harmed, but, ultimately, I recognize that bombs don't end wars. They may end battles, but they leave emotional scars, assumptions and beliefs in their wake. They destroy lives and physical environments; it takes years and years to repair what they damage... And in some cases, like buildings I've seen in the city of Pescara, nothing will ever be replaced after war. These unresolved remnants of the past things eventually light the flame for more battles... And then the cycle repeats.
I'm not some hypocritical liberal ignoring what Obama did with drone warfare, etc... I didn't agree with it and still don't. I feel the same way with Trump today. I also regret my support after 9/11 with the Bush administration to invade Afghanistan.
Bombs don't take out grassroots movements and decentralized networks in uprising. You know what does? Empathy, education, tolerance, and time. Our nation's actions speak louder than our words. Freedom does not validate bombing people's homes, killing their family members (regardless if we believe they're 'wrong' or 'right'), dictating how they should live, telling them what to feel, etc. Does all this sound familiar? It's the same situation in our current state of national politics today. Compliance-based approaches won't and don't create longterm change. We're naive to think that one large bomb will take out a decentralized network like ISIS. That's not how it works.
My biggest fear with the recent decisions to use force is that we'll find more hate in the world than what existed in the first place. Looking back over the last 15+ years since 9/11, my heart says the US hasn't learned from it's mistakes that began in the Bush Era... Thousands of dead troops and civilians later, gutted foreign relationships, and a fear-driven population is the result of 'going in' and starting a war.
Beyond the frequent use of bombs and lack of military strategy this month, I'm also wondering how it is possible that so many of our people in the country are actively ignoring the red flags with the occupants of our White House. People are generally being fooled by our POTUS. All these bombs are distracting citizens from news that multiple sources, most recently the British, found ties between Trump's administration and Russia. Our election was rigged! True Democracy doesn't matter anymore apparently. How is that something so many people overlook? It's Idiocracy. Other things to note- Trump is set to spend the same amount of Obama's travel budget for 8 years in just a few months and there are various conflicts of interest with his businesses and government position. There are threats our general population faces on major issues that will impact our children and their children- lack of climate protections and the denial of science and legitimate research of scientists, the all-male decision makers deciding to reduce women's rights, LGBTQ equalities at stake, student protections repealed (disabled not cared for and economic protections lifted), systemic racism and skyrocketing police violence rates again black Americans, losses for animal rights activists, and more.
America, what are we doing?
