Signs of Perspective

They need a sign that says,
"Waffle House"

Back from Georgia. It was a very full two weeks. In a way, it was good that it was so hot and humid. One was forced to slow down, to forget for a moment that there's a war going on, that people are losing their lives, and all the other countless events that go unreported and the service that goes unappreciated in "that other" part of the world.

I think my daughter had the best insight of anyone. We caught a glimpse of the demonstrations in Iran. She turned to me, clearly stressed, and said that she thought POTUS shouldn't say anything beyond what others have already said. Her reason?

"We've already got soldiers all over the world, and if we say anything we're going to send them over there too."

Hers is a perspective that no one --no pundit, not the son of the deposed Shah, has sought. That of a child whose father is serving. And perhaps those whose father's have deployed three times in six years might think the same thing. Who can blame them? For it's the children who have given the most --without consultation, without a choice.

So to her, it's come down to understanding that if we say something, we could end up sending in troops or money. And if we do, our actions will be met on some level with resistance. People on both sides get hurt, and for kids over here, having a parent not come back from a very distant land where they were fighting for ideals is difficult to comprehend.

And while hers might seem like the naive view of a child, there is an essential point that has to be made to all of the pundits, but especially those who unfavorably stereotype our military (Stephen Colbert not-so-mockingly calls them "The America Haters.") They can and have given sermons in churches; they march in large cities holding placards for humanitarian aid. While they are quick to decry inequities in other countries what they conveniently ignore is that less than 1% of the present US population serves in the military. Much of the humanitarian aid they insist upon is delivered not by NGO's, but by soldiers from many countries.

Soldiers who are: nurses, doctors, medics, analysts, logicians, veterinarians, lawyers, social workers, chaplains, scientists, specialists, administrators, engineers, builders, and any number of positions you'd find here, but are also needed within.

So I have to say, their pleas do something for every circumstance are made in the abstract, never thinking themselves about going over in any capacity --whether governmental, private or with a NPO, and extending themselves into an unknown world. While we might say something on an official level, it's our promises that can end up causing rifts. Forcing this less than 1% of the population to do their bidding at making the world more equitable and just is hardly democratic.