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Election 2004I've heard a couple people say things to the effect of "everyone needs to calm down, the world is not going to end." I, and many others like me, disagree. If the world itself doesn't end in the next four years, at the very least, the lives of thousands (maybe more) of people WILL end. The U.S. will be directly responsible for many of these, and indirectly responsible for many more. Let's take a quick look at some of the possibilities: Iraq - Innocent Iraqis, Iraqi police and military, U.S. and coalition soldiers. The numbers are in the thousands, and probably orders of magnitude higher. Worse, we have no strategy to stabilize or leave the region, a situation that I don't believe will change. Sudan - Rebels, government troops, and thousands of innocent casualties. Iran - I firmly believe that our President will start a war with Iran in the next four years, leading to untold numbers of deaths, again on both sides. North Korea - The possibility of a nuclear strike that could leave millions dead, both in the U.S. and in North Korea, has not been dealt with at all in the past four years, and I see no reason to believe that it will be anytime soon. Afghanistan - Innocent Afghans and U.S. troops killed, with no end in sight to our presence there. I know not everyone agrees with me. I know that all of these are complicated issues, and there's not an easy answer for any of them. However, it is my opinion that they have all been handled very, very poorly. While I haven't experienced it myself, my understanding is that the rest of the world pretty much hates us. We're seen as arrogant and self-righteous, poking our noses in places we don't belong - especially in the Arab world, which largely perceives us now as a direct threat to their existence. Compare this to international feelings toward us on September 12, 2001, when we had the goodwill and sympathy of the entire world. Arab governments immediately spoke out sharply against the terrorist acts, and condemned them in the harshest words. We were offered aid and sympathy, and the entire world wept for us. The last three years have seen that goodwill squandered. Conflicts have arisen with some of our closest allies. We flat-out told the United Nations that it's now irrelevant. An extremely dangerous precent of pre-emptive war has been set. Many international leaders, and billions of citizens of other countries, have come to look down on the U.S. I don't see any of that changing. What scares me even more is the possibility of a draft. Already, hundreds of thousands of our young volunteers are abroad, serving their country. I have the highest respect for what they are doing - but not for whom they are doing it. The thought that hundreds of thousands more young men and women will be forcibly moved into harm's way completely terrifies me. Given the history of the past four years and the precedents that have been set, I see a draft as a real possibility in the next four years. For these reasons and more, I see last night's election as a complete failure. At the very best, I believe we will further alienate the rest of the world, the risk, frequency, and magnitude of terrorist attacks - both here and abroad - will increase, and our domestic situation will stagnate at best. At worst, I see war with three nations simultaneously, at least one of which is nuclear-capable. That's a line of thought I don't wish to continue down. Never have we had a nation so divided over so many issues. It wasn't that way four years ago ... and I have no reason to believe it will get better in the next four. Please note that these are just my opinions. I will happily discuss them with you, if you like. |
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