Freedom will set you free

Editor's note: I created this blog so my internet-unsavvy (or just lazy) friend could have his semi-frequent ramblings appear in the blogosphere. Up to this point I've agreed with him 99.98%, but this time I think it's good to mention that we don't always agree on everything. After reading this last one, I can't help but imagine the Team America: World's Police song blaring from a 1985 IROC-Z as it cruises down Main Street on its way to the liquor store...

America is at war, again. And make no mistake, it is war, and we are at it. Our enemies are many. Our friends are few. Our detractors are numerous. They just don't understand. Slime balls, like Ward Churchill, claim its chickens coming home to roost. A friend of mine insists its our outrageous and intrusive foreign policy. Another friend insists its because George Bush was "appointed" president by a conservative Supreme Court (obviously he hasn't been paying attention to recent decisions). They are, of course, wrong. Though nothing I say or write will change their mind. Its always puzzled me how, during times of peril, Americans almost always look to themselves, as the cause. After all, we are the 800 pound gorilla in the world's china shop. Actually I think that's one of America's greatest traits. First, lets look at ourselves. No matter where we stand, no matter where we sit, something is probably going to get busted. Damn laws of physics. Does that mean we broke something? Yep. Does it mean its our fault? Yep. Did we do it on purpose? Nope. Did we do it out of spite, hatred, desire to inflict pain? Nope. Are we evil people stomping across the world, destroying things in an immature tantrum remaking the world in our image? Not a chance Jack. Quite the opposite actually. The world, the real world, the real people, every day schmos like you and me absolutely love America and everything it stands for. How can this be? How can I say this? Just look at all the demonstrations around the world, the angry chants "death to America," "the great satan," "Yankee go home!" I'll tell you how I can say this. Look at America's borders. See the millions who risk everything, absolutely everything, their own lives and the lives of their families to get here. They risk death. From Mexico, Central America, Cuba, Haiti. That's people voting with their feet. And believe me, they aren't risking life and limb to get into the Sudan or Ethiopia. They want to come here.

America is at war. Again. It seems every 10 to 15 years, humanity forgets exactly why we hate war, and plows into it again. In the above paragraph I dwelled a while on reasons why we are not at war. Now lets dwell on reasons we are at war. The world has been neatly divided into three parts. The old world (Europe), the new world (America) and the third world (everything else.) But the third world is a far too complicated to be lumped into "other." It is a diverse mosaic of cultures, religions, people and lands. One thing third world countries do seem to have in common is their inability, for one reason or another, to pull themselves out of the middle ages. Some are working on it (China, Singapore, Philippines, India). Others have already done so admirably (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea). others are trying desperately (South Africa). Still others have no intention of changing one single damn thing (North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran). And those are the dangerous ones. They hate America. Because of something we did? Well, yes. We've proven to the entire world what freedom, free markets, democracy and capitalism can accomplish. We've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that all the lies they've been told by their leaders over the centuries are just that, lies. And the power brokers in these backwater dictatorships hate us for that very reason. And you know, there's a funny anomaly in a dictatorship. When dictator hates someone, then that's what is seen on the TV (assuming they have TV), its what's broadcast on the radio (assuming they have radios) and its what is taught in school (assuming they have schools). Dictators need that seething, raging, hate to dominate their people. They need their minions to be more scared of us, than they are of the dictator. He needs them to hate us more than they hate him. Because if they stop hating us, if they stop believing the lies, then the public's anger will turn to where it rightly should be, against the dictator. And a dictator can't have that.

America is at war. Again. And its a fight like we've never seen before. Actually, we are the underdogs in this fight. Again. I know it doesn't seem that way. And there's a strong argument against my statement, one need look no further than the US Marines, the US Navy, the US Airforce, well, the US itself. But we are the underdogs here. We don't have enough bullets, enough guns, enough bombs to destroy the enemies who want to cut off our heads, who want to drink our blood, rape our wives and daughters, enslave our children. We can put up one hell of a fight, no doubt. But in the end, you just can't kill a major portion of the world. Besides, we're Americans. We won't stand for that. Contrary to popular opinion, we are still the good guys. There's an old internet story making the rounds, I have no idea if its true or not, but I still love it none the less. It's been said that then Secretary of State Colin Powel was asked by an official of the Anglican Church, how America was enjoying its current conquest (Iraq). In my opinion, Colin Powel is the classiest person in politics world wide. I'd vote for him for president in a heart beat, and I would never have to second guess it. Powel replied that America has sent many of its young men and women around the world to fight and die to free oppressed people. And the only land we've asked for is enough to bury them. Does that make your heart swell with pride? It does mine. Because weather the story is real or not, the statement is. Lets look at the litany. France (twice), Britain (twice), Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Greece, to sum it up, basically half of Europe. By the end of the cold war, that total grows to pretty much all of Europe. China, Burma, Japan, and hundreds of tiny island paradises in between. I admit it freely, America once lumbered into the realm of colonialism with the Philippine Islands. It was a gross error, and has stained Old Glory for ever. But MacArthur did return to the Philippines. And when we were through liberating them, we left them in freedom. You can't remove a stain, but you can mitigate it, make up for it, and try to do better.

America is at war. Again. And this time its against an enemy like we've never fought before. As I mentioned, we can't win this war through traditional methods, blow the crap out of them, then rebuild and make nice. That won't work. There's too many of them. To much hatred, too many lies, too many distortions. Okay, technically we can. But we won't. Because we're Americans. We don't do that. So how do you fight a war against people who hide behind women, strap bombs to their children, care nothing for their neighbors - if it means a chance to kill the ugly infidels? What weapons do we have at our disposal that could possibly stop this madness? When you come right down to it, we only have one real weapon in this fight. And its a pretty damn good weapon. Its actually the ultimate weapon, if wielded properly. We have freedom.

America is at war. Again. And we have one weapon in our arsenal that stands a chance against our enemies. We have freedom. I like to think of it as the ultimate weapon. Free people seldom have the time to worry about some Joe Schmo in another part of the world mishandling a book. They're generally too busy enjoying life, playing with their kids, worrying about the mortgage, retirement. They don't generally worry about infidels, because there are more important things in life. That is the benefit freedom gives. It gives the individual the freedom to worry about stupid, every day, mundane things. The cost of gas, the pot holes in the street, the quality of their children's teachers. Freedom. Freedom not to have to mimic the great dictator's hatred and fear. Freedom to laugh at religious nuts and ignore their ramblings. Freedom to not give a damn about anything they don't want to give a damn about. Freedom.

America is at war. Again. We're the underdogs, and we have one weapon at our disposal that stands a ghost's chance in hell of winning this war. That weapon is freedom. And since this is war, we must use what ever weapons we can to ensure our survival. And we will use freedom to win this. This is why America is in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not because we're building an empire. If America wanted to rule the world, believe me, we'd already be doing it. Hell, we were in charge of half of it by the end of World War II. We said, thank you no, we have to go back home and build the American dream, but thanks for asking. Of course we have military bases all over the world. After loosing 500,000 lives in a bloody war, you tend to want to keep an eye on things. But a naval base in the Philippines, and an Army base in Iwo Jima do not, an empire make. The only chance we have in this new war is to bring freedom, democracy and stability to drain the cease pools of the world. Drain the swamps, kill the mosquitos, free the people, and let them enjoy the freedoms we have here. That is how this war will be won. Its the only way. They will either accept life on our terms, or we will accept death on theirs. My money is on America. My money is on freedom.

Freedom.