“Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself?” A Look at Iraq
When FDR stated that we have nothing to fear but fear itself, reportedly he was referring to the need for Americans to develop more faith in the economy and increase spending. The oft quoted phrase is most often used to refer to war situations, or alternatively to the essence of the qualities of fear. If we are fearful, we are non-productive; we are non-creative. Fear is paralyzing and zaps our very strength and all of our energy.
The idea behind fear, in time of war, is “to get them before they get us,” a common mindset. The trouble is that the enemy is often an unknown entity. Fighting a ghost, we try to sidestep him, in our dreams. However, then he brings his friends along for support, and we are surrounded by leering, jeering, nebulous, almost-but-not-quite-there, images in our brains. The exercise is somewhat like shadow boxing.
I woke up from a similar nightmare this morning. In this dream sequence, I was surrounded by thugs in black leather jackets with metal studs. They wanted something of me. I knew not what. Jolting awake, I had the awareness of anger and the solid feeling that I would not go down without a fight.
Threatening behavior of others, whether in words or actions, is something I might have more easily walked away from in the past, and “let it go,” in the interest of peace. Now, I don’t encourage the bullies who would try to run roughshod over my psyche, like a roller attempting to mash down hot pavement and mold it into whatever shape they desire for their own USE.
I realize that my very own psychic reaction to threats is something I have in common with those who start wars. It is predictable that anyone would want to defend oneself, in the face of a despot, or a group of unsavory criminals.
While thinking all of these thoughts, I am also intensely aware of the fact that I dislike violence, and I REALLY DESPISE the current war, with its broken bodies, grieving loved ones, and blood spilled onto the earth, all for the fleeting ideologies of old men, who really can’t make up their minds about much of anything, except that they are “right.” Better to be right, I guess, than to be sensible.
We desperately need to get out of Iraq, and not think about invading yet a third country in the region, Pakistan, as Obama has suggested. We just keep becoming more and more enmeshed in the Middle East, and were it not for oil and business interests in the area, I doubt that we would pay much attention there.
As the death count rises, who can even keep track of how many soldiers or civilians have died? The number of disabled veterans is another sad story altogether. They, too, have given their “lives” for a cause that seemed like the right thing to do, at the time.
Yes, I am patriotic. Yes, I love this country. Yes, I support the troops. That is WHY, my friend, I would like to see our friends, our brothers, our sons and daughters, our husbands, our nephews, our nieces, our grandchildren, and our neighbors come home, where they belong.
The Home of the Brave Quilt Program is way behind in providing quilts for families of the deceased soldiers. While initially it was a nice idea, the thought of providing a quilt to each of the families of a fallen soldier was probably conceived at a time when the “war” was thought to be one of less duration.
With 2,300 quilts made, so far, the program is short of its goals. Clouding the issue is the demand of divorced parents to have their own personal “remembrance” by way of a tribute quilt, and the demand also of a twin, or other family member, to also have one. It has been difficult to keep up with giving one quilt to a family, let alone providing multiples. If you’ve ever made a quilt, you certainly would better understand the amount of work involved. ‘Taint easy, or quick!
While it is a wonderful thing to acknowledge the sacrifices of the military, it would be a far GREATER accomplishment to bring the troops home. I do not see this happening soon. Armaments and personnel have been increased over there for a long period of time. Logistically, we cannot exit quickly. We are caught in a “Catch 22″ situation that has ripped this country apart, politically, emotionally, and financially. There has to be an end-point to this insanity of WAR.
We should be making war on “war.” Only then, can we make quilts to celebrate a victory, when this enemy of children, the arts, and living things, is conquered.
Patricia Cummings
