Usually, by
this time of the day I have put away the computer and am dedicated to things
like being instructed by a TV show or some such intellectual pursuit.
Actually,
earlier today I did watch TV for awhile. It was one of my favorite channels:
“The History Channel”. There was a compendium of first person narratives about
some of the more fierce WWII campaigns, like Philippines ,
Iwo Jima , and others in these parts of the
Pacific Theater. I did watch it for a while, although this is not the fare that
I normally want to see. One thing is a war movie where the action stops when
the actors get hot and thirsty. Another thing is the real issue, when there is no mercy
and no knowledge of when your last moment on earth may be.
This
particular campaign I watched included a documentary about the “Death March of
Bataan”, when some 70,000 American soldiers were forced marched through the
jungles in the Philippines
I
have to say that the war has been too exalted in the movies; to the victor go
the scraps and the rest of the servings also. What was little seen or explored
in the movies for many years, was the extremely harsh and unforgiving reality
of these exercises. The finality of these moments.
Is
there a real, justifiable reason for a war, where hundreds of thousands of
lives are lost on both sides? I do not have an answer to this. If we ask those
who have made of the military a career of choice, they will unequivocally say
this is the only way in which we can defend ourselves and also the only way in
which our (or, for that matter, the other
side’s for they are also using the same reasoning) ideals will survive. Those who oppose it will say the contrary.
After
some twenty years of travels around the world, it is clear to me that each
faction in this little globe of ours has its own way of looking at life.
Everyone has an established set of likes and dislikes; most everyone in the
average sector of their respective nations is dictated to by a group of people
who through political fervor, social manipulation or religious fears manages to
control their thinking patterns. I could probably say processes, but some may
feel threatened by this, so I will say “patterns”… same dog but a different,
more attractive collar . And if the target is "different" looking or thinking, the easier it is to exalt the masses. They are easy to identify.
I
know some of the people who read these blogs may not like what I want to
express in this particular one. I served in the military during the time of one of
these so-called “conflicts” and, perhaps because of this, I do not believe in
war. I also do understand that certain factions within our world do not
understand the concept of reasoning, or even talking, with someone who does not
espouse the same ideals… so… where does this leave my line of thinking? I am
not a philosophical intellect… these are personal thoughts expressed on “paper” after
more than 60 years of living under many different and, at times, extremely
difficult environments.
Often,
the concept of religion has been an issue of discussion in my travels. Without
problems, arguments, or hatred involved. Also the issue of politics. I can
accept it when someone differs from my own thinking, as long as this person has
taken the time to study or even read a bit about what he/she espouses. The only
measure that I demand in return, is that my thinking be also respected. This
isn’t too much to ask, is it?
Well, at times it seems to be.
Life
is a beautiful gift given us to mistreat it so badly; to spend it in hatred,
dislikes, and in a general negative state of mind. Yes, there are dangers and
threats we must deal with every day; but there are also many who are willing to
share with us their minds and lifestyles, if we only let them. A few do not
make up the whole; this is the assumption we make every time we assume someone is an "enemy" just because they look a ”certain” way, or they belong to a specific ethnic
or cultural group….
Let
us not judge others as we would not want them to judge us…
Be
Well … Be Back!!!
Final Notes:
- Pray for those who are fighting an illness which
may take them away from their loved ones… Every request is heard, and counts!!
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Otra Caja de Pandora”… The
Spanish language Blog… “otracaja.blogspot.com”
… Bienvenidos!!!
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