Times Change (rewrite)

When we stood upon the precipice of war yet a second time, with a dictator whom we supported and supplied during his war with Iran no less; instead of listening to Saddam when he told us he had no WMDs, the Bush Administration ignored diplomacy and chose to yet again impose our boots upon the necks of innocent people and remove a leader from office. We knew he was a bad leader, but embraced him because it suited us politically. We provided the gas that killed Kurds, knew he had done it; when he wanted more, we gave it to him. 

I often find it amusing, for lack of a better word, when those who find Saddam’s crimes reviling speak up about them in the U.S. as if he were the worst dictator on Earth. They never spoke of his crimes before. They were woefully ignorant. They instead sung the praises of President Ronald Reagan, who was one of the main suppliers to both the Taliban and Saddam. But times change, and so too must regimes. 

Were Americans silent over these crimes because they were blind to it, or because they wanted the Democracy around the globe? We still have done little to nothing about China’s move against Tibet, and it’s been fifty years. While Chinese soldiers continually beat, torture and rape Buddhist nuns, we buy goods from them as if nothing is going on. Times change, but the atrocities continue. 

The suffering in Darfur rages on, while the U.S. does nothing to help. This could be because our troops are stretched far too thin and we are losing two wars simultaneously (five wars if you count the war on drugs, poverty and cancer). It has been said that it’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback about this war on terror, but I say not if you’ve been paying attention all along. The signs were there, the proof or lack thereof was always there, and now the bloodshed is here to stay. But times change, and so too must our thinking. Ignorance of the world’s events is inexcusable. Actions and inactions committed in your name by way of your country’s military are tantamount to you doing it yourself. 

I’m supposed to support our troops and rally around the flag. I’m not supposed to think about it. Supporting the troops really means not getting them in harm’s way to begin with, not being a Bandwagon Patriot since 9/11/01. But times change, and thinking and using diplomacy just doesn’t seem American anymore.