Turn the Page

“Time to turn the page.” I listened to President Obama the other night speaking to the American people that the combat phase of war in Iraq is over.

He said 50-thousand troops would remain in Iraq for support and training. 50-thousand of our sons and daughters; each one is authorized to carry a weapon; each one is vigilant and armed every time they move from place to place; each one is still in harms way from militant combatants who cannot see a peaceful future through their searing fire of hate.

There will be combat in Iraq. There will be American combat deaths despite the fact officially we are turning the page. Every soldier in Iraq knows it.

I am old enough to remember my childhood friends whose Fathers didn’t return from Europe or the South Pacific. I remember similar sorrow when families where torn apart by the war in Korea. Ditto Vietnam, ditto Iraq war one, ditto Iraq war two, and ditto Afghanistan. You would think we’d get tired of dittos and death.

Some wars are necessary. Some wars are contrived. All wars are draped in the silk of patriotism for how else can we justify the sacrifice of our children and treasure?

All leaders who encourage and promote war are participants in crimes against humanity. I did not say “guilty of,” I said “participants in” crimes against humanity for war is killing by nature. The archaic process of killing someone or a culture to lessen a threat or a movement or a belief is ludicrous.

The human race has been turning to new pages for a long time in order to put aside a bad taste or a bad time and to try again to embrace the innate harmony within us.

Turning to a new page does not mitigate our collective responsibility for actions past or present. It only soothes and hides it for a singular moment in the illusionary sequence of time.

Everything in the universe eventually will balance. Whether you believe it or not, whether you like it or not it’s a law.