COLUMN: Pointing the finger becoming too easy
Working in Washington, D.C., over the anniversary of 9/11 provided a historic opportunity. Army Gen. David Petraeus came to town. He’s the one whose name has been everywhere political the entire week. He gave his recommendation to the Senate slowly and calmly on how to proceed in Iraq. When I returned to work, his face was on every TV in the room. After lunch, his likeness was still there, but a it looked a touch on the tired side. Watching his actions scrupulously debated for the entirety of the day, I wondered to myself, “Isn’t he just doing the job given to him?”
At an out-of-state gas station a short while ago, the attendant filling up our car did an average job. She wasn’t extra nice. I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with the speed with which she processed everything. To be fair, she did her job well enough to sufficiently complete the task at hand, given the normal circumstances. Belittling her performance wouldn’t accomplish much. The pump couldn’t go any faster. The gas wouldn’t magically get cheaper. And I wouldn’t be a better individual for demeaning her. She could do her job so long as I paid for the transaction and didn’t get in the way.
Maybe we’re spending too much effort looking over the shoulders of the people we put in charge of the conflict in Iraq.
Before our ‘discussion’ goes any further: I want the fighting to be done as quickly as anyone else could want. I’m sure Petraeus and all of our troops aren’t thrilled to continue living in a combatant state. I don’t support a prolonged settling of forces in Iraq but can see where people discern as much from our extensive occupation. There should be no claiming this land or that land as history records mankind is so prone to do. I recognize some of us believe we should never have gone there, but we are there now so let’s address what we started.
The war was never expected to last a particular amount of time. There is no touchdown or final whistle to signify the end of the game here. I’m no fan of suffering, but we must ask ourselves if this is a cause our people should be fighting for. Despite the obvious danger, would you encourage your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters to be involved in such a task? Would we, given the circumstances were on a more personal basis, relinquish our determined spirit if the Iraqi people fighting were our close relatives? No one lets the family reunion get a little homicidal without a touch of concern.
In the balance hangs the very safety of our American family. Justice holds this frightening scale while she tip toes around the obstacles of our varied desires. The sacrifice of so many people is lost if she takes a wrong step.
Petraeus recognized the reality of wartime effects when he said, “I’m as frustrated with the situation as anybody else. This is going on three years for me, on top of a year deployment to Bosnia as well. So, my family also knows something about sacrifice.” Are we prone to be as honest with ourselves as he is? He’s there and he’s recommending we share in the burden they have a little longer.
When George Washington (yes, the original and namesake of our nation’s capital city) stood strong while surrounding Boston in the early years of the American Revolution, he also had concerns for the length of the war. Troops from all over the emerging nation were anxious to be done with their terms of service and return to their homes. Many were physically ill and wished for a warmer place to sleep.
Looking back in history, it’s easy for us to appreciate the value they all suffered for. It eventually united them but certainly had the ability to tear them apart. What tipped the scales? Are we now willing to suffer through the winter of this desert war? Willing to suffer for another people with different customs and different stories? Those people may honor our names as we now do Washington’s. They’re our family – only thousands of miles apart.
The only principle shared among our people now appears to be the animosity behind the true source of all war: the belief of ‘I’m right and you are wrong.’ As this complicated war comes to an arduous step in the path to a better world, I hope we can ease the war between ourselves here – now.
Jacob Fullmer is a junior in political science and journalism, working as an intern where history happens for the fall semester. He maybe reached at j.fullmer@aggiemail.usu.edu.