Blah, blah, blah
Entry posted by markdohle
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Blah, Blah, Blah
I went to the airport yesterday to pick up the brother of a friend. Atlanta airport is probably the busiest in the world at this time and growing faster than the space being allowed. So in the summer you can only imagine how bad it can be, and just before a holiday only adds to the mess. Sometimes even the hourly parking lot is full in the summer months, but I was lucky, I was able to get in, though it did seem to be filling up.
The security was tight; there were police pretty much everywhere, with guns, clubs, waking in twos, and in good shape. There is always a lot of energy in airports, people excited about meeting loved ones, people happy to either be home, or perhaps starting a vacation, and yes some frustrated and angry, never in short supply at most airports. A sea of passengers was continually being disgorged by the underground train, moving rapidly towards their proper terminal.
In the midst of this, there was a steady stream of military platoons, being marched through to one section of the luggage area, in the South Terminal, the one I was waiting at. As they marched by, they were led by I guess what was a veteran calling out for people to get out of the way, for the troops coming through. People clapped and watched, some seemed happy and proud, other sad and yes also proud, to see so many young people in uniform. Some of the recruits looked tired, but for the most part they seemed ready to take on what must be done. For myself and perhaps for many others, my heart got heavier each time I saw a platoon march by as I waited. I guess in the course of an hour there was well over two hundred troops gathering in the baggage area.
As I gazed on their faces, these children most had to be no more than 20; I realized that some of them most probably would not be coming back. Those who came back, some would be crippled for life, and yes some wounded in their psyche making their life very difficult not only for them, but for their loved ones. Lucky for the recruits they could not perceive their future, or those of their friends there with them. I am not angered over the war, but sad, yes very, to again see our young sent over to fight, die and suffer for perhaps a war that we will not be able to win.
I am not angry at Bush, what is the point, I believe even if the Democrats won over Bush in the last election, we would still be over there and it seems to be getting worse. Wars seldom work, yet we continually get ourselves involved in such things over and over again, even though on a conscious level we don’t want it. Perhaps we are little insane as a species, bent on destruction, mayhem, hatred and the lust for revenge; often covered with clichés that mean nothing, making up sides, one evil and the other good, with little or no gray to temper things a bit. I feel this at work in me. Each time another terrorist attack happens I can feel the irrational desire to strike out at the enemy, becoming tribal, wanting to punish all Muslims for the crimes of a few. It is not pleasant seeing my reptilian brain working so hard to overthrow my desire to stay balanced and rational; not that I ever reach that state. I doubt I am alone in this. Perhaps in the end, if things continue the way they are going, the whole Muslim world will be made hostage, a turn around, we will all be hostage to terror, one big unhappy family, with the hatred and chaos growing after each attack and then our retaliation.
I went to get a cup of coffee and as I was walking by the small chapel there I noticed a young couple standing outside just clinging to each other. The women had her eyes closed, barely breathing, and the young man eyes were wide open showing a great deal of sorrow over the separation soon to come. The scene was being acted out all over the airport, but for some reason they got my full attention.
So much chaos, pain, hatred and the lust for revenge in the world that most likely will not be ending very soon in the future, if it ever will, as a species we seem to be very slow learners. I have a feeling that this process that we are going through, painful as it is, is perhaps necessary if we are to learn at all. The world is getting too small for all the wars going on. Perhaps the pain needs to get much worse before we learn collectively what a waste of time it is. I guess we have to see this to the end, whatever that will be. Perhaps we will learn, or again we will snuff ourselves out, or throw ourselves back to some more primitive time by the destruction of our way of life.
We are responsible, we do it to ourselves, our leaders do what in the end we want them to, though when things do not work out we cry and mourn forgetting our support in earlier times. I think our politicians are the worst, and as much as I hate to say it, I have nothing but contempt for most of them. I know there must be some good ones out there who really care for the people, but lately I have seen none. Though I don’t think Bush is evil, I wonder if this war is really about something else. I will leave it up to press to sort it out, though in reality they are so partisan that they are pretty much worthless also; Both the left and the right.
I know this is not a balanced write, I just needed to express what I feel at this time.
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