Syria. Writing about it feels like opening a can of worms, but the whole idea of this blog is to get things off my chest without pissing off people I know on Facebook and the like. So, on to my frustrated rant, which can be summed up as “get the damn issue straight”:
From what I understand the issue is not Assad vs rebels. The issue is should we issue a punitive strike aimed at Assad for using chemical weapons. It seems most of my Facebook feed is confused about this, 2 examples:
“I don’t understand how bombing the people of Syria is going to help them escape an evil dictator” (It won’t, and is not supposed to)
“If an alligator and crocodile were in a fight it wouldn’t matter which one you helped. No matter what you’d still have a 1000 pound monster that wants nothing more than to bite your face off. Ladies and gentleman(sic), I give you Syria.” (Aaaagh, not the issue. One could validly argue that punitive bombing of one side is by extension helping the other side, but I do not see many people going that deep.)
Another thing that the issue is not is should we as a country spend money on bombing Syria or on education/cleaning up our own cities/whatever domestic issue is important to you.
(Money not spent on bombing Syria does not equal money well spent domestically)
Foreign and domestic issues are inherently different.
In reference to Obama’s 2008 comment “They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”. (Apples and oranges, IMO)
Historical situations can help instruct us, but it is rarely an exact comparison.
(Every situation needs to be looked at individually. Plus, I feel like I have seen more evidence of Assad *using* chemical weapons than I ever saw of Saddam *having* them)
The number of people I have seen publicly wondering why we as a society were talking about Miley Cyrus instead of Syria is staggering. The thing I found really interesting was that in my Internet world I did not see anyone actually talking about Miley Cyrus, just bitching about people talking about it. (I have two issues with this. If it is such a problem for you, stop perpetuating it! Also, I watched the VMA clip since everyone told me I should not be distracted by it and I found some really interesting racial discussions worth having wrapped up in the whole debacle.)
It seems that there is more condescension and antagonism than actual discussion. If I see a link that is titled “morons” I will assume that the person posting said link has no interest in understanding or discussing the issue at hand, they want a circle jerk of agreement. If you actually want to ‘get information out there’ don’t be mean in the presentation.
I could keep going with examples of my frustration, but I think it is time to stop that section of the blog. I would like to point out that quotes and pics were all pulled off my Facebook feed from liberals and conservatives alike. I am an equal opportunity ranter.
In the interests of full disclosure I will put my view out there. Start with the fact that I consider myself extremely liberal. I was fully opposed to the Iraq war. Imagine my surprise to find myself in support of bombing Syria (specifically Assad). The way I see it is I do not want to live in a world where chemical and nuclear weapons are considered a viable alternative. Without repercussions for using them I think they will be used more. I thought it should go through the UN, but with political alliances that won’t really work. I will not claim to be totally educated on every facet of the issue. In fact, I would love to be more educated by having intelligent discussions, change my view! Instead I find myself so distracted by antagonism and strawman arguments that I am no longer focused on learning about the issue. Hopefully letting it all out here will ease that ranty part of brain and I can get back to actual thinking.
Or, I could just stop looking at Facebook.
Sometimes I need to rant 
“I am an equal opportunity ranter” LOVED this line!
Yes, you should stop looking at facebook.
And just for the sake of argument, when a child is spanked, do they learn not to do the thing they were spanked for or do they learn that hitting another person is a perfectly acceptable way of showing anger? Or do they learn they have to be more sneaky the next time? Can you promise that by giving Assad a ‘spanking’ he will never do those things again?
But I cannot stop with the Facebook! Like watching a train wreck.
Fair point about the lesson learned. Then would the solution be discussion and some other form of punishment, like a criminal war trial? Is that doable? If not is doing nothing the better answer? Also, if one were ‘more sneaky’ would that mean smaller chemical weapons that would be more likely unnoticed? I would vote that being a step up from massive chemical weapon strikes. But really, I know I do not really have the answer.
That was exactly to point I was trying to make (through my fuzzy mind yesterday) we don’t have the answer because the question is extremely complicated. (42!) The thing about the FB postings that pisses me off – is that everyone tries to simplify the story down to fit within their own perspective. Which doesn’t work because unless you are there, intimately involved, your perspective will be, by necessity, distant, blurry, obscured. Far from precise, and very far from being useful or helpful to the people actually involved.
First, since I am currently 42 *I* am the answer.
Second, the only point I remember was that rules in war are inherently unrealistic (valid).
I agree that we will not have the full story, by default because we are looking at it all from far away. I still think it is a good thing to strive for understanding better. The whole I will never be perfect, but I can be better thing. I *try* and think that way in reference to most things in life.
Oh, and yes, very well written. You made your point perfectly!
Yay! Thanks.