Strangely enough, nothing has irritated me enough to sit down and rant...until now. I am sure, by now, you have all figured out, I speak my own personal take on things. Hey, it is likely I am occasionally wrong, but...this is my space, and I figure I can spew exactly how I feel. If someone does not agree, so be it, hey, comment, or...don't bother reading. Two easy choices, both very acceptable.
I suppose, also by now, you all know I am a face book follower. I love it, it offers me a peek into the world of old and new friends. When you live so far away from everyone you are connected to, this is the quickest way to ensure everyone is alive and kicking.
That said, Face Book has also become a way to share world news, and tidbits of curiosity. Most times, I just click into the stuff, shake my head, and move on. I have learned over time, many things posted are not true, so...there is SNOPE. Hey, figured I had that down pat. My mistake. I saw a news story, with a shocking video, and decided it was so disturbing, I was going to ensure it was real, before sharing. Ahhh...that is when my technical inadequacy surfaced. See, old people like me, figure all you have to do is type everything down, and you will automatically be taken to the place you want. I typed Snope and then "video of Syrian soldier eating human organs" Bam....there it was stories about the video. The part I didn't clue into, was, I wasn't on Snope, it was actually CNN and it was a news story that stated this was "alleged". Hello...didn't clue in, and shared, with my own comments. Hey, I said earlier, likely I am occasionally wrong, and this might be one of those times.
Problem is, I kind of doubt this video is not fact. And, as disturbing, and sickening as it is, after the disgust wore off, my grey matter was quivering. History is telling us that the country of Syria is next on the list of middle eastern countries the world (the United States) is going to march into and fix. That frightens me far more than a video of one human eating another's organs.
Why does the consumption of people parts not worry me as much as war? Because, Syria is a very old country, with very, very old traditions. We know there are many countries out there that cut the hands off thieves. We know there are countries that still stone other humans for perceived wrong doings. We know there are countries with traditions that allow child labour, and women are treated as second class citizens, and cripples are shunned. There are countries where children are forced into prostitution, and women are bought and sold like cattle. Whole countries starve.
All of this has gone on for centuries. Culture and tradition has been taken from many in our own country, because some saw it as wrong. It did not suit the western culture. Is everything here perfect? No, many are attempting to regain what they lost, and we have realized it was a mistake to tear who they were as a people away, and force them to become what one group saw as the "right" way.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am certainly not promoting all that which I speak of. I hate to see children suffer, I hate to see women treated as property. However....in some worlds, the "old" worlds, that is the culture and that is the tradition. To attempt destroy the way of life of a whole country will never be a positive. I look back on the countries that have had wars that the "western world" stepped into, in the time period I have been alive, and see if things were fixed. I suppose Vietnam could be better off than before, however, now among their tradition and culture, we have a new mix. We put our ideas and ways into their world, and along with the good, we have definitely added some nasty problems.We saw the Gulf war, helllloooo, have a look at what that accomplished. Made a few folks extremely rich, and things are still a mess. Iraq, just so sad, are the people of that country better off now? Afghanistan?
The western world seems to think they know better. Why do we think our way is right? Are we really so stupid as to think we go in, have a chat, decide who it is we think is best to run things, set them up, walk away, and lo and behold the sun shines brighter and the country's citizens suddenly wake up happy, free, and middle class? The sad truth is, each time the western world steps in, we make the call, we pick a side, and hand over incredible amounts of money and power to that side. Human nature is such that, when one is given this power over all, no matter who they are, corruption rears its nasty head. Those who have this incredible support become all powerful, and then a country must change to suit their ideals.
Those of us who live in North America,( both countries), have come to realize our own governments are corrupt, they do what they want. They spend our money, and make the rules behind closed doors. We call ourselves the "free world", it is extremely obvious we are anything but free. The voices of the people have been limited to those who have found their way into power by the "vote". Once they get in office, they decide they know best. They ignore the voice of the people, they do what those who sit behind the doors feel is right. They feel that the single vote the people took that got them in, gives them the ability to run things as they see fit. They become so busy trying to fix other countries, they do not have time to clean up their own home. Each time they devote to a problem "off shore" our own country suffers. We spend obscene amounts in military support, we send thousands of our own to die in places they are not welcomed by either side. Our leaders sit behind the doors, trying to build new countries, while our own suffer.
In the perfect world, I would adopt every single Christian Children Fund child! I would have water wells in every African town. I would build schools, and hospitals, and I would have safe homes for all those oppressed women, and young kids would never have to sit all day making clothes for big box stores.
But, the sad truth is, in my own country there are children who suffer, there are communities without clean water, there are many towns without medical care, women here are abused with no place to go.
Before we take up arms, and attempt to fix things in places we know little about, places that have survived far longer than our young countries, we had best focus on our own mess. We obviously are far from perfect, and it is past time to clean up our own backyard, before we go traipsing into others.
As to that sickening business of eating human organs. I find it obscene, and beyond disturbing, but...remember, Syria is a country far older than ours. If you look back into European history, you will find stories of this horrible practice, between Protestants and Catholics (O.K. it was in the 1500's). History tells of the Aztecs doing exactly the same, and aboriginal tribes in many countries. That doesn't happen now, we have evolved, and as far as I know, beyond really f*cked up murderers, we , as a people cannot fathom this. Again, Syria is NOT North America, or modern Japan, or modern Hawaii. It is a country steeped in culture and traditions, many which we do not condone, but they are not ours.
Before we go fixing their traditions and cultures like we fixed those of our own aboriginals, let's take a step back. The world cannot be a cookie cutter place. We are not the same, no matter what society claims. Our history, traditions and culture make us unique. Just because we do not like the ways of another world, does not give us the right, or even the responsibility to force them to adapt to what we feel is proper.
Let our leaders sit down and spend our money fixing our mess. Let them listen to their people, first. If in the next century, we can build our Utopia, we can then consider offering our hands to those who request it. We will open our doors to those who wish to commit to our way of life, those who chose to follow our traditions and culture, because a country must have those. Our tradition of the knowledge that if one works hard and follows the law, they can reach their dream, our culture that grows and adapts, and becomes something that other countries try to strive for.
It is time to mind our own business, get our own ducks in a row, and ensure we can live safe, happy, and healthy lives.
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