The Sky is Falling!

Once again I am not the most qualified to answer questions on this topic but I would like to share my viewpoint on the unrest in Iraq right now that is playing all over the news. Civil war huh? Well I have not seen anything of the sort yet but what do I know, I didn't graduate from college with a degree in journalism (which becomes obviously clear when you consider my grammatical skills: ain't that the truth.)

So there is unrest in Iraq huh? Wow hard-hitting journalism at it’s best. Civil war? I don’t think so. In order to have a civil war a lot more would have to happen in Iraq. And my great service to my readers, thank you tfdad, is to point you towards an article that can tell you what those things are. Go to www.billroggio.com and find the blog entitled “Looking for Signs of Civil War in Iraq.” He explains it better then I could or will apparently cause I am not in an area of religious unrest right now. But then again who is? Is the unrest all over Iraq? Well in my experience it is not. So if there is the minute chance that other soldiers read my blog please speak up and let me know what you think about the topic.

In the background as I write this right now I hear a TV with the news on. The reporter is talking about the daytime curfew that is in effect in some cities today and is treating it like the world is coming to an end. (Newsperson) “And in Iraq today a daytime curfew has been put into effect to help quell the recent violence and mosque bombings. We all hope that such drastic measures will help calm the religious unrest enveloping Iraq right now.” I made that up but it sounds like most reports on the news right now. Daytime curfew-big freaking deal. Maybe the Iraqis can take the time inside to think about what is really going on in their country. Maybe they can realize how low they have sunk now that we had to put them in time-out so they will quit fighting and calling each other names. Maybe they should all count to 10 and take some deep breaths before they come out to play again.

I, like everyone else besides the terrorists, hope that Iraqis will come to some kind of terms with each other so that they can live together in peace. Maybe this “unrest” will help them realize what they need to do and how far they need to go in order to act like civilized adults.

I have been reading a book called “Stoic Warriors” (sorry I have not figured out how to underline or italicize titles yet so forgive me for my quotations) by Nancy Sherman about the role of Stoic philosophy in today’s military. The chapter I just finished is entitled “Manners and Morals” and was about the role citizens are supposed to play in their society (sort of). The Stoics believed it was our duty to bathe properly so as not to offend others, to behave in a non-offensive manner in public so as not to object others to our rude behavior, among a slew of other responsibilities. The Iraqis would do well to read the Stoics and learn to treat each other with the respect that a virtuous person is supposed to. Now I know Americans would do well to learn them too but at this juncture in history I would loan my copy of “Stoic Warriors” and the writings of Epictetus’ to the Iraqis first.

Concerning news reports I think I have discovered a way to gleam more truth out of them. I think it would be better if the news were delivered with no emotion. If we could somehow read just the transcripts of each show then we might not be swayed so much in our opinion of what is happening in the world.

(A blog about “Stoic Warriors” will follow as soon as I finish reading it.)