"If you tolerate this...

...your children will be next."

This is one of my favorite songs from the late '90s and is from a Welsh group that I dig a lot: The Manic Street Preachers. I don't know why these guys didn't cross over into America. I mean, Catherine Zeta Jones is Welsh and look at her! Anyway, I love Nicky Wire's lyrics in this song, a song about The Spanish Civil War, specifically the volunteers from around the world that wanted to join the Republican fighters (Socialist) cause against the then current Nationalist government.

I can't help but think of our current occupation of Iraq and think how our presence undermines whatever altruistic goals we may have had at the beginning. I know that altruism really had nothing to do with our going there in the first place; it's just a salve to help us cope and continue with the more selfish and destructive reasons that we go to war. Journalist/writer P.J. O'Rourke was on "Real Time with Bill Maher" last night and he recounted a thought that he had to himself as he was flying over Kuwait right before the start of this war, seeing the endless mass of war machines in formation ready to roll, "Boy, it's a lot more expensive to steal oil than to buy it." Yes, getting oil certainly is more expensive, more costly, and more insane to do it this way.

Getting back to the song, I think of how our presence, right or wrong, rallies idealistic Arab men to unite to the cause of being a thorn in our side. I think our supposed intent was to make the lives of Americans and Iraqis safer has been demoted to "boner" status now, and we all know how embarrassing it is to commit those kinds of lapses in judgment. The solution is to do more of the same and expect different results. This has nothing to do with George Bush's record of failed business empires, nope, none whatsoever. He needs to get on his knees and thank God in Heaven for having passed through his mother's womb and having his father's last name, because that is essentially all that mattered.

The further point I want to make is what do "we" (U.S.' & other involved countries' citizens) do to get our governments to improve/change their foreign policies for the better? Are we all going to stand for gross errors in policy, logic, and strategy from our respective governments? Have we lost the will to effect change in our world? Have we all turned into "gutless wonders", as mentioned in the song? Megadeth's Dave Mustaine sings, "Peace sells, but who's buying?" Are we too cheap to spring for peace, so we settle for war instead?

Where's the fucking outrage?

Where's the fucking solution?

"If we tolerate this, then our children will be next."