Syria. I know. I know. Nothing new. But I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
I've been trying not to - but this is my blog - so I can write whatever the hell I want.
I don't even know where to start. I think I could probably rant about this for days. And by probably, I mean, I have been to anything that will stay still. Which mostly means my bedroom furniture for hours on end.
Firstly, I am not the most informed person. I stay away from all forms of the news and pretty much only hear about things by word of mouth or tumblr. And if I get any facts wrong, feel free to shoot me down. Does it make me a bad person for laughing at that? Kind of a lot. Yeah? I thought so. Moving on.
I have heard arguments both for and against "taking action" against Syria, where we are pretty sure sarin gas has been used. But we don't know by who. We don't know which side. And, we also don't know which is the "right" side (although we think we know all those things). But does fighting fire with fire really help a situation? I don't think so. How is that sending a good message? "So, we think you might have killed people using sarin gas. Which we have decided is banned completely and signed something saying we wouldn't use it. So, we're going to blow you up." Doesn't that just add to all the tension?
Not to mention how many times the US has used chemical weapons. Yeah. It's okay if we do it. Because 'merica.
And not to mention that it has never helped any of the other times the US has tried it (fighting fire with fire). But we don't learn from our mistakes. Because 'merica.
And, one more not to mention, we have enough resources to arm Syrian rebels BUT we don't have enough money to educate our children or even feed them for that matter. Because 'merica.
Is death by sarin gas horrible? Yes. Most people die of asphyxiation. No one is going to say that is not a horrible way to die. But, isn't starving to death worse? It's much slower. Especially if you're eating what you can. And what about infection from bullet wounds? Isn't your body being slowly consumed by an infection worse than dying over a few minutes?
"But we have to protect our country." Sure, but isn't every life worth the same? Why is the way someone dies more important than the fact that s/he is dead!? Because 'merica.
Moving on, aren't there other genocides happening too? And there are 27 MILLION slaves in the world right now. More than have ever been in the history of the world. And if you ask most Americans, slavery doesn't exist anymore.
I don't understand why it doesn't matter if people are dying, unless chemical weapons were used. And why does that warrant even more deaths?
On the Colbert Report earlier, he said (extremely paraphrased) "We should just blow up all of Syria. That way we can save a few Syrian children."
But there's nothing we can really do about the children starving in Africa, right? Wrong. If everyone gave up meat, the land used to feed and keep cows would be used for farming, and everyone in the world would have enough food. But we couldn't have that, because ('merica) we like asserting our dominance over others too much. "Our teeth are made for eating meat. People had to eat meat." Yes, they did. Before enough other choices were readily available. But now that they are, there is no reason so many resources have to go to it.
I've gone far from Syria but have not strayed far from the topic.
I am mostly wondering why we don't care if people die... unless it's from sarin gas. And why does that warrant killing even more people? What will that accomplish? Nothing. Will it show the people using the gas that it's wrong? Yes. But, guess what... I think they already know. So how will that stop it being used? If anything, it would make the use of it more secret. If whoever is using the gas really wants to, they're going to keep using it. And we're not going to stop them. Instead, we're going to create more drama. Not only with Syria but all of the other nations telling us not to. What gives us that right? Because we're Americans? Because we think we can do whatever we want, whenever we want, because we're the best? Well, let's face it. We're not. We're not the best. And as long as we keep acting like we are, we can never be the best. A good country tries to have true peace. Not start a war in the name of peace. That's just oxymoronic.
Alright, I'm going to end on a lighter note. Or I'm going to have The Oatmeal end on a lighter note for me.
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