05/27/2007: "Oh, say can you see..."
It is a sad commentary on the human condition, but it was a predictable fact, given the blind greed and criminal negligence of our leaders. You see, there have been nearly 1000 American serviceperson deaths in Iraq since last Memorial Day. If Memorial Day has any meaning outside of a day to drink beer, and if there are prayers in you, say them for the souls of those young ones so unnecessarily lost to a war long overdue for an end, yet with no end in sight.
There is plenty of blame to go around. It's not just President Fool or The Evil Veep, or even Condoleeeeza the Incompetent. No, there's a Democratic majority in Congress, unable to find their balls, to blame as well. And then there are those of us out here in the dark. We have a greater responsibility for the condition we find ourselves in this Memorial Day 2007. Jules, played by Samuel L. Jackson in Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" said it this way in the movie's final scene.
JULES
There's a passage I got memorized.
Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the
righteous man is beset on all sides
by the inequities of the selfish and
the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is
he who, in the name of charity and
good will, shepherds the weak through
the valley of the darkness. For he
is truly his brother's keeper and
the finder of lost children. And I
will strike down upon thee with great
vengeance and furious anger those
who attempt to poison and destroy my
brothers. And you will know I am the
Lord when I lay my vengeance upon
you." I been sayin' that shit for
years. And if you ever heard it, it
meant your ass. I never really
questioned what it meant. I thought
it was just a coldblooded thing to
say to a motherfucker 'fore you popped
a cap in his ass. But I saw some
shit this mornin' made me think twice.
Now I'm thinkin', it could mean you're
the evil man. And I'm the righteous
man. And Mr. .45 here, he's the
shepherd protecting my righteous ass
in the valley of darkness. Or it
could be you're the righteous man
and I'm the shepherd and it's the
world that's evil and selfish. I'd
like that. But that shit ain't the
truth. The truth is you're the weak.
And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But
I'm tryin'. I'm tryin' real hard to
be a shepherd.
You probably need to see the movie again to understand where I'm going, but, for now, leave it at this: we may believe we are righteous in our anger at, say, the Iraqis or Al Qaeda or the guy down the street whose dog is barking. But it is up to you and only you to find PEACE. And if enough of us find it, then the world will find it too.
I've quoted this one before from Ghandi: Be the change you want to see in the world.
Peace. Kindness.