Our Own Interests
I like watching, listening to and reading what others have to say. Some are very heady, some funny, some plain dumb, and others follow the crowd, some thoughtful, and many are a little of everything. I was a counselor for many years, some of the interest comes from that I suppose.
I try to keep an open mind, sometimes thats pretty hard to do. We all have beliefs, interests, learning, experiences etc..
Many times our thoughts and actions are dictated by our own interests and experiences. I certainly can't say sometimes that one idea or opinion is better than another. Other times it is not too hard to disagree. But we can always listen and give our two cents worth if we see fit. There are those who believe they are right and that is that! I wish I could be that sure of all things, but I can't. I can only give my thoughts or wisdom and thats it. I have my beliefs, and my thoughts and wisdom, but I don't need to be right or think I have won in some way.
I guess in short, I know a little about lots of things, I know all there is to know about very few. I try to keep that in mind! I'm not passive by any means, if you ask me, I will rattle on about most things. I am also willing to learn. If I'm not sure I will look it up, study it, and possibly change my views, or not.
Here is an example: In the news it was reported that a few Marines killed several civilians after one of their own was killed by an IED. People are calling it murdering innocent civilians. And it may well have been. For those who have been in the military its easy to understand military life, for those who have been in combat its easier to understand combat conditions. Now this doesn't mean I agree with what happened, but I do understand that the Marines may have been victims also, tragic as it may have been. For one, we are hearing only part of the story, not from the Marines. A part of the problem of war is you don't always know who the enemy is. The insurgents don't wear uniforms, a teen ager may well be trying to kill you or a female. War is hard, even for the warrior, seeing death and destruction. Friends in body bags, and in reality our kids are seeing things that would make a cockroach puke. Guilty or not my friends, they are victims of the nastiness of war, and we sent them there. Amen
I try to keep an open mind, sometimes thats pretty hard to do. We all have beliefs, interests, learning, experiences etc..
Many times our thoughts and actions are dictated by our own interests and experiences. I certainly can't say sometimes that one idea or opinion is better than another. Other times it is not too hard to disagree. But we can always listen and give our two cents worth if we see fit. There are those who believe they are right and that is that! I wish I could be that sure of all things, but I can't. I can only give my thoughts or wisdom and thats it. I have my beliefs, and my thoughts and wisdom, but I don't need to be right or think I have won in some way.
I guess in short, I know a little about lots of things, I know all there is to know about very few. I try to keep that in mind! I'm not passive by any means, if you ask me, I will rattle on about most things. I am also willing to learn. If I'm not sure I will look it up, study it, and possibly change my views, or not.
Here is an example: In the news it was reported that a few Marines killed several civilians after one of their own was killed by an IED. People are calling it murdering innocent civilians. And it may well have been. For those who have been in the military its easy to understand military life, for those who have been in combat its easier to understand combat conditions. Now this doesn't mean I agree with what happened, but I do understand that the Marines may have been victims also, tragic as it may have been. For one, we are hearing only part of the story, not from the Marines. A part of the problem of war is you don't always know who the enemy is. The insurgents don't wear uniforms, a teen ager may well be trying to kill you or a female. War is hard, even for the warrior, seeing death and destruction. Friends in body bags, and in reality our kids are seeing things that would make a cockroach puke. Guilty or not my friends, they are victims of the nastiness of war, and we sent them there. Amen
posted by Reflections at 9:33 PM
4 Comments:
I can see where the stress would make the soldiers do things that are unthinkable to us. There are victims on both sides of this tragic war.
This was a tragic event for sure. All of war is tragic. All hatred is tragic. Judging others from your perception is tragic. Only a persons heart and soul really know what happened. Problem is, for the Warrior soldier, put in a time and place, you can not possible calculate every circumstance that comes your way. And you live with the consequences forever.
I know nothing more about this horrible incident than I have read on the blogs.
As a former miltary medic who chose the job of saving lives not taking lifes I am sorry for these deaths and all of the unnecessary deaths in this unnecessary war.
In one of the many blogs that wrote of this incident I would associate myself with this quote from Billmon.
It's not entirely fair to blame these guys for being enthusiastic killers -- after all, that's what the Marines train them to be and what we pay them to be. But when you put their ferocity together with the thinly disguised signals being broadcast by the pro-war media, and the growing racial and religious hatred of the "sand niggers," and the repeated rotations, nightmarish conditions, poor equipment and insufficient manpower plaguing the U.S. military in Iraq -- i.e. the Donald Rumsfeld experience -- it's a surprise we haven't seen more atrocities like My Lai . . . I mean, Haditha.
I will wait with others to see what the investigations show before passing final judgement.
I'm not willing to become the judge,jury and excecutioner from the comfort of my local coffee shop.
We should all know and heed the wisdom of:
walking in someones moccasins
and
judge not others lest ye be judged
OK, pulling the trigger on a mother & child lying on the floor is not something that should be judged. Now I get it.
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