Furry Animals and Forks in the Road
Euphemistically, this was a really bad, no good, awful week for American democracy. Violent extremists took our Capitol, desecrated it, and attempted a coup. The coup and surrounding events in our life, including a large number of perishing citizens in the pandemic, at least equate to some of the attributes of a failing state by any reasonable measure. I do not think we have hit rock bottom and feel like we are all at a fork in the road on what we do next in terms of our personal choices and how we treat one another moving forward.
I will say that I do not presume to have all the answers but I’ll offer a perspective from someone who has led Americans in combat zones (true failed states), post-Civil War countries (recovering failed states), and places on the brink as we are now. I think we all have a responsibility for the political discourse in our country (what we amplify, click and vote for) and there are some simple lessons learned I’ll pass on. Some of you will not like what you hear and not read on. Some might get it but not say anything or take a stand in any way. I do think the choice you make is important though. What will you let ride and what restraint will you show when you are the losing end of something you are passionate about? Sometimes you just lose. 2016 and 2020 taught all of us that.
For me, I think we have to de-militarize our social and political discussions. We cannot use words like enemy to discuss those on the other side of the political spectrum. They are human and American. If we de-humanize one another it leads to violence like we saw on January the 6th. And that is not okay and only leads to harm. I learned this lesson in Bosnia and Iraq. Let’s come out of this death spiral of rhetoric that is only poisoning the air we all breathe and serves to make it harder to find obvious common ground.
I also think we should recognize that radicalization has been alive and well in our domestic life for too long and not checked in appropriate ways. Let’s be clear-eyed about the violent extremism growing in our hometowns and our country — witnessed this week. People do not wake up wanting to bomb, shoot, or hate one another — it is taught. I learned this in Brcko, Bosnia watching grandparents seed hate in the few children roaming the streets and villages at that time. Once they have become radical, the danger can really explode quite literally as we have witnessed in our Nation, its Capitol, and one of our great cities in Nashville on Christmas recently. Wednesday was a near miss for mass casualties but the body blow to democracy and our national security and global standing is impossible to estimate at the moment. The negative trend is clear, however. I realize for some people, these words will not penetrate the cloud and violent extremists are not my aim. I’m aiming for those that have an opportunity to go a different route and those that want to help. I’m not asking for a change in views but a change in behavior and mindset towards one another.
Turning to other obvious social issues, I think that our representatives that had to hide in fear on the Capitol floors now all know what children in our schools have felt for too long. Most of them already knew this and did not need personal experience to learn this lesson. To put a finer point on it, military style weapons belong in the military. Not our civilian life. How many times are we likely to be overrun by 30 deer in the forest and need high capacity cartridges and assault rifles to save ourselves? Mmm. Bambi platoons and zombies do not seem a likely threat to me. But we do need those weapons and intense training to use them safely and effectively on the field of combat where they belong, not our towns and cities and schools. So, let’s quit glamorizing and militarizing our civilian life by profiteering off this notion that we are at war unless we want to be at war. I for one do not. For those that have never been in a war zone, I do not think you want a war either. It is nothing but pain and suffering. And it really smells — learned this in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, Iraq.
So, I want to close this post on a lighter, more positive note (the tone was probably too sober and serious in tone). It’s just one incomplete, imperfect perspective. I do not kid myself into thinking it is anything more.
What might all Americans agree on…? I actually think we are all foodies. We should celebrate that and share our diverse culture and interests with one another. I’m personally a street truck and taco fan, love a good chili dog or some slow cooked barbecue (NC-style for me) and I’d be happy to share my favorites for those in the DC area :).
I think we all need clean air in our lungs to breathe and live. That means we need quality health care and to knock the snot out of this pandemic. We need less pollution and cleaner, more sustainable ways to keep the lights on in the house, our streaming connections running (embarrassingly I have them all I think), and our people and products moving across the Nation safely.
We almost all love pets (see above what I have to deal with every morning). Especially furry ones. I myself am stuck between a cat and a dog on most nights, wake up every morning as shown above, and that is very much okay. Truly helps me and my family cope.
Lastly, I think we all love a good gathering or party with music, food, and friends (I miss my friends and family like all of you probably do). Let’s take a cue from our musicians and restauranteurs that collaborate with one another to show the best of America in this regard and do it for ourselves in our lives in every way. Let’s choose the right way to turn. Let’s go down the right road and know that, if we do, we’ll get to a good place and it will be great.
I wish I could give a treat to everyone that got this far in the post but here’s a polite nod and tip of the glass from one of my favorites sitting here in Fairfax, Va. I harbor no ill-will towards my fellow Americans. I think we should not accept violent extremists. We should imperil each and every one of them to the fullest extent of our laws. But importantly, I just want us all to have a better, brighter future and know we can get there with work.
