...On Personal Responsibility...
Today I crashed into a building with a truck.
This is the second time I've done this.
I've also hit a biker with my side view mirrors on two different occasions. I felt horrible, but they stayed on their bikes and continued -a- peddling.
Ok, so today we couldn't find the keys to one of our land cruisers, so I spent the greater part of the morning sitting in my room staring at the wall completely enraged and telling anyone who'd listen how pissed off I was. So we got permission to use one of the trucks here on the compound, and they "kindly" let us use an F350. An F350 is an enormous truck. I hate driving it. Also, right outside the gate, there's this huge moat they're building. It's like a 40 foot drop. So it's kinda tight getting out of the gate with this ginormous truck and a ginormous moat and mounds of dirt next to it. So yeah, I scraped the side of the truck and one of the guys here had a coniption fit. My boss came into the dining place and asked "who wrecked the truck," and I was like "huh??" Since people like to embellish, I realized what he meant, and I was like "oh yeah I scraped the side." So I hopped into the vehicle office or whatever and was like "I did it!" cuz I don't really give a shit. I got a little speech about how horrible it was, and the whole time I was thinking, "Uuh sure, people destroy vehicles here all the time and no one cares, but all of a sudden it matters."
So what's my point? My point is, I did it. I take responsibility. This doesn't seem like a huge deal, but I've been noticing that taking responsibility for ones own actions is in cheap supply these days. It seems like a pretty popular thing to blame the USA, more specifically, George Dubya Bush. I'm gonna go to Japanistan soon, and like I said before I'm sure I'm gonna hear a lot of people's opinions about geopolitics. It's kinda hard to listen to people state their opinions, because generally they're uninformed. I remember a few years ago when, if you said something that you heard on the news, someone might say "YOU SHOULDN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR ON THE NEWS!" Nowadays, all I hear are opinions spewed verbatim from what people hear from the news. People generally have no idea of a larger context. Listening to CNN and talking shit is much easier than actually trying to get a broader, better informed overall picture and do one's own analysis. Accusing me of being a "brainwashed fascist" is also easier than considering what I have to say as well.
I also wish people had to be accountable/held responsible for what they say. I remember after US Troops went through Baghdad and "hostilities ceased," Ben Afleck went public saying that "now that it's over, we should pull all our troops out." Ben Afleck has a lot of influence by virtue of the fact that society has deemed him an icon. However, when he makes statements like this, he has no responsibility or obligation to follow through with his ideas. Nothing happens like "Ok Ben, we're pullin' out the troops, and if anything bad happens, it's all your fault and you'll be held accountable for it. Furthermore, you'll be punished severely if it doesn't all go down hunky-dory like." Actors are famous for reasons other than their intellect. Let's not forget that. My best friend Brandon and I used to talk about accountability of ones spoken opinion. I don't pray and I don't believe in any God, but my thoughts are always with him and I can't wait to see him again.
As you may have heard, a Japanese man recently got kidnapped by some militants. A British woman living in Iraq for many years also got kidnapped. I don't think these people deserved to get kidnapped, anymore than someone who takes a stroll in the hood at 3am deserves to get mugged. However, I can't help but wonder what these people are thinking. Yesterday, 3 women working for the UN also got kidnapped here. People who are getting kidnapped generally travel with no security - they are completely oblivious to any danger that might be present. They don't think it will happen to them. How can people be so careless with their lives? Why would someone take a bus from Jordan to Iraq? Why would someone want to be a tourist in Iraq?!?! As people sit in their homes watching Satellite Cable TV and browsing the web, they don't seem to realize that there are people out there who will not hesitate to use them in an attempt to undermine national policy. That means you, the reader. Yes, even though you are nice/kind/good looking/generous/ambitious/have a bright future/etc, there are people in this world who would not think twice to behead you/your mom/dad/sister/brother/doggie on the internet just because. Is this the fault of George Bush? Is it the fault of US foreign policy? Get real. US foreign policy is nothing more than a convenient excuse for these sick fuckers to publicize their political agenda in their own little sociopathic ways. Not everyone has the same concept of respect for human life that most of us have. If you think that these people won't exploit that concept, you are a fool and you stand the chance of being victimized. Take Somalia for example - militiamen used women and children as spotters for their gunman. They would also place children in between themselves and US troops because they knew that US troops would hesitate to kill children. In Iraq, it was made public that the US wouldn't go after Mosques. What happened? Duh... After seeing this enough times and realizing the risks, American troops will not hesitate to start mowin mofos down and calling for fire on Mosques. If you think this makes them evil people, I suggest you enlist in the Army or Marines, join the infantry, and walk a mile in their shoes.
I'm not trying to scare anyone, I'm just trying to be as realistic as possible. Taking the Moral Highground is wonderful and all, but let's not forget that people will exploit the bejesus out of it. Before making statements like "Well I'm just against the Military" or "Bush is a terrorist," I'd like to challenge people to do something other than spew CNN headlines and cheap pamphlet rhetoric and research that which they seem to be so against and outspoken against. I've found that the most outspoken people are often times the most ill informed, and I wonder how they can be so quick to put themselves in a position to look so utterly stupid. It probably stems from a lack of exposure to people who have differing opinions - everyone they interact with shares the same opinions as they do, so no one has ever really pulled their punk card. While my opinions on here may seem somewhat one sided, I am confident in my opinions and feel that I have a good grasp on both sides of many of the issues. If I don't, then I'm a bit more hesitant to say anything. But like I've said before, this is my blog and I reserve the right to rant and rave until my heart's content. :)
Thanks for reading--
This is the second time I've done this.
I've also hit a biker with my side view mirrors on two different occasions. I felt horrible, but they stayed on their bikes and continued -a- peddling.
Ok, so today we couldn't find the keys to one of our land cruisers, so I spent the greater part of the morning sitting in my room staring at the wall completely enraged and telling anyone who'd listen how pissed off I was. So we got permission to use one of the trucks here on the compound, and they "kindly" let us use an F350. An F350 is an enormous truck. I hate driving it. Also, right outside the gate, there's this huge moat they're building. It's like a 40 foot drop. So it's kinda tight getting out of the gate with this ginormous truck and a ginormous moat and mounds of dirt next to it. So yeah, I scraped the side of the truck and one of the guys here had a coniption fit. My boss came into the dining place and asked "who wrecked the truck," and I was like "huh??" Since people like to embellish, I realized what he meant, and I was like "oh yeah I scraped the side." So I hopped into the vehicle office or whatever and was like "I did it!" cuz I don't really give a shit. I got a little speech about how horrible it was, and the whole time I was thinking, "Uuh sure, people destroy vehicles here all the time and no one cares, but all of a sudden it matters."
So what's my point? My point is, I did it. I take responsibility. This doesn't seem like a huge deal, but I've been noticing that taking responsibility for ones own actions is in cheap supply these days. It seems like a pretty popular thing to blame the USA, more specifically, George Dubya Bush. I'm gonna go to Japanistan soon, and like I said before I'm sure I'm gonna hear a lot of people's opinions about geopolitics. It's kinda hard to listen to people state their opinions, because generally they're uninformed. I remember a few years ago when, if you said something that you heard on the news, someone might say "YOU SHOULDN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR ON THE NEWS!" Nowadays, all I hear are opinions spewed verbatim from what people hear from the news. People generally have no idea of a larger context. Listening to CNN and talking shit is much easier than actually trying to get a broader, better informed overall picture and do one's own analysis. Accusing me of being a "brainwashed fascist" is also easier than considering what I have to say as well.
I also wish people had to be accountable/held responsible for what they say. I remember after US Troops went through Baghdad and "hostilities ceased," Ben Afleck went public saying that "now that it's over, we should pull all our troops out." Ben Afleck has a lot of influence by virtue of the fact that society has deemed him an icon. However, when he makes statements like this, he has no responsibility or obligation to follow through with his ideas. Nothing happens like "Ok Ben, we're pullin' out the troops, and if anything bad happens, it's all your fault and you'll be held accountable for it. Furthermore, you'll be punished severely if it doesn't all go down hunky-dory like." Actors are famous for reasons other than their intellect. Let's not forget that. My best friend Brandon and I used to talk about accountability of ones spoken opinion. I don't pray and I don't believe in any God, but my thoughts are always with him and I can't wait to see him again.
As you may have heard, a Japanese man recently got kidnapped by some militants. A British woman living in Iraq for many years also got kidnapped. I don't think these people deserved to get kidnapped, anymore than someone who takes a stroll in the hood at 3am deserves to get mugged. However, I can't help but wonder what these people are thinking. Yesterday, 3 women working for the UN also got kidnapped here. People who are getting kidnapped generally travel with no security - they are completely oblivious to any danger that might be present. They don't think it will happen to them. How can people be so careless with their lives? Why would someone take a bus from Jordan to Iraq? Why would someone want to be a tourist in Iraq?!?! As people sit in their homes watching Satellite Cable TV and browsing the web, they don't seem to realize that there are people out there who will not hesitate to use them in an attempt to undermine national policy. That means you, the reader. Yes, even though you are nice/kind/good looking/generous/ambitious/have a bright future/etc, there are people in this world who would not think twice to behead you/your mom/dad/sister/brother/doggie on the internet just because. Is this the fault of George Bush? Is it the fault of US foreign policy? Get real. US foreign policy is nothing more than a convenient excuse for these sick fuckers to publicize their political agenda in their own little sociopathic ways. Not everyone has the same concept of respect for human life that most of us have. If you think that these people won't exploit that concept, you are a fool and you stand the chance of being victimized. Take Somalia for example - militiamen used women and children as spotters for their gunman. They would also place children in between themselves and US troops because they knew that US troops would hesitate to kill children. In Iraq, it was made public that the US wouldn't go after Mosques. What happened? Duh... After seeing this enough times and realizing the risks, American troops will not hesitate to start mowin mofos down and calling for fire on Mosques. If you think this makes them evil people, I suggest you enlist in the Army or Marines, join the infantry, and walk a mile in their shoes.
I'm not trying to scare anyone, I'm just trying to be as realistic as possible. Taking the Moral Highground is wonderful and all, but let's not forget that people will exploit the bejesus out of it. Before making statements like "Well I'm just against the Military" or "Bush is a terrorist," I'd like to challenge people to do something other than spew CNN headlines and cheap pamphlet rhetoric and research that which they seem to be so against and outspoken against. I've found that the most outspoken people are often times the most ill informed, and I wonder how they can be so quick to put themselves in a position to look so utterly stupid. It probably stems from a lack of exposure to people who have differing opinions - everyone they interact with shares the same opinions as they do, so no one has ever really pulled their punk card. While my opinions on here may seem somewhat one sided, I am confident in my opinions and feel that I have a good grasp on both sides of many of the issues. If I don't, then I'm a bit more hesitant to say anything. But like I've said before, this is my blog and I reserve the right to rant and rave until my heart's content. :)
Thanks for reading--
3 Comments:
"Yesterday, 3 women working for the UN also got kidnapped here. People who are getting kidnapped generally travel with no security - they are completely oblivious to any danger that might be present. They don't think it will happen to them."
Really? You think they are completely oblivious? Maybe they just can't afford to have contractors protect them.
I have a lot more respect for someone who volunteers their time over there trying to help (whether or not they are oblivious to the danger) than someone in Raleigh, MO who sits perfectly safe in their Escalade with a "4 MORE YEARS" bumper sticker and complains about gas prices on their cell phone.
Dear Anonymous,
Do you doubt the UN can afford to hire contractors for security? Even if they couldn't afford contractors, which I doubt, they could hire former Nepalese Ghurkas got $5 an hour. Hell, our company does, and they will kill and die for that wage. (Weird eh?) However, the UN's policy is "no weapons." When I went into their compound in Bamiyan, I had to leave my gat back at the building. If they want to make a point to have the whole "no weapons policy," that's fine. But in taking on such a policy, they must accept the consequences as a part of maintaining their "moral highgrond." For me, having moral highground is not all its cracked up to be, and in general the people who are making such policies aren't the ones who risk getting kidnapped/beheaded.
As for how aware the UN peeps are, I *do* think they're that oblivious. I know they are. They walk around town like they're cruising around some friendly little village in Asia. Maybe they're not oblivious - maybe they have the attitude of "I know it's dangerous, but I can't let that keep me from going out and experiencing this culture." Ok, again, in doing so, one must accept the consequences of these actions. And if one were to consider the possibilites/consequences, I don't see how their attitude could be anything BUT "It wont happen to me." If they thought for one moment of the possibilities, they'd stay inside their compound like everyone else. Last week, if one American woman had considered the consequences, she wouldn't have been killed by a man with grenades strapped to his body. I didn't realize browsing Chicken Street (the market here) was worth that.
Just to reiterate... The UN probably could afford security, but their policy is "no weapons." As I said before, this is an action with obvious consequences, and apparently having their workers kidnapped is is an acceptable alternative to being "gun brutes." If they could ask the 3 women who were kidnapped at this moment (assuming they're still alive) what they thought of the policy, maybe they'd have a new opinion. I hate to think of what they're going through right now.
-- Paul
Normally I wouldn't be so unequicoval about backing Paul on something like this. However, you'd ahve to be here to really understand the oblivious attitude of some of the UN personnel. For the sake of argument, it should be noted that our security posture didn't stop terrorists from blowing up one of our houses. However, the reason for that was a lack of security, not a preponderance of it. I understand the point that anonymous is trying to make, but Paul is not someone warming a chair back in the States, and neither am I. The Moral Highground is one thing back in the states, but over here I'd rather be a sinner with an M-4. Paul, I think you're right on this one, even though Bush is a fascist. Anonymous, why don't you tell us who you are?
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