War Religious Fanaticism Authors Civil Rights

[Editor's Note: Promoted and reformatted by mole333]

Until this year, I have always looked forward to the musical revue at the Capitol, aired by PBS for the Fourth of July. For reasons other than my disappointment in it this go around, I didn’t see but a portion of the show. The disappointment started because it no longer has the likes of Ossie Davis and Charles Durning. I’m a softie when it comes to the Greatest Generation. Yet, I must confess.

I don’t like war, think it is a waste of time and money, not to mention lives. In short, I consider war to be stupid. Which makes me not very patriotic in the sense of putting yellow ribbons on my belongings and marching in parades.

Being vigilant about what government is doing for us–and to us–is almost an occupation with me. And having lived a good part of a century, I absorbed enough history to realize war is what I study a lot of the time. The current self-inflicted shot in the foot by the US is especially galling. Still and all, I suppose eventually the thinkers will devise a way to explain what special malady in the world’s psyche got the troubles started this time.

Start with religion. And most do. Some fanatics decide it is better to die than to live against their grain, so they lash out. And the aggrieved come back with symbolic trenches, where there are reportedly no atheists. And we have ourselves a new conflict.