The Hippie in Me

I'm not ashamed to admit - I used to be a full-blown hippie. I realize that my conservative, Republican husband is mortified that I just said that in public, but it's true. I used to dance at Dead shows, eat granola, and wear my stylin' Birkenstocks ALL YEAR ROUND. I even used to smoke a little green and drop some happy tabs (sorry, Mom).

You'd never know it to look at me now, but I was once a free-spirited, wild child. Yeah sure, I still recycle and rock out to "Kacey Jones" when I hear it on the radio, but my hippiness is pretty watered down these days. (Trust me, yours would be too if you married my husband!) However, every once in awhile something happens and the peace lovin' hippy in me comes out of hiding.

Today I was reading the news on the internet (as I often do at my extremely boring job), and I came across the article US Targets Iraqi Wedding Party. 40+ people were killed and the majority of them were women and children. Of course, the US says that particular area was a hot spot for Iraqi "insurgents", and they'll probably say that there was enemy fire first, but we all know that's total bullshit. (At least, I HOPE you know that's bullshit.) And as more pictures showing our abuse of the Iraqi prisoners continue to surface, I'm finding it harder and harder to be proud that I'm an American.

I realize that I will probably be blasted with angry emails over that last statement, but sadly, it's true. I challenge you to read some of the stories in Riverbend's blog, Baghdad Burning, and not feel like we're doing something TERRIBLY wrong in Iraq. Why is it that I keep hearing about innocent women and children being killed? Aren't they the ones we are over there to "protect and liberate"?

Now, don't get me wrong, I am all for protecting ourselves from terrorists. I was just as horrified when the twin towers fell as the next person. But going over to Iraq and bombing everything in site in hopes that we might get lucky and kill a terrorist is not the answer. What if the situation were reversed, and they had just bombed an American wedding and killed 40 people? Tell me that this country would not be going crazy with rage and yelling for revenge. And yet we expect them to just put down their weapons and give up? Yeah, right.