Syria

All Kidding/Assad

I’m in 

no position

to comment

on the transition

away

from the al-Assad

family

reign

in Syria.

The criteria 

for hope

is the scope

and sequence

of events

that unfold

as the yet

to be told

story 

of glory

of the rebels’

new power.

As of this

hour,

instead

of al-Assad

at the head

or jihad

far behind,

it’s not

quite clear

what we’re

in for.

The most

uncivil

war

that Syrians

endured

(or didn’t)

isn’t

going

to yield

instant

peace.

Every

ecosystem

is diverse.

So the perverse

use

of force

to endorse

an exclusionary

coarse

is of course

problematic-

not just 

for the 

tragic

victims

of violence,

but the silence

within which

those who

manage

to survive

barely

alive,

can not 

thrive

in oppressive

conditions.

Regressive

politicians

are having

their moment

to foment

and reorient

away

from the mainstay

of the postwar

order.

Chaos

is king.

No kidding.

Shooting

someone

on 5th 

(actually, 6th)

Avenue

came true,

and the

cheering 

and snark

and generally

dark

comments

mocking

what should

be a shocking

and sad

event

meant

that we

are losing

perspective

with invective.

Assad

was a nightmare;

the very

defintion

of evil.

I’m glad 

he’s gone

but this 

does not

feel like

the dawn

of a new 

day.

Those

inured

to the injured

or murdered

concerns

me.

Who are we

kidding?

Killing

doesn’t justify.

No one 

should die

to make

a point.

The Strike Zone

Friday, August 30, 2013:  Two months shy of The World Series, and two days shy of Labor Day, I woke up feeling as though we are in the strike zone.

 

This week, fast food workers across the country staged a strike demanding a $15.00/hour wage and the right to form a union. Numerous cities have been affected by this strike, and the media–national news coverage and social media, have been effective in covering the story as well as fueling the movement.  What is a living wage? This strike is striking our national conscience.

 

Another event this week also struck our national conscience when we commemorated the 50th anniversary of The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. There was much that was striking about marking that historical moment (with another historical moment). I was utterly dumbstruck that what I had assumed was an apolitical, unifying moment had only Democrats speaking. Were Republicans on strike? The absence of Republican speakers was absolutely striking.

 

Then there was (is) the matter of Syria. Chemical weapons. Horrifying images. Where do we stand? Should we strike? If so, how should we strike? Then what? Is the U.S. merely striking a pose, or striking while the iron’s hot? President Obama usually tries to strike a balance. This time, though, the thought of more military engagement in the Middle East seems to have struck a chord on the left and the right. There is tremendous fear that we will strike out, and that we will suffer unintended consequences from our strike.

 

“Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true.”

Honore de Balzac

 

How does that strike you?