There is no other Choice. We Got To Have Peace

[votesparks]

[frazzled]

1. I loved Curtis Mayfield ... but don't misuse him

The decision not to have a military strike has nothing—ZERO—to do with peace, or achieving peace, or supporting peace. There is no peace in Syria.

On top of the 100,000-plus already killed in Syria, another 5,000 are being slaughtered monthly, according to the United Nations. Remember the Boston Massacre of 1770 from our history books, in which five people were killed? Syria loses that many people every 45 minutes on average, around the clock.

The rate of killing is accelerating. In the first year, 2011, there were fewer than 5,000 deaths. As of July 2012, there were still “only” 10,000, and the number has since soared tenfold.

A year ago, by United Nations calculations, there were 230,000 Syrian refugees. Now there are two million.

In other words, while there are many injustices around the world, from Darfur to eastern Congo, take it from one who has covered most of them: Syria is today the world capital of human suffering.

To end the above piece, Kristof asks you, just for the sake of analogies (since everyone is analogizing this anyway):

So, having said that analogies aren’t necessarily helpful, let me leave you with a final provocation.

If we were fighting against an incomparably harsher dictator using chemical weapons on our own neighborhoods, and dropping napalm-like substances on our children’s schools, would we regard other countries as “pro-peace” if they sat on the fence as our dead piled up?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/opinion/sunday/kristof-pulling-the-curtain-back-on-syria.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

So, let's just say that if Curtis Mayfield had written a song titled "Let's Not Intervene," it would be appropriate and fine. But "We Got To Have Peace" is a completely misplaced anthem for this particular situation.

BTW: If you're in Chicago, the Black Ensemble Theatre is beginning a run of a new play, "It's All-Right to Have a Good Time: The Curtis Mayfield Story," which I totally intend to see. Article about the singer/actor who will star as Mayfield (who replaced him in the Impressions) here: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-05/entertainment/ct-ae-0908-fall-theater-preview-profile-1-20130905_1_new-kid-high-chaparral-black-ensemble-theatre

[DLnyc]

2. And I guess unilateral military action against Syria

would have nothing to do with war?

With all due respect, I disagree. Getting international agreement and going through the UN is not "sitting on the fence". It is potentially a much more powerful tool (both toward keeping chemical weapons out of warfare and toward an eventual political settlement in Syria, not to mention in the Middle East in general) than any "limited military action" could ever be. Because dropping bombs, even though it feels good as revenge, tends to create death, fear, resentment, hatred, bitterness and an accelerating cycle of brutality. Even when the guys dropping the bombs are "morally justified".

Peace is a difficult and complicated undertaking. But, as it says in the song, we have no choice.

Beating the war drums is not hard to do -- there are many situations in the world that could justify violent responses. But the results achieved by war, in general, tend to underperform in relation to the results promised by the warriors.