War Stats

Watching the evening news, despite my desire to stay aware of what is happening around the world, has become more heartbreaking than informative these days. Particularly difficult for me are the reports coming out of Iraq. The devastation to the Iraqi people, their homes, businesses, places of worship and the culture itself, may not be repairable. Ever. Building a country from scratch in the middle of a civil war is impossible at best. No matter how bad we may think it is in Iraq right now, it is much worse. Unless we have lived in a war zone, we do not understand the physical loss and human suffering caused by bombs and bullets fueled by fear and hatred. What we do have is an estimate of how many people we are losing to this latest military road show we are financing. Each nigh, Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams tell us how many U.S. soldiers have died that day, then give us the total for the week, month and/or year when those statistics hit gruesome milestones. These statistics are why I turn away from the news.

One of my earliest memories is sitting down to dinner each night with my family, and with Walter Cronkite, who also grimly shared the accumulating numbers of young men dying in another war halfway around the world. At the time it was all I knew. World War II and the Korean War were much closer memories, and our country was not so expert at questioning our government's authority, motives or integrity. We have gotten better at requiring the truth from our elected officials. We have also become more adept at discerning when it is time for war and when peace has not been given its due process.

The Old testament is filled with wars and rumors of wars, some resulting in victories for the Israelites, some never coming to be for reasons we can only ask God about in retrospect. We do not know how we will leave Iraq, as victors with supreme military might or as the defeated invaders with only moments to spare as our helicopters take off amidst a spray of hostile fire from below. What we don't want to face is the tremendous toll waging war in foreign countries takes on those of us minding the home fires. While we are pouring billions of dollars into this war machine, we are stealing money away from educating our children, maintaining our infrastructure and figuring out how to not be so dependent on the oil under the land we are fighting on in the Middle East. Complaining about the high cost of gas at the pump this summer became a national past time. Would that we had some impromptu discussions groups on how we can invest more money into our school systems.

Bill O'Reilly, host of Fox Television's The O'Reilly Factor, seems very fond of asking people who challenge his ideas whether they want the United States to win the war in Iraq. The question has no relevance, no foundation in logical thought or faithful perspective. Rather than asking if we want to win this ill-timed, ill-planned, ill-conceived blunder, perhaps the question should be more about hoping for what we can still manage to do to not make the situation any worse. What do we hope to accomplish before we are able to leave Iraq on our own terms or are booted out because we are no longer welcome?

The only statistic I am interested in seeing is how many days are left until every American troop is withdrawn from Iraq and the Iraqi people can breathe a sigh of relief that this war is over for them. It is time to move our focus from a need to win this war to making peace happen. Peace too can be measured in statistics, of lives saved and dollars redirected to building our future. Peace must also have its time. We are God's children when we make peace.

Cory L. KempEasy Work At Home Opportunity
Make Good Money On The Internet
Making Money With Affiliate Programs
Deutsch Advertising Coors Light
Internet Marketing Seo Submission Magic Design Site Web
Google Pagerank
Amatuer Bloggers
Seo Inc
District Of Columbia Spamming Trackback
Find How To Make Money With Google Adsense In The
Search Engine Submission Service Seo Consultant Targeted Web
Legitimate Make Money Online Ways
Make Real Money On The Internet Loan
Online Fast Way To Make Money
Rank Attack Search Engine Optimization Seoprofess
Digital Caller Id Products
Janet Strong How To Make Money At Home
Affiliate Programs Webmaster
Based Business Home Home Make Money Online Work
Gawker Media Blogging Stable
Adsense Google Com
Webmasters Internet Law
Advertising Company
Page Rank Calculator
Free Work At Home Jobs Best Ways To Make Money Online
Advertising Award
Internet Marketing Strategy Vancouver
Make Money Online From Home
Ebook Covers
Internet Marketing Strategy
Ebooks
With Affiliate Programs
Engine Internet Marketing Search Seo Specialist
Hotel Internet Marketing Online Promotion Web Site Design
Earn Cash Money Online
Webmaster Tool
Home Based Business Opportunity Internet Income Ho
Domain Name Internet Marketing Strategy Movie Ws Observetodo
Ebook Packs
Best Travel Agency Affiliate Programs
The Best Search Engines
Business Money Making By Trading Online
Online Business Systems
Google Ebook Make Money With Adsense Xtsafelist
Seo Consultant Web Site Optimization Service Seo Expert
Honest Internet Business Opportunities Honest Work From Home
Make Money Online And Work From Home
Easy Ways To Make Money In Run Escape
Search Engine Web Optimization
A Free Online Work At Home Business Opportunity
Ebook For Visual Basic Net Programming
Earn Extra Mlm Money
How Do Affiliate Programs Work
Microsoft Money Free Download
Affiliate Marketing Mlm Network
Company Marketing Mlm Network New
Easy Ways To Illegal Make Money
Blogging Tips
Web Affiliate Program
Blogging Credit Repair
Seo Friendly Directory
Click Pay Per Software Web Site Promotion Service Ecommerce
Start A Home Based Internet Business
Secret Ways To Make Legal Money
Loan Broker Affiliate Programs
Blogger Creating
Home Based Business Internet Marketing Strategy Network
Webmasters Make Money
Business Marketing Online Web
Based Business Home Internet Promote Small Work
Wyoming Internet Based Home Business
Types Of Search Engines
Free Seo Ranking Software
Seo Tool Kit
Home Business Online Opportunity
Home Make Money At
Work At Home Free
Clickbank Making Money As Affiliate
Make Real Money Fast
Advertising Engine Internet Marketing Online Search Service
Click Engine Pay Per Search Submission
Bingo Free Money
Free Ebooks Trading
Make Money At Home Uk
Disadvantages Of Blogging Information
Foorway Seo
Register Domain With Search Engines
Advertising Web Site Submission Promotion Internet
Easy Ways To Make Money At Home Business From Home
No Deposit Free Money Casinos
Internet Business Opportunity
Join Affiliate Program
Adsense Ctr
Email Search Engines
Internet Marketing Promotion Advertising Web Site
Pay Per Click Advertising Services
Earn Money Online Ways To Make
Piad Survey Make Money Online
Click Engine Pay Per Ppc Search
Search Engine Optimization Services