I'm not very political....but this one hit me hard

[HollowSoul]

My sis sent me this.....enjoy, or ignore, your choice.....

perspective on the war in Iraq...."Don't Close Your Blinds":
Author Unknown

The other day, my nine year old son wanted to know why we were at war. Myhusband looked at our son and then looked at me. My husband and I were inthe Army during the Gulf War and we would be honored to serve anddefendour Country again today. I knew that my husband would give him a good
explanation.

My husband thought for a few minutes and then told my son to go standinourfront living room window. He said "Son, stand there and tell me what yousee?"

"I see trees and cars and our neighbor's houses." he replied.

"OK, now I want you to pretend that our house and our yard is the UnitedStates of America and you are President Bush."

Our son giggled and said "OK."

"Now son, I want you to look out the window and pretend that every houseand yard on this block is a different country" my husband said.

"OK Dad, I'm pretending."


"Now I want you to stand there and look out the window and pretend you seeSaddam come out of his house with his wife, he has her by the hair and ishitting her. You see her bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, hethrows her on the ground, then he starts to kick her to death. Theirchildren run out and are afraid to stop him, they are screaming and crying,they are watching this but do nothing because they are kids and they areafraid of their father. You see allof this, son.... what do you do?"

"Dad?"

"What do you do son?"

"I'd call the police, Dad."

"OK. Pretend that the police are the United Nations.They take yourcall. They listen to what you know and saw but they refuse to help. What do youdo then son?"

"Dad.......... but the police are supposed to help!" My son starts towhine.

"They don't want to son, because they say that it is not their place oryourplace to get involved and that you should stay out of it," my husband says.

"But Dad...he killed her!!" my son exclaims.

"I know he did...but the police tell you to stay out of it. Now I want youto look out that window and pretend you see our neighbor who you'repretending is Saddam turn around and do the same thing to hischildren."

"Daddy...he kills them?"

"Yes son, he does. What do you do?"

"Well, if the police don't want to help, I will go and ask my next doorneighbor to help me stop him." our son says.

"Son, our next door neighbor sees what is happening and refuses to getinvolved as well. He refuses to open the door and help you stop him,"myhusband says.

"But Dad, I NEED help!!! I can't stop him by myself!!"

"WHAT DO YOU DO SON?" Our son starts to cry.

 

[HollowSoul]

"OK, no one wants to help you, the man across the street saw you ask forhelp and saw that no one would help you stop him. He stands tallerandpuffs out his chest. Guess what he does next son?"



"What Daddy?"



"He walks across the street to the old ladies house and breaks downherdoorand drags her out, steals all her stuff and sets her house on fire andthen...he kills her. He turns around and sees you standing in the windowandlaughs at you. WHAT DO YOU DO?"



"Daddy..."



"WHAT DO YOU DO?"



Our son is crying and he looks down and he whispers, "I'd close the blinds,Daddy."



My husband looks at our son with tears in his eyes and asks him..."Why?"



"Because Daddy.....the police are supposed to help people who needsthem...and they won't help.... You always say that neighbors are supposedtoHELP neighbors, but they won't help either...they won't help me stophim...I'm afraid....I can't do it by myself Daddy.....I can't look out mywindow and just watch him do all these terrible things and...and.....donothing...so....I'm just going to close the blinds.... so I can't see whathe's doing........and I'm going to pretend that it is not happening."



I start to cry.



My husband looks at our nine year old son standing in the window, lookingpitiful and ashamed at his answers to my husband's questions and he says..."Son"



"Yes, Daddy."



"Open the blinds because that man.... he's at your front door..."WHAT DO YOU DO?"



My son looks at his father, anger and defiance in his eyes. He balls up his tiny fists and looks his father square in the eyes, without hesitation he says: "I DEFEND MY FAMILY DAD!! I'M NOT GONNA LET HIM HURT MOMMY OR MY SISTER, DAD!!! I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM, DAD, I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM!!!!!"



I see a tear roll down my husband's cheek and he grabs our son to his chest and hugs him tight, and says... "It's too late to fight him, he's too strong and he's already at YOUR front door son.....you should have stopped him BEFORE he killed his wife, and his children and the old lady across the way.

You have to do what's right, even if you have to do it alone, before it's too late." my husband whispers.



THAT scenario I just gave you is WHY we are at war with Iraq. When good men stand by and let evil happen son, THAT is the greatest EVIL of all.

Our President is doing what is right. We, as a free nation, must understand that this war is a war of humanity. WE must remove evil men from power so that we can continue to live in a free world where we are not afraid to look out our window so that my nine year old son won't grow up in a world where he feels that if he just "closes" that blinds the atrocities in the world won't affect him.

"YOU MUST NEVER BE AFRAID TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT!, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALONE!" BE PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! BE PROUD OF OUR TROOPS!! SUPPORT THEM!!! SUPPORT AMERICA SO THAT IN THE FUTURE OUR CHILDREN WILL NEVER HAVE TO CLOSE THEIR BLINDS..."



This should be printed in every newspaper and posted in every school in America. Of course that won't happen so we'll use the internet. If your blinds are closed do nothing with this email. If they are open I do not need to tell you what to do.

 

[sunflower]

that was great. We all need to keep that in mind....

 

[Oz]

Good story. I think we can all be thankful that the battlefield in the war on terror is Iraq, and not New York City, Washington, or any other major US City. I'm thankful for the soldiers who are fighting this war, and doing the right thing. Thanks!

 

[UrbanPancake]

BUT IN THE END OVER 1200 OF OUR AMERICAN SONS AND DAUGHTERS WILL NOT BE ALIVE TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS!!!

Please keep this in mind when you see your children open their gifts this Christmas. Keep this in mind when your enjoying your Holiday meal at your families Christmas party.

-But hey Saddam is in Jail, and Osama is still recruiting terrorists.

I'm just keeping this thread in perspective, I'm not trying to insult anyone.

 

[Oz]

Keep your eyes and curtains closed, Cupcake! Before you know it, you'll be French!

 

[Larry Gude]

Hollow...

...whether that story is made up or real, the bottom line is we have used our military force for good, to get rid of an evil regime, to try to establish the seeds of democracy and rule of law right in the heart of the region of the world that needs it more than any other and give other evil groups the world over reason to consider changing their ways.

I'm glad it touched you because some 50 million of us oppose it. We are a nation conflicted over what to do about evil. A great many of us would pull the blinds and hope it goes away and that massive internal battle between doing right and not rests on a razors edge.

The saddest part of it all is that many of those who oppose taking action against evil are the very type of people, opposition, that simply do not exist in evil places. They would be at greatest risk.

And yet, having had their opinion heard and rejected, they continue to oppose.

 

[UrbanPancake]

I oppose the war in Iraq.....

I don't oppose the war in Afghanistan.

In your little description you described Saddam as beating his wife. Well he didn't have WMD, nor did he have any intentions of hitting us with an attack.

Would Jesus use pre-emptive strategy and bomb cities full of women and children? Or would Jesus use and exhaust every technique known? You decide.

 

[Aimhigh2000]

Here is my view. I don't neccessarily agree on the manner on which it was told, but my issue with the war. I mean, yes Saddam was a bad person, but there are other dictators in the world that we have have not removed. Castro, that guy in North Korea. I served in Operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch, and Restore Hope. As much as I support our troops, I am still undecided about how I feel on Iraq. I want to support the war, but I can't seem to accept the mission that we have there right now. Saddam had no impact on my freedom here. Maybe abroad travelling, but... I don't know...Anyone else feel a bit honestly confused on it?

 

[vraiblonde]

BUT IN THE END OVER 1200 OF OUR AMERICAN SONS AND DAUGHTERS WILL NOT BE ALIVE TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS!!!

Actually, it's a lot more than that if you consider the people who died in car accidents, or got cancer, or got electrocuted, or got shot in a hunting accident, or was the vicitm of a violent crime.

And let's not forget how many Iraqi sons and daughters will not be alive to enjoy the holidays because Saddam had them killed. That makes the number exponentially larger than 1200.

 

[vraiblonde]

there are other dictators in the world that we have have not removed.

So does that mean you think we should either take them all out at once, or leave them all be? Saddam had 12 years to comply and get his stuff straight. He chose not to do it. End of story. The UN sanctioned until they were blue in the face and Saddam did what he pleased anyway. At some point there needed to be some serious action taken against him. George Bush took that action.

 

[dems4me]

Actually, it's a lot more than that if you consider the people who died in car accidents, or got cancer, or got electrocuted, or got shot in a hunting accident, or was the vicitm of a violent crime.

And let's not forget how many Iraqi sons and daughters will not be alive to enjoy the holidays because Saddam had them killed. That makes the number exponentially larger than 1200.

Vrai sweets... I love ya', but I have to disagree... there is a difference in your hypothetical and UPs. SH1T happens and accidents happen, life is not perfect, and the tragedies you specified are not preventable... These things you have listed are all accidents or SH1T happens events... not due to the President of our country putting our loved one's at war with no premise and proven false and noncredible information that we as a country were threated by attack of Saddam (some old decrepit man living in a hole)... Where's Osama-Bin-Forgotten????? Why wasn't, or better yet, isn't he, our focal point?

Nonethelss Vrai, I pray for you and your family as I do our other troops, but this was something ordered by our President, albeit prooven wrong, we are still there, I think there is a hiddenn agenda for this that folks just arn't aware of... cough... cough...hali... cough... cough bur... cough ton.... cough BAk...er... :cough... cough... :shrug:

It is Dick that I hold responsible for this, Bush is a puppet to Cheney. But as long as he is our President I have to support him, it's just hard sometimes when you feel we are over there on hypersuggestable reasons and false pretenses and you hear of all the young kids dying over there DAILY as a result of his bad decisions and lack of threat to the U.S. This whole Iraq thing, just don't pan out with me and I pray daily for those that are over there... No matter what we do to Saddam, it will never bring back the victims that were killed due to him in the years past... I hope you can open-mindedly accept my reasoning...

and for ya' Vrai. You are a very smart woman and such, but I just don't understand why we are picking up the peices from the autrocities of the early 90s... it's been done and nothing we can do can change that other than take over their pipelines on no-bid contracts and the same company that is numerous lawsuits with even the Pentagon... it just doesn't add up... kind of like coincidentally, Katheleen Harris was co-chair of Bush's campaign and it was up to her to decide for Bush to be in office (and things I'm not at liberty to discuss), and then... coincidentally, Cheny was the VP of Haliburton and coincidentally Halliburton has all these nonbid contracts in Iraq and other coincidences that I'm not at liberty to discuss either. Regardless, my heart truly goes out to these troops, I pray for them for the good Lord to look after them daily, and I hope they come home safely and very quickly.

 

[Aimhigh2000]

Oy!

That is where my feelings get fuzzy. Yes, I know something had to be done, and I know America's interest was involved, although I have a hard time with that. I guess it is a case by case basis, on the other hand, does it always have to be us? Yeah, if the ruler is a sleazbag, and sanctions fail, do we really need to go in? I do feel like Saddam had it coming, but yet, I never felt like we were in a direct threat. I don't know if that makes sense or not. Guess I just don't feel 100% right in my heart with this one. :shrug:

 

[vraiblonde]

(some old decrepit man living in a hole)

Dems, that whole post was...well, I'd say retarded but I promised not to use that term anymore.

The part I quoted above, however, made me laugh out loud and I couldn't let it pass. You DO realize, don't you, that prior to the US going into Iraq, Saddam did NOT live in a hole in the ground, but bided his time shuttling between several luxurious palaces? He isn't particularly old, nor was he decrepit until he had to hide from the Americans and live on candy bars.

 

[dems4me]

That is where my feelings get fuzzy. Yes, I know something had to be done, and I know America's interest was involved, although I have a hard time with that. I guess it is a case by case basis, on the other hand, does it always have to be us? Yeah, if the ruler is a sleazbag, and sanctions fail, do we really need to go in? I do feel like Saddam had it coming, but yet, I never felt like we were in a direct threat. I don't know if that makes sense or not. Guess I just don't feel 100% right in my heart with this one. :shrug:

You are not alone sweetie.. you and the other half of the country don't feel 100% correct in the take over of Iraq and letting Osama get out of the sights of our radar due to overstretching our troops over a threat that was non-existant. We are not the World's police and shouldn't be. We are just a country that exists in the world of other countries and cultures.

 

[UrbanPancake]

It does make sense. We are not the world police. Our tax dollars should be spent on providing a better life for all Americans. Instead we're spending money on ousting a dictator that presented no threat to us. Instead of providing quality healthcare or childcare to our populace we're occupying Iraq. It doesn't make sense at all. I would rather have low cost college tuition than a free Iraq, or low cost healthcare, or even well funded SS.

 

[vraiblonde]

I would rather have low cost college tuition than a free Iraq, or low cost healthcare, or even well funded SS.

Not me. I'd rather have a stable world environment and take a hardline on terrorism. And obviously more people want what I want because....BUSH WON!!!

 

[UrbanPancake]

Not me. I'd rather have a stable world environment and take a hardline on terrorism. And obviously more people want what I want because....BUSH WON!!!

Until SS and healthcare are taken care of the World will remain unstable. Plus China is still communist as is North Korea....and most of the world has Nuke technology. I'm more scared of Nukes in Iran than I am of Saddam traveling between his luxerious homes........

 

[vraiblonde]

There is no better rebutal of your belief system than...

...your own words.

Our tax dollars should be spent on providing a better life for all Americans.

 

[UrbanPancake]

...your own words.

Exactly Americans, not Iraqis.