broken by DarkestNightshade via www.deviantart.com

The tragedy of the Malaysian Air flight shot down over the Ukraine fills the news. A friend of mine mentioned over the weekend that there are 47 wars going on right now around the world. I don’t know what or where all of them are but I suspect they’re all being fought for stupid reasons. I spent 20 years in the Air Force preparing for war. I was fortunate; I was never tasked to go. But I cannot say the same for friends of mine, co-workers, comrades in arms. I haven’t seen a good reason yet, with the exception, perhaps, of World War 2, for going to war.

As a private citizen most of what I can do is passive and feels worthless. What I can actively do is call, email, or write my representatives in Congress, both sides of the house, and ask them to reconsider policies that antagonize other nations, get us involved in things we do not have national security interests in, or are out and out grabs for power. I plan on voting in my state’s Primary and Regular elections. This is where I have the most power. I can vote for representation that isn’t interested in getting involved in bloodshed and mayhem for corporate interests wrapped in the American flag.

My heart goes out to the friends and families of those who died senselessly, shot down out of the sky for no reason.