A confusing New Years wish/Rant

So long 2008. Personally, I have mixed emotions about it. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself today over the new year, for the following reasons: One, I have a cold, so I don’t feel too good about 2008 right now. Two, this year brought me orders to Iraq, more family separation, I sold my boat, and I lost a bunch of cash in the market.

The year also had me questioning some beliefs. Specifically religion and my political beliefs, to name a couple. S’cuse me while I rant…

Let’s go with organized religion first. The whole reason we are here (other than global resource issues) is because people are fighting over what they believe, and they are using religion to pervert people into doing horrible things all “in the name of God.” I’ve never much believed that God (in this case the Christian God) has or chooses to intervene in life situations. I believe God gives us talents, abilities and opportunities, and it’s up to us to make the best of them and take advantage as we see fit. If we don’t then the world passes us by. Guess that makes me a “free choice” guy. Chalk it up to part faith (God won’t give me more than I can handle) and destiny (this is what’s supposed to happen, so I should have faith that I will make it through). Religion for me is personal; I don’t go beating people over the head with it, and I should probably spend more attention and effort to my relationship with God.

Given this perspective, when I see extremist religions-- Islamic, Jewish, Christian- whatever-- I get turned off. Particularly here I have seen the damage of what extremist religion is capable of, and in seeing that, I question my own faith sometimes. I doubt “God” says we should lop off heads of non-believers, or send suicide bombers into crowded markets as a test of faith and promise of Martyrdom… How does God let it happen? And even further, how do I know I have the right God? Are the Islamic guys right? Or maybe the Jewish faith has it right. What about the American Indians? So many different religions, all with different ideas about how things should be. Who’s right?

Second, politically, I am a right-leaning guy. I always have been. No big government, freedom to succeed or fail, individual responsibility, and Government shouldn’t be a charity. Personal responsibility. If a guy works hard, he should get what he or she earned. Benefits for those who participate. No free chicken. All that’s well and good, but Americans take too much for granted and take advantage of systems. Americans are sheep who believe everything they see on 24-hour news networks and read on the internet. Sometimes I think there’s more corruption in the American political system than there is in Iraq. This line of thinking has led to a deeply divided political system run by a self-created elite with few original ideas, whose agenda is power base protection. That’s not what I signed up for.

Hi, my name is Ron, and I’m an angry cynic.

At this point I’m for anyone and anything that will shake us up. Maybe it is time for change. We have to do something, and hopefully the thing to do is return to the things that made our country great: Hard work, new ideas, personal responsibility, education. Just don't touch my guns or mess with the 2d Amendment. And don't make my Army a social experiment again.

The positive: The Skeptical Optimist viewpoint. I am in good shape, I get to do a job where I can see effects of my efforts in seeing an Army and a country grow, I am surrounded by good people who are positive and also want to make a difference, last year I got a masters degree, I got some pretty good training, I get to see the world and gain appreciation for my own country and family, I am living fairly good over (we don’t have it the worst), and nobody really shoots at us. Yet.

Iraq is a country in between two generations. Generation One is the old school Saddam way of thinking; the consolidation of power at the individual level and the desire for “Machismo” that brings credibility, and then more power. Generation Two is the new Government, personal responsibility, warrant-based arrests and fair trials by unbiased judges, a representative form of government, and a country struggling to pull itself up from twenty-plus years of war, sanctions, and hardship. But it has potential.

Somebody briefed in a Counterinsurgency seminar I attended an indicator of “how we know we are winning in Iraq.” The answer was when Muqtada al Sadr, Shiite extremist goofball who is hiding in Iran, starts complaining about Israel and the Palestinian problem and not ranting about Iraq… This is true now: On 27 December he released a statement in the Al-Amara News Network where he rants against Israeli actions in Gaza. Sure he blamed the US, but he’s not solely complaining about Iraq. In addition, the fact that all three ‘big’ news networks no longer maintain correspondents in Iraq says something too. No media coverage = We won. It took a while, and we made a lot of mistakes, but maybe we did win. Arrogant, I know. We just have to finish cleaning up the mess. We’ll see/Inshallah, depending upon your religious affiliation…

So 2009 starts tonight. Lots of new things on the horizon: A new bilateral security agreement placing Iraqis in the lead (news flash: we’ve been doing this since we got here), a new US president, an eventual trip home for me in the 3d Quarter, a new job with an incredible organization, Hailey starts 6th Grade, maybe a new boat or a new house, some new friends, some new challenges, a whole bunch of new perspective, and a whole lot of work to do.

This has been a confusing rant, and even after reading what I wrote I’m not exactly sure what my point was or if I got it across. Maybe it boils down to this: You can’t have the good without the bad, and 2008 was the bad time.

Inshallah/We’ll see…

All the best to you and your family, hoist something with alcohol in it for us, and have a Happy New Year.

Thanks for reading.
Ron