Held Accountable

If you're like me & you started your day by reading Reese in your local paper you were greeted by the very painfully factual account of how our today & tomorrow is filled to the brim w/an overwhelming ignorance of yesterday. He states sorrowfully of how we managed to learn nothing about the past & all of it's horrors. This is quite evident as he uses The Experience of World War I, by J.M. Winter as exhibit A.

Although Charley uses the text to promote an anti-Bush agenda, which I'm very ambivalent to, he does manage to makes important truths known. Reflecting back over the past week as I read, these statements began to resonate from deep within as the words began to bounce within the friendly confines that I like to call my cranium. It has been a tumultuous past few days to say the least, but in reflection, I'm glad for them & wouldn't have done a thing differently.

One error that leads to certain conflict is demonizing the enemy. When you do this it makes real the possibilities to justify just about any act or any assortment of words to try & prove your point When we have to be right at any cost our perceived adversary becomes less than what they actually are, so they are quite deserving of whatever you have to dish out to them.

In our minds tough love serves as a thinly veiled disguise for soft hate, because you're only doing it for your own perception of their own good. Correction must be made or our duty has not been served. The flag is to be captured at all cost, up to & including martyrdom.

Another error & perhaps the most serious charge to me is the practice of calling into question one's level of commitment to the cause. This method is used to crush dissent, but most fail to see that one's dissent isn't the only thing found under the rubble after the smoke clears. Questioning the heart of one, even after much civil debate, appears to be the ultimate trump that very few are afraid to use.

These are very worldly practices that I'm sad to say have found their way into the hands of the Elect. We are to be set apart, but apparently not when it comes to this. I'd like to say that I'm surprised, but 2k years would just prove me a fool.

I say all of this to lead you here. By all means, say whatever you like here. Feel free. Get passionate, get pissed off, get inspired, but most of all get real & honest (especially w/yourself).

This is a very public record whether you'd like to think it is or not. I direct anybody that's interested & know's me here, so they'll know right away if what I say is true or not. My life is a very open book & I hide behind no one or nothing.

So feel free to speak your mind here, but please consider your words wisely. I've put much effort into choosing words wisely & would hope that you'd do the same. After all, we are to guard our speech & will be held accountable for all said & done.