History Repeating

They were the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Their legendary reign is likely something the world will never see again. The Romans dominated the modern world like none before them had dared dream, and their power seemed limitless for centuries. America's 200-plus year reign would be only a stepping stone in the path of Rome's greatness.     I look at Rome and I see a society built upon class separations, a society in which the aristocracy and social elite rule the government. I see social policies divided along class lines. I look at Rome and I see a government corrupted from the inside by right-wing fundamentalist Christianity. I see leaders put their trust in faith and not in science.     I look at Rome and I see their economic growth throughout the world. I see their wallets getting fatter at the top, and thinner at the bottom. I see overzealous leaders spreading their military too thin, attempting to police the world and protect their various economic interests.     I look at Rome and I see executive failings. I see nervous leaders and corrupted Senators. I see angry tribes of people waiting to infiltrate and destroy the capital city. I see revolt and endless war with so called "barbarians." I see an end to an empire.     I look at Rome, and I see America.

2007 - The Year of Iran

So it's 2007, almost, and that means one thing; prediction time. Forget looking back, let's look ahead and try and predict the future landscape of the world. This seemed to be the theme of many news shows I watched this morning, and there was one clear topic that people seemed to point to as dominating our coming year; Iran. One correspondent described his level of confidence as "almost certain" that by this time next year, the United States will be in a full scale war with Iran. And this was on Fox News no less!     With Iraq on the path towards Vietnam, the entire Middle East in chaos, and Iran preparing for a showdown with the U.S. it seems imminent that troop levels are going to rise dramatically. We're not even taking the situations in Lebanon, Darfur, and North Korea into consideration here because the Middle East alone gives us reason enough to be fearful. The year 2007 seems poised to see nothing but increased bloodshed and death throughout the region.     If you're between the ages of 18-25, like me, you better hope those newly elected Democrats will fight to keep you home. I know that if they don't, then not only will they not be receiving my vote, but they will no longer be privileged to my tax dollars and citizenship. Hello draft, goodbye America.     But I digress. Iran. *sigh* It's too depressing and maddening to even think about, isn't it? Another war? Now? Seems ludicrous, but when your president can't read and doesn't believe in evolution I guess anything is possible. If the United States wants to continue to police the world, and act as the world's leading superpower, then all we need to do is one thing; ELECT PEOPLE THE WORLD WILL RESPECT! Europe doesn't respect George W Bush. We know the Middle East certainly does not. Hell, Americans don't even respect George W Bush.     Whether or not a war with Iran breaks out this year may or may not be the direct fault of George W Bush. History will decide, and I understand there are countless mitigating factors. But if we choose to do this now our confidence will turn to arrogance, as if it hadn't already. By attempting to police multiple regions all across the Middle East, we will give these people a common enemy to rally upon. In less than a generation I see the possibility of a unified Middle East. Not through democracy, or peace, or occupation, but through the common belief that America is the primary enemy. What is to stop these people from deciding to put aside their differences and rise up against us, if only temporarily, before resuming the violence amongst themselves? Only time. Only time.

Love and Loneliness

I was in love once. It was passionate, genuine, tumultuous, and short lived. But it was real, at least for me. I no longer love that person. I moved on long ago. But I went through months of heartache and depression following our split. It was tough, and only after months of comfort from friends and a little self-discovery did I pick myself up enough to get back out there. But you know what, I wouldn't trade away a moment of the sadness. I wouldn't shed a a single less tear if I had to do it over again. Because all that pain and suffering, that's what made my love real.     Love is going to hurt. It's inevitable. Whether through death or divorce, your love is never going to end with the same joy and exhilaration that it began with. Nothing lasts forever, no matter what your lover may have told you. Things end. People move on. In some cases, people even die. To quote a heavy metal favorite of mine, if I may, we "live, love, burn, die."     And that's it. There's no avoiding it, planning for it, or escape from it. Love is going to kick you in your gut and take your breath away, and not in the good way. Oh it's gonna do that as well, but nobody has any fears or reservations about this aspect of love. Everyone dreams of the day that their perfect counterpart walks into their life, says hello, and sits down for a drink.     Now I'm not in love. It's just that simple. I'm not. But I know I could be. I'm dying to be, in fact. Last year I met a girl, and we dated for a little while. After a few weeks together I began to think this relationship had some long term possibility. Apparently so did she, and so she ended it. "Ouch," I thought. "That really sucks." I was hurt, but not for very long. Mostly I felt bad that she could not let me into her heart to heal any suffering there might have been. But time passed, and we remained close friends.     It's a year later now and a few weeks back I came to a realization. I'd like to take credit for this by telling you I had some revelation upon meditating, or read some great book that opened my eyes, but that would be wrong. No, I was educated and enlightened by none other than my roommate....my drunk roommate. After being berated for several minutes on how (no names for sake of privacy) _______ was one of only 10 girls in the world that could possibly stand the thought of dating me, and that I'd never meet the other nine no less, I sat down and gave his words some thought.     And he was right. _______ is perfect. She's intelligent, beautiful, open minded, laid-back, and most importantly she understands me. Not only that, she may even love me, even if she doesn't know it yet and would be too scared to admit it even if she did. Regardless, I really began to see why we needed to be together. So I told her that. And after a night or two of talking, I'm standing in the center of the intersection of love with cars coming at me from all directions. Other lovers, insecurities, nervousness, and fear come at me from all corners and spell my certain and impending doom. Why shouldn't it fail? It'd be just like all the other relationships I've had.     But I'm not afraid. Not this time. This girl is too amazing. I'm not even in love with her as I write this, but I know that all the pain and suffering that is yet to come will pale in comparison to the transcendent joy of the two of us falling in love and being together. I know every facet of the emotions that a relationship with _______ will bring me, because I've felt those things before with somebody who was much less my soul-mate. It will be the most amazing love I'll ever have, if I ever get to have it. And then it will end at some point, and it will hurt. It will hurt for a long time, probably for both of us.     But I don't care, because she is the girl that consumes my thoughts and tears me up inside. And that's all that matters.

Saddam's End

Head on over to CNN.com and you'll notice the list of most popular videos. Ranging from tragic to gruesome, the videos of Saddam's final day on Earth only get more difficult to watch as you ascend the scale of popularity. Watch as he is led up to the steps, then click again to see his final moments in the noose. And if you're a real American, you'll get off on the video of his dead body.     I'm sorry folks, but something is not right here. Are we so sick of a country that this is the kind of thing we want to be promoting to the world? For one dead corpse that is so highly publicized, watched, and marveled over will come hundreds if not thousands more. Retaliatory attacks are sure to come swift and with fury. I already heard one American has died since the execution. Tragic.     In an era where we are trying to spread peace through government and safety, I hardly expect that allowing Saddam to be executed in a manner so medieval and bold, sends forth any beacon of hope that the world is a changing place. To make this entire exchange of life and death even more sickening is the fact that we live in the YouTube era, which allows the execution to be immediately glorified worldwide. Again, sickening.     I am no master of Iraqi history or politics. I cannot imagine the horror of what many people went through due to Saddam's terror. I grieve for these people as I grieve for any, and I am certainly not here to offer anything positive on this sick old man. Iraq is torn and divided by civil war. More people die everyday, including American men and women. What should the goal be, in essence? Stop the violence, end the killings, right? I hardly expect someone would disagree with me here. I say we look at what's gone on this morning, turn around and look in the mirror, and ask ourselves if we still believe that.