Pain to Strength and Treasure Well Spent

Had a good show today, despite the grim topic of kids losing their lives to substance abuse.  Had a regional expert, Jeff Reynolds, speak to the big picture.  Also had a mom, and activist, Claudia Friszell - Claudia experienced the ultimate horror of losing a wonderful son at way too early an age.  Tough stuff.


In fact, the "toughness" is what strikes me the most when talking with families that have lost a precious member.  We all know that when faced with the worst, we learn the most and grow accordingly.  Families of victims are a tough bunch - not only do they deserve to be listened to, but we can benefit so much if we take the time to hear their message.  They have much to share with all of us.  It is far more than just "their story."


I also rambled a bit today on the horrific costs of our wars.  While this is fanciful and idealistic, I think we need to think more like this.  We have played the empire card long enough and it is crippling our culture.  In case you missed it, here it is:

National Treasure … IMAGINE

Imagine for a moment that we took a different fork in the road.  Imagine a war with a price tag that is totally made up – totally fictitious – imagine we just now decided that we were going to war for 10 years and that the cost would be some 4-5 trillion bucks – just to pick a number in the ballpark of our “adventures” in Af/Pak and Iraq.  Imagine.

So now imagine this money spent NOT on war, but right here at home.

Infrastructure?  Check.  Education?  Check.  Serious investment in alternative energy?  Check.  And so on.

Just imagine what our surroundings might look like in 10 years. 

Is this a "have your cake and eat it too" scenario – yes!  Same way the hawks got their wars, on the credit card!  This is simply pilling up yet more national debt ... BUT with a difference ... instead of growing a terrorist network worldwide that hates us and is planning blowback from our wars, we instead have grown communities, we have added value to each and every citizen, not knocked down doors, but painted them! Not created enemies, but friends, all right here in front of us.  Except for propaganda footage like the "Shock and Awe" invasion and destruction of Baghdad, we have not actually seen much of how our national treasure has been squandered in the Middle East.  With my little scenario we would see it right before our eyes, every day.

I think this is what was once called a “peace dividend” – well, we never saw that did we?  We were hell bent on creating more wars, more empire.

Imagine a different story; imagine peace as a strategic, DOMESTIC initiative; planned and executed with the same precision we crow about when sending missiles from our drones with deadly force.

Imagine.