My holidays are over. (Whew)

Christmas, about 1650 years. Chanukah, about 2300 years. Kwanzaa, 1966. Not years, date. About 40 years. I hope those who celebrate Kwanzaa have a truly wonderful season. As for me, I don't think has the depth I am looking for. And for the record, I do have a chanukkiyah (or Chanukah Menorah), but I didn't actually get around to lighting the candles.

Yes, I have been slacking on the posts through out Christmas and the Holiday Season. I'd love to say I have been enjoying my family. But after 4 weeks since Thanksgiving, can anyone really say that? No, really I love my family. The after Christmas period just seems cleansing to me after a whirlwind chaos.

Well, I guess since I wrote last, Saddam Hussein has died. I believe that authority is given to the nation-state to carry out capital punishment. I believe Saddam was evil, and the punishment just. But I don't believe this will do ANYTHING at all to bring closure or healing to Iraq. Sometimes a doctor looks at wound and says "There's nothing I can do". I think the wounds in Iraq are too deep for any medicine, least of all, western medicine.

I think, however, the situation bears some examining held up next to our own history of ethnic oppression. When the oppressed minority rises up, it is not interested in justice. It is interested in revenge, which is quite different. And, of course, the oppressors always feel they have done no wrong, and chafe at the idea of being diminished in anyway. To say that our history handled this tension and release without violence or lingering malevolence is dead wrong. But, I think we have reconciled the evils of inequity better than any culture so far. I think there are lessons in US history for Iraq, if they would look.

More than all this, however, in cases like this I think there is a large disconnect between leadership (government, activists, military or what have you) and the people. I think it's the leadership (those who have power, or those who seek it) of the formerly oppressed that push for revenge, when the guy in the street really wants to just live in peace with relative security. He may or may not hold on to his hatred, but he just wants to live his life. And I think that might be as far as I can safely push that analogy.

On a silly and somewhat amusing note, I had to fix the spelling of Iraq every time I typed it. I typed iRaq, like iPod. What does that say about Apple's branding ability.
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And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

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