I have been working on a post about my circles of authority, responsibility and concern over the last couple of days (I will post it soon but this post just came into my head and needed to be done now…). These circles expand and contract in what seems like a random manner and I and trying to gain some control…. especially over my circle of concern.

But…..

Today (well this week, as it has taken me some time to write this post) we decided to send out troops to Iraq and other places unknown to fight (read advise and assist in missions).

My circle of concern expanded to the entire world as opposed to my usual sphere which is the state of my bowels, the price of smokes and the kids driving me crazy.  I started to think about a bloke sitting in his house, with his family, and perhaps his kids and perhaps a couple of goats, and how in a minute, some other people are going to come around, not for a barby and a few beers, but to massacre him and the kids, and probably the goat.

I got to thinking about how this makes me angry.

I have spoken a lot about angry and the links we have in our community with friends, family and of course, the community, and the world.  (NB:  You may note that I have not made all those links – hyper-links –  in this post because I want it to be just about this).  I have said in the past that my definition of being a man includes standing up for those who can not stand up for themselves.

And I think about the man, and his wife, and his kids, and his goat and think that it is really unfair that he lives in fear.  I want to help him

But….

My step son is not going to war, my step daughter is not going to war, my daughters are not going to war.  If they were going to war to defend the man and his family and his goat I would hope that I would understand that this is about doing what is right.

But….

He (or she) is going to war in a part of the world that has been at war for thousands of years.  He is going to war in a part of the world that is a lot of desert and a lot of oil.  He is going to war in the part of the world that creates wars through religion and has had to defend itself from religion (just thought I would mention in a round about way ‘The Crusades’).  He is going to war because someone who won a popularity competition and a whole lot of other people who also won popularity competitions said we should go to war and defend… or sorry was it attack… or sorry was it defend… or sorry was it advise….  or sorry was it disrupt…. or something else… I forget…..

Digression – I am going to have a brain operation and the nurse introduces me to Mr brain surgeon and said that he is the most popular brain surgeon in Australia as he was voted in by everybody else (well at least half of us anyway) that he was supposed to be in charge of brain surgery – and I ask what are his qualifications? and they say he hung around hospitals and talked to a lot of nurses and once drove an ambulance and when he was at university joined a group called the people who want to be brain surgeons which was separate to his studies then a group of people who liked him preselected him to be the local brain surgeon – and that was good as he was being told what to do by the brain surgeons in Canberra and then he became the top State brain surgeon and then rode a bed down King William Street saying he was going to ban pokies and after there were more pokies in South Australia he went to Canberra to be one of the brain surgeons who were opposed to the other brain surgeons then he was voted by his friends who were the brain surgeons to be the top brain surgeon of his friends and then all the people said he could be the top brain surgeon and operate on any brains he wanted – but he had lots of advisers who once wanted to be brain surgeons or who knew brain surgeons and then told him what to do and he did it so long as everyone liked him…..

So we, not the brain surgeons or the rest of us, are going to war.

I hate it That this man and his family and his goat, may be killed.

I hate it when you put your hand in a bucket of water and pull it out and it doesn’t leave a hole and even when you stir up the water you can look in a moment and it looks just the same as before.

Are we stirring the water with our men and women: our soldiers lives.

We love our Australian soldiers as they are brave, honest, fearless and no matter what they fight for, they make us proud….. Why, because they fight for the ideals, beliefs and values that we uphold, but they live them in the dirt and the dust and the blood and the death that we lament in a 10 second grab on the news just before the sport and the anticipation of the outcome of the Bachelor.   (Makes you gag a bit doesn’t it…)

Are we getting operated on by brain surgeons who have won a popularity competition.  If we knew the name of the man and his family and his goat, would we say, come to Australia and be my neighbour, but bring your own bucket and don’t stir up the water.

I don’t want the man and his family and his goat to not feel safe in his house as I do in mine…..  But I don’t want our sons and daughters to die for the winner of a popularity contest who is mates with another winner of a popularity contest who have decided to stand up to a bully by proxy.

I hate bullies, but…..  I think we should kill all the bullies, but then wouldn’t I be a bully….

It hurts my heart to think of the man and his family and his goat.

Again, as in many of my posts, I am sorry, and feel sorry for his deleamour.

But, today, I say…. Against just about everything I believe in….. I can’t help, because in doing so it would hurt me and my family and my goat, too much.

Plus, just one more thing.  I didn’t vote for this.

I know if I was the better man, with my family and my goat, I would not say send your sons and daughters to die for me.  Really, I am sorry,  but I know you will understand.    And, I do.