Dupre Mr Marcy M on mon 30 dec 02
Dear All Mudslingers and Claybuds,
Mel's delivery of a plate of bread to his neighbor as a gift of time,
talent, and goodwill is THE answer to the age-old question of what to do
about war. If I can make my neighbor smile, and that neighbor "pays it
forward" by making another neighbor smile, pretty soon the entire world is
smiling. A wonderful thought, but... There are people out there who will
not allow themselves a smile. For whatever reason, their funnybones have
been removed, their senses of the absurdity of conflict have been dulled,
and their milk of human kindness has soured.
I told the story of my youth as a soldier in Berlin, Germany in the very
early 1960s to my son this past Christmas. I was barely 19, an Infantryman,
stationed in Berlin. The Wall was still being constructed. Barbed wire,
Russians watching everyone, guard dogs trained to maim, machine guns,
searchlights, East German police and soldiers, suspicion hanging over
everything like a stench from a burning dump. Our propaganda, their
propaganda working to create an atmosphere of distrust, fear, and
institutional hatred of each other.
I watched them across the wall, watching me on the other side. I learned
insults in Russian, they learned insults in English. We watched them in
fear, and they watched us in fear. We would insult each other as we stood
watch on the Wall, then come off the Wall and head for one of the spots
where there was still barbed wire and trade American cigarettes for Russian
belt buckles and hat badges.
They were just like us. Under other circumstances, we would probably have
enjoyed having a beer and a vodka or three, while we swapped friendly lies
and talked about our homelands.
The point here is the fear engendered by our governments. Fear is a
powerful motivator. Oppression is a tool for control. The motto I lived by
for many years is, "De Oppresso Liber"--To Free From Oppression. This is
the motto of the US Army Special Forces. I had worked with them and adopted
the motto as my own.
Fear mongering is a popular sport among those who seek power. Making others
afraid lends power to those who seek it, because the seekers can be seen as
having a solution to the fear. Whether the fear is based on reality or not
is not germane. Perception is reality. If I can make you afraid of
something, I can control your reaction, and control your emotions.
These days, fear plays a very large part in our society. Fear of
terrorists, fear of attack, fear of people who are not "normal" Americans
(that one always gets me), fear of anything out of the "ordinary." Much of
my "day job" is based on these fears.
I work in creating conflict scenarios for military computer simulations.
Our team reads the news, listens to the radio and the TV, listens to the
conversations, and then we write scenarios based on national perceptions of
what MAY come to pass.
Two of my neighbors are from the Middle East. They are traditional
families, dressed in traditional clothing, only slightly "Americanized." We
have a marvelous time. I teach pottery to their children. I helped Manarad
and Jasamina put up their lights for the Christmas season. Jasamina made
cookies for my wife and me. We talk. That helps to reduce the fear I see
in their eyes, fear put there by ignorant rednecks in response to the
September 11th attacks.
As a former soldier, veteran of 36 years of service, I do not like seeing
fear in anyone. Anyone. It has always been my job to reduce fear and
spread smiles wherever possible.
I try to "carry bread" to my neighbors.
Thanks for reading this far,
Tig
in Springfield, VA
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