Lalibela: Tastes like scam

Lalibela, as it turns out, is probably one of those tourist towns I mentioned, on par with Marrakesh, Morocco or the like. It’s THE holy city to Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, on par with Jerusalem, but it’s also the number one town to visit as a tourist. Consequently, there are scams here. Apparently the “sponsor my education” is a well-known line here, and the people of this town are just professional beggars. If I weren’t such a bleeding heart, I’d stop falling for it. Jacob is around to remind me, though, which is good because I need someone to save me from my naïve generosity.

The dictionary trick is apparently so the boys can sell it back immediately to the shopkeeper and everybody makes a little kickback. And the boy with the pink flipflops seemed so sincere…

What are you supposed to do if you help them and they take advantage of you? When they lie, steal, and cheat you under the pretense of friendship?

I guess the answer is: Kalli, stop giving people something for nothing. Don’t give money without people providing a service in return, don’t buy gifts, toys, or candy for children, don’t “help” beggars. This is my take away message and I hope I can live with it. The fact is, though, based on past experience, catch me at the right moment with the right sob story and I’ll do it again. Sigh.

Ethiopia, to us, feels like a peaceful, passive-aggressive, lazy Nigeria. You know, friendly scammers.

Funny story: I was taken to a police station with the tourist guide who scammed us, someone who told us he was security but in fact was another tour guide, and a police officer who was part of the scam. It was 3 against 1 (me) and little hope of justice being served.

Do you know what it’s like to live in a country where the entire system is corrupt and police officers can be bought off? When you can’t trust anyone around you to be honest, when everyone around you is hoping to steal from you and mislead, and outright lie to you? Where there is no one to be your advocate—you are a rich farenji, you deserve what happens to you? Where even in the hotel you are staying in, the place that should be looking out for its customers, is full of tricksters who even state different prices than the manager has instructed them to?

At least in Ethiopia, unlike Central and South America, the scammers aren’t armed. They’re wimpy and a little pathetic, so you feel sorry for them even as you are frustrated with them. You remind yourself:

Their situation is so much worse than mine, I shouldn’t get mad.

But then after all-day pestering you still do get mad and you tell the young, bright-eyed, talented-at-scamming boy who has asked for something in the exact same lying way the last boy asked: “You know what? In America we work for what we receive! We don’t ask for something from strangers without providing something in return! And even if I did buy a soccer ball, I wouldn’t give it to you!”

Prescriptions are not just for medicine

A sort of contrasting viewpoint from some of my other posts…I have to agree with a lot of it. Jacob and I wonder about our classifications of “developing.” Developing towards being like the US? Is that the ultimate goal? It makes me have to decide what is a right for every human. Is food and clean water a right? Is a job? Is education? Is a fulfilling relationship? Is literacy? Is health care? Vaccinations? Multivitamins? Birth control? Privacy? Space? Clothing? Shelter? Freedom? Ability to travel? In the US, all of those are a given. But should it be a given for everyone? What do you think? Which of these are rights?

Please comment on your perspective. What do you think is our role as Americans? What is the role of the US government?

 This author is a KIVA fellow. So I guess this is another plug for kiva.org.

PS People always greet me with Obruni too.

Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 25 October 2010

By: zerrincetin

Obruni (Often yelled, “Ooobrruuuniii”). A word that meant nothing to me just three short months ago. Now, it is a word that induces feelings of happiness, anger, and indifference all at the same time. In Ghana, a foreigner is called obruni. Really, it is more of a greeting than anything. Admittedly, it took me a while to get used to being called obruni.

While my fellowship is providing me with a fantastic opportunity to learn about microfinance, this obruni example illustrates a part of my fellowship that I equally cherish – Living in a country very different than my own. This is pushing me to be open-minded despite how strange circumstances might seem at times. This openness, in turn, is pushing me to think about things that I had never thought about before. I think a recent experience illustrates this nicely. A very interesting question was posed to me by a Ghanaian. “Do you think my country will ever reach your country?”

This is a challenging question to answer. One that I had to think about carefully before attempting to do so. Where I land on this issue, and similar issues for that matter, is that Ghana shouldn’t be striving to reach my country (Canada, but I think “your country” in this question means any Western country). What is there to reach for? What works well in North America will not necessarily work in Ghana. What works in Ghana will not necessarily work in North America. The standards, ideals, and cultures are different. They’re not better or worse in one place versus the other. They are just different. So why this constant reaching for more?

In so many parts of the world, the Western world is idealized to be a place where there is no hardship, poverty, or conflict. This is not an accurate depiction. It is all relative. Hardship, poverty, and conflict just present themselves in different ways in the West. We tend to categorize the unknown in one of two ways – we either view it as anxiety-inducing/bad or romanticize about the possibilities that it brings. This romanticized view of the West is what I often encounter in Ghana.

I struggle with this view, because I don’t think the life in the West is necessarily better. It’s just different. Things work differently. There are different rules and expectations. There are different cultural values. This romanticized view brings on another struggle for me. From what I observe (And keep in mind that it is a limited 3-month observation), this view of the West as being better is the driving force behind a lot of development work. Undertaking development projects will make countries like Ghana “better”. By definition, if a country is categorized as “developing”, shouldn’t they then be striving to become better in order to be “developed”?

But better according to whom? Certainly better according to our Western values and ideals. But are all of these projects in line with local people’s values and ideals? Do they even care if they have a new school or a new water well or [fill in the blank with project name]? According to their views of the world, will these local people actually be better off as a result of the development projects?

I was told a story of a development project in a remote village. This village did not have its own water pump and the women had to walk two hours just to fetch the water they need. This is absurd! Two hours just to get water? That’s a full-length Blockbuster production. Funding approved, a group of volunteers built a new well in this village. Now, the village women could get the clean water they need much more efficiently. Job well done! Right?

Are these villagers actually better off as a result of this new well? Did they even care about this well to begin with? Well, turns out, the well went unused. The two hours that the women spent getting water was a time to themselves. It was a very social time for them to catch up with one another and a time where they didn’t have to worry about cooking, cleaning, children, etc. According to our Western values, you should avoid wasting time at all costs. However, in other cultures being social and interacting with each other is much more important. I witness this in Ghana all the time. People genuinely take the time to engage with one another. In North America, however, we are often too busy to even respond to a two-line e-mail.

What I want to demonstrate with this story is that sometimes, with projects like this, the funders bring their own ideals and values to a foreign environment. They then prescribe a new reality for the local people to adopt. While I’m sure that this project was well intentioned, the funders’ values of efficiency did not necessarily translate to the realities of this village. I think what’s critical in our interactions with people of other cultures is approaching them with openness and being sensitive not to prescribe our values that might be very different than their own.

The question of whether Ghana will ever reach Canada has taught me two very important lessons. One is that I want to be involved with work that does not prescribe values to the recipients of this work. For this reason, I am proud to be volunteering for Kiva. From what I observe, the loans empower borrowers to make their own decisions without making any prescriptions. Second, whenever I feel culture-shocked or confused, I take a bit of comfort in the sheer fact that sometimes things are just different in Ghana. They are not better or worse, but just different. While this may be more evident while traveling and experiencing new cultures, I think there is room to apply this lesson in my day-to-day when I return to Canada. And I look forward to trying.

What Ghanaians do on a Friday night

Last night, I went to hear the President speak about sports at the football stadium a short taxi ride away. That’s what I was told, anyway, by a security guard who walked me to the gym and proceded to sit and, in a friendly manner, follow me around while I worked out on different machines. Anyway…

That’s not who it was at all. It was The Prophet. Bishop David Oledepo.  He called himself a prophet in any event, and the stadium was full of cheering, dancing Africans as he spoke about the grace of Jesus.

I looked around. I was the only white person there. I sat with some people who invited me, and I got some explanations of what was going on. There was a lot of standing up with your hands in the air and shouting “Amen!” and a lot of wiggling around in emotional prayer and a fair amount of just plain dancing and clapping. What were they getting excited about?

The Prophet was telling them that he foresaw a better future for Africa. He said he knew a lot of Ghanaians who wished they were in America. But look at the suicide rate in America—they aren’t any happier for their lifestyle, he said. He promised the Lord would lift them out of their poverty. Everyone here is very religious. It gives them hope.

Life here is so much less drastic seeming than in India, despite Ghana’s lower ranking on the Human Development Index.

Here are some reasons why…

1. Equality. There have been studies done on the happiness of a country being equivalent with the divide between the rich and the poor, between men and women, among race, etc…The more equal the society, the higher the satisfaction of the society. Thus European countries will always rate a higher happiness level than the US. In India, there are so many different levels of people left over from the caste system, perhaps. Here in Ghana, there are only 3 professions: drum maker, artist, or acrobat. I try to look interested every time someone tells me proudly they are one of those three, but it’s hardly a surprise. Most people live a similar lifestyle here.

2. Women have a strong and powerful presence. It shows in the way they carry themselves. It shows in the way they are every bit as much a part of society as men. It shows in their loud voices. I feel like a wimp when I talk with them, to be perfectly honest. It shows in their manner of dress. They are so bold.

3. There is space, and nature. It’s not overpopulated. No one is sleeping in the streets. It seems like people are living like they did long before any white people came and tried to change things. Traffic and pollution are not problems.

4. Things of a private nature, like going to the bathroom, are kept private.

5. Children stay children here. They play, they go to school. The people who come selling odds and ends to the taxi windows in bad traffic are adults, not kids.

6. Ghana is extremely peaceful. It hasn’t been at war in many years, which is unusual for an African country especially. Violent crime is not an issue, nor is terrorism.

So I thought, maybe, that Ghanaians were happy to stay just the way they are. Until last night, when I was reminded, once again, the winning of the lottery that being born in America is.

Which brings me to my final point…

So many countries around the world are waiting on America to help. It may not be fair, and we may not be recognized for the work that we’ve done. Nevertheless, it’s a responsibility.

Please visit http://www.borgenproject.org/ 

This nonprofit doesn’t request your money. It simply lists different bills addressing international poverty that are placed before the Senate that you can call and voice your support. The website tells you how.

I believe the US government has a greater responsibility for the welfare of other nations than it is currently now exhibiting. Because of ignorance in a lot of Americans who have not traveled to other, poorer, nations, there is often not a lot of support for using tax dollars for international aid. This is where you go to voice your support, to show that as Americans, we accept the responsibility that being the wealthiest nation in the world brings.

Water.

There are periods of time in which I seem to get a little blog-happy. This is apparently one of those times.

But I had to do a post on one of the cooler ideas that I’ve seen for a nonprofit.

I’ve been following their newsletters for a while. It’s called water.org.

And I just found out today that it was Matt Damon who started it.

I love celebrities who do more with their status than get DUIs.

Anyway…

I’ve mentioned kiva.org in another post. It’s where you loan money to entrepreneurs in developing countries and they pay back the loan. Then you can reloan your money to new entrepreneurs. So far, we’ve loaned to people in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria, Indonesia and the USA…and we’ve been paid back 100% which enables us to reinvest in new entrepreneurs.

I think one of the biggest roadblocks to charitable giving is the fear that it’s going to be wasted. And to be honest, every time I give money to a random beggar on the road, I feel stupid, like I just got scammed. (I feel the same way every time I pay taxes.)

That’s why I like kiva.org, and that’s why this charity is pretty cool. It’s called water microlending.

Cities/communities are given a loan to build a well or renewable water resource. They are expected to pay it back. The way they can pay it back is because they have so much more time on their hands now that they don’t have to spend several hours a day fetching water, and they aren’t getting ill as often, so they can work and produce more. When they pay it back, the money is reloaned to a new destination. Amazing idea, eh?

 

At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.

Almost one-tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene and management of water resources. Such improvements reduce child mortality and improve health and nutritional status in a sustainable way.

Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.

In just one day, more than 200 million hours of women’s time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water for domestic use. This lost productivity is greater than the combined number of hours worked in a week by employees at Wal*Mart, United Parcel Service, McDonald’s, IBM, Target, and Kroger.

My struggle with alcohol

That’s what Jacob said I should title this post :)

Let me preface this by a conversation Jacob and I had. We were trying to figure out why the Indians were so…childlike. Why so friendly, so interested, so trusting. Why we have been invited into more homes here than anywhere else (anyone want to challenge my theory that Calcuttans are the nicest people in the world? See proof in the photos below) and why there is a culture of openness. We wondered, suddenly, if it might be the fact that drinking alcohol is not popular here.

India is just a wholesome place in general. Pornography? Yeah right. Extramarital affairs? Never hear about them. Women who dress beautifully but not provocatively? Everywhere. Crime? Could be the safest city in the world. In the newspaper, I also read that is is well known that “alcohol and smoking decrease spirituality” yeah only in India would they write that so definitively about spirituality.  Well, or maybe in Provo, where Jacob and I met (stone-cold sober every year as rated by Princeton!).

This drinking culture popular in Westernized countries limits and isolates people who don’t drink. It is the single biggest reason why my friends and I grew apart in high school. They got into going to drinking parties every weekend. I wasn’t interested in attending. It got so every single activity my friends did was not complete without alcohol. This disappointed me. I remembered when we used to do fun and crazy things just for the heck of it, without any kind of drug necessary. This made my friends more reserved when not drinking. They only began to loosen up after being able to drink.

I hope I can write about this subject fairly and maybe help those of other faiths understand why LDS people don’t drink, because this fact is one of the starkest differences that separate us from many other Americans. I’m writing this post because I would love to be respected for not drinking. I want to be seen as an equal with people who drink, not as a party pooper. At the same time, I want to make it clear that I think Mormons or other teetotalers who look down on people who drink are wrong to do that. It’s just not right. I think there’s some looking down on people who drink that goes on in the Mormon culture, and I think that should stop.

I admit that I have never drunk alcohol in my life, so maybe I have a limited view on the subject, but I have enough friends who do or used to do that I have a little bit of an idea of it.

I remember when Jacob first told me that alcohol didn’t taste good. I was incredulous.

“But don’t people drink alcohol for the taste?? I thought everybody loved alcohol because it tasted so dang good?”

Jacob: “No, they drink it for the effect it has on their bodies. If you drank even a little bit of hard alcohol, you would probably throw up.”

Me: “Oh, I’m a lot less interested what it tastes like then.”

Before I continue, though, I want to be clear:

I don’t  believe drinking is a reflection on someone’s character. In fact, I believe it is possible to drink responsibly and still be healthy, and a good, upstanding, moral person.

It may seem silly that I have to clarify that. But as a young LDS child, I used to think that if you drank alcohol, you were a bad person. I even wrote a song about world peace when I was in fifth grade (yes, I was idealistic even back then) in which some of the lyrics included, “No more war, or unhappy tears, or drugs, or drinking beer…or having fear spread through your body. If only…” lol! I cringe a bit at those lyrics. Cheesy! Ask me to play it for you sometime.

I do feel really bad about that judgment now. Too many wonderful people I  know drink. Jesus drank wine. Jesus could not sin. In fact, I know people around the world who drink alcohol who are better people than I am. We met them in Greece, Macedonia, and Turkey. We have met them here in India. It has taken me a while to learn this lesson, but learn it I have. Repeat: there are people who drink alcohol who are better people than I am.  Again, I apologize to the world at large for making that kind of a judgment about alcohol drinkers. Nevertheless, I choose not to drink…keep reading to learn more.

Mormons don’t drink alcohol, and Jesus did…WHY???

Wine historically

Okay first of all that goes into the historical period of the time. I believe it’s possible, after travelling enough and seeing underdeveloped countries, that the water wasn’t safe to drink at times and wine, or even fruit juice that over time would ferment, would have been safer to drink. While people throughout the Bible drank, there is no evidence that people were encouraged to drink it purposefully for the effects that come with drinking. The Bible makes it pretty clear that getting drunk is not a good idea. If Jesus had said no alcohol, people would have died of thirst. Times have changed from back then. They didn’t drive cars. They didn’t use illegal drugs. There are different problems today than there were then.

Continuing revelation

LDS people believe in something called the Word of Wisdom. In continued revelation. That God did not stop revealing things to his prophets. That the Bible is not the complete guide to Christianity.

The Word of Wisdom counsels against alcohol, tea, coffee, and tobacco. It encourages eating meat sparingly, and to eat herbs, grains, and fruits. We are promised if we obey those things, we’ll live longer and have the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Some people may think, Why is the Church so controlling?

We don’t view it as controlling because we choose it. We could drink if we chose. But we’re grateful that the Church just says “no alcohol.” How do you measure moderate? For every person that is different. People could still get drunk and say, “That’s moderate for me.” For us, measuring moderate would be very difficult. In today’s world, it makes since from the Church’s perspective just to say “zero.” Some people have more of a weakness for alcohol than others. Easier to say, forget about it. But who knows? Maybe there is alcohol in heaven ;)

Okay…beyond the scriptural reasons, why is not drinking alcohol a good idea?

By the way, I believe most moderate drinkers agree with many of these problems that come from drinking TOO MUCH. It is possible to drink responsibly, and not have these problems. I think responsible drinkers also discourage irresponsible drinking that brings the following side effects:

Alcoholism

How many families have been broken up because of this? How many lives have been ruined? How much sorrow has been brought upon innocent children? How many abusive fathers and mothers have hurt their families when they would not have sober? How many work hours lost? How many reputations destroyed? This reason alone confirms to me why it makes sense not to touch alcohol. Alcoholics who have that genetic tendency would never know it if they never drank. Sadly, stats say one in three people will be hooked on alcohol at some point in their lives.

Drunk driving

If people didn’t drink, more innocent people would be alive today. Period.

Grape juice is better

You hear a lot about the benefits wine brings you. Grape juice is as or more healthy than red wine. (Welch’s, you can reward me for the plug later.)

Damage to unborn babies

Fetal alcohol syndrome. If it’s not good for kids, why is it good for adults? Women may not know they are pregnant until it is too late.

Date rape

Women are made especially vulnerable when consuming alcohol. Many women are raped and killed because they let their barriers down and can’t defend themselves from impaired judgment. Teens who drink are also more likely to have unprotected sex which leads to more babies born out of wedlock/abortion.

Combination with other drugs can be fatal

There isn’t enough education out there to teach young kids just starting to drink about the fatal combinations with other recreational drugs. Many college students have inadvertently ended their lives because of this.

Alcohol poisoning

Always possible, especially when you don’t know your limits yet.

Kills brain cells

Alcohol will stunt your ability to think clearly. In studies, it shows your brain is literally made to shrink with the drinking of alcohol.

Linked to cancer

And liver disease, heart failure, and high blood pressure. And beer bellies ;)

Linked to crime

32% of teens under 18 who are in long-term juvenile detention centers were under the influence of alcohol at the time of their crime and/or arrest. Obviously this doesn’t apply to the majority of people who drink.

Makes some people mean when they drink

Of course, it makes some people extra nice too. In any event, it affects your personality. You are no longer completely in control.

Some people do some really stupid things they regret when drunk…or they don’t even remember. Some people even die after doing stupid things while drunk. A guy I knew from high school fell off a building after drinking too much in college and died. I wonder how much sexual disease has been spread because of alcohol? How many people have had sex and regretted it the next morning because of alcohol?

Medication effectiveness

Alcohol can tamper with the usage of regular medications like birth control, making them ineffective.

Hangovers

Because I don’t drink, I don’t have to ever worry when I wake up in the morning that I’ll have a splitting headache.

Expensive

Alcoholic drinks are about the most expensive thing on a restaurant menu. The average person spends $457/year on it. So the average couple, about $1000. On a grander scale, the five “hard” addictions of alcohol, drugs, gambling, eating disorders, and tobacco are responsible for 5 % of the national debt.

Makes some people unable to relax without having it

Some people CAN’T relax without alcohol because they’ve become dependent. It’s a drug.

I’m told it tastes bad and you throw up when you first try it and drink too much. Usually something that makes you throw up isn’t good for you.

Unhappy people self-medicate on it instead of looking to more healthy sources.

I think it ages you. Mormons and Hindus alike look very young compared to average Western society. True, I get annoyed every time someone comments that I look 16, but that’s better than aging before my time.

There are some things I regret about choosing not to drink.

There is an undeniable social link in our culture that is denied me because that’s just how it is in America. My high school friends have a social life that revolves around drinking. In Hindu and Muslim cultures, however, people don’t expect you to drink and it feels that much more hospitable to us. This doesn’t have to be as limiting in our culture though, as long as both sides respect the views of the other.

I don’t like looking holier-than-thou or strange, which it probably sometimes comes across just because I choose not to drink.

I think pairing wine with meals I make could have been a hobby of mine in another life. Just one of those cultured-sounding things to do.

I think the effects of alcohol would surely be fun once in a while.

Studies show that drinking moderately can have some health benefits like lower cardiovascular disease; however they can also be found in other alternatives without any risk.

Nevertheless, I still choose not to drink because the benefits are so much more powerful.

Benefits of not drinking

Having nothing to impede you in your success. Jacob and I believe a major factor in our business success, and those of other prominent Mormons, is the fact that no evenings are blown on hazy drunkenness. All are spent working, producing, creating, conversing. Our time is valuable. I think I also got better grades because I didn’t drink. I learned more. I contribute to society more. I can be more passionate about more important causes without distraction.

Confidence in your health. If you don’t drink, you don’t have to worry if you are drinking too much. No fetal alcohol syndrome baby. You can drink healthier drinks in their stead. In Utah, everybody goes to Jamba Juice for their drink time. Any health benefits found from drinking alcohol can be gained in other ways. Conversely, the bad things from alcohol can’t be counterbalanced. (Jamba Juice, you can thank me later for the plug.)

More kid-friendly family time.

Have fun creatively. While I think most people’s college free time memories are filled with drunken passion and partying, BYU is a mecca of arts, music, outdoors sports, dating, restaurants, foreign cultures, business upstarts, and more. In fact, it is rated in the top 10 best cities to live in the US by Forbes. It ranks best quality of life in the US in this study.

Safety. No drunken driving, no getting taken advantage of. Over 38% of all drowning deaths are alcohol-related. I love to swim. No worries there. I like to think people can worry about us a little less when we are traveling because we always have our wits about us. Not to mention, we’re a lot less likely to get ripped off.

Stay thin. Alcohol—some more than others-- has a lot of empty calories. Then again, so do chips and salsa, MY favorite indulgence. Aw, shucks.

Save money. In another post I wrote about the huge amount of money that is spent by Westernized countries on alcohol yearly. What a difference that could make if instead of billions spent on alcohol worldwide, 10% could be used building the infrastructure of impoverished nations. That is essentially what LDS people do. We spend 10 % of our income on tithing which is used in all kinds of charitable causes.

No economic dependency. If you are dependent on alcohol and you lose your job, you are up a creek. You can’t fund your habit. You might even turn to crime if you have that strong of a need for it.

Freedom of choice. Fact is, I could still always choose to drink, IF I wanted to. But there are a lot of people out there who can’t stop drinking even though they desperately want to. Most people who drink, obviously, could choose to stop at any time also, they just don’t want to!

Good memory. I can remember every single thing that’s ever happened to me. Except when I got my wisdom teeth out…

Trust. I trust myself. I know how to relax without a drug. I know how to have a good time without a drug. I know how to comfort myself when I’m unhappy without a drug.  While I also have many friends who don’t rely on alcohol or drugs, I also have many who require alcohol to have a fun evening.

And the clincher…drum roll folks…

Live longer.

LDS people live 5-11 years longer than the average American. WHOA! THAT’S HUGE!!!! Don’t hear too much about that, do ya? Read here and here for more. You hear soooo much about how great the health benefits are for drinking alcohol. You hear all the time things that will help you live 6 months longer, 2 years longer. What about the health benefits of being Mormon? You don’t hear that in the news. But the bottom line is this. If you’re Mormon, statistically, you are going to live longer. If you are a white male and Mormon, you will live 10 years longer than other white males. That is statistical craziness!!

I love. my. life. 10 extra years of traveling the world with my honey sounds mighty fine to me. I think the Word of Wisdom is worth it ;)

Anyways my point in this post is to hopefully explain why it logically makes sense that LDS people choose not to drink. I hope that we can be respected and maybe even admired for that stance, even as we respect others’ right to drink responsibly (in ways that don’t infringe on the rights of others). Whether you are a teetotaler or whether you drink alcohol frequently, let’s not condemn others for their life choices. The end.

Now on to the pictures….

 

Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich. ~Sir Peter Ustinov

India is a spiritual destination. It forces one to reflect. It has awakened my latent activism. The worst and the best, the poorest and the richest, the ugliest and the most beautiful sides of humanity co-exist together here. If you can’t tell already, I can’t help but wax philosophical and maybe share something I’m learning along the way. These posts may be idealistic, but it’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.
I’m such a hippie.
Well, not the drug-using hallucinating part. But the anti-war part. When the Iraq war was announced, in all its patriotic fervor, I shared with my family and friends that we were making a mistake. I was hardly prophetic. War has been denounced throughout time as being one of the least effective ways to solve the world’s problems. I wish that I had been more outspoken, just for the sake of my conscience now.

  I guess every generation is doomed to fight its war...suffer the loss of the same old illusions, and learn the same old lessons on its own. ~Phillip Caputo

I am publishing this in the hope that I can communicate that we must learn to communicate with our so called radical Muslim brothers and sisters: using force with them will not convince them to stop using force with us.

Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it….
To some degree it matters who's in office, but it matters more how much pressure they're under from the public.
~Noam Chomsky

If these quotes inspire you at all, think about getting involved. I found this excellent organization online: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/index.php It has ways to protest and to encourage our leaders to bring our troops home.
I share this because…

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
~Margaret Mead

One reason the United States finds itself at the edge of a foreign policy disaster is its underinformed citizenry, a key weakness in democracy.
~Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke
About the quote: from "America Alone"

And

Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.
~Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice

So many of these quotes were said/written decades and centuries ago, and yet history continues to repeat itself.
I really hope some of these quotes ring true to you. I think every single one of these is incredibly insightful, except for the ones made by George W. Those were added for comic effect.

‘All wars are sacred,' he said. 'To those who have to fight them. If the people who started wars didn't make them sacred, who would be foolish enough to fight? But, no matter what rallying cries the orators give to the idiots who fight, no matter what noble purposes they assign to wars, there is never but one reason for a war. And that is money. All wars are in reality money squabbles. But so few people ever realize it. Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and fine words from stay-at-home orators. Sometimes the rallying cry is 'Save the Tomb of Christ from the Heathen!' Sometimes it's 'Down with Popery!' and sometimes 'Liberty!' and sometimes 'Cotton, Slavery and States' Rights!'
~Rhett Butler, Gone With the Wind

Most of the miseries of the world were caused by wars and when the wars are over, no one ever knew what they were about.
~Ashley Wilkes, Gone With the Wind

Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose—and you allow him to make war at pleasure.
~Abraham Lincoln

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.
~Agatha Christie

When a war breaks out, people say: "It's too stupid, it can't last long." But though a war may be "too stupid," that doesn't prevent its lasting.
~Albert Camus

Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.
~Albert Einstein

What is absurd and monstrous about war is that men who have no personal quarrel should be trained to murder one another in cold blood.
~Aldous Huxley

We Americans have no commission from God to police the world.
~Benjamin Harrison, US President
About the quote: from an 1888 address to Congress

The terrorist is the one with the small bomb.
~Brendan Behan, author

War should be made a crime, and those who instigate it should be punished as criminals.
~Charles Evans Hughes, Supreme Court Justice

The truth is that neither British nor American imperialism was or is idealistic. It has always been driven by economic or strategic interests.
~Charley Reese

Imperialism is an institution under which one nation asserts the right to seize the land or at least to control the government or resources of another people.
~John T. Flynn, journalist

War, n: A time-tested political tactic guaranteed to raise a president’s popularity rating by at least 30 points. It is especially useful during election years and economic downturns.
~Chaz Bufe

War in the end is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians, and of idealists by cynics.
~Chris Hedges

After victory, you have more enemies.
~Cicero

All forms of violence, especially war, are totally unacceptable as means to settle disputes between and among nations, groups and persons.
~Dalai Lama

You cannot win a War on Terrorism. It’s like having a war on jealousy.
~David Cross
About the quote: Cross is a comedian, most well known for his roles on the television series "Arrested Development" and "Mr. Show." This quote is from his 2002 comedy album.

War creates peace like hate creates love.
~David L. Wilson

We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

I hate war  as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly, I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower
About the quote: from 1953

Together we must learn how to compose difference, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

(I think he must be my new favorite president)

Compare him with George W.:

If we don’t stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, we’re going to have a serious problem coming down the road.
~George W. Bush

I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: From a speech at the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development in Wash. DC, 6/18/02.

Our nation is somewhat sad, but we’re angry. There’s a certain level of blood lust, but we won’t let it drive our reaction. We’re steady, clear-eyed and patient, but pretty soon we’ll have to start displaying scalps.
~George W. Bush

Wow. I think that quote just changed my life.

If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator.
~George W. Bush

Evil men, obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience, must be taken very seriously--and we must stop them before their crimes can multiply.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: from the President's Veteran's Day Speech (11/11/05).

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful...They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: From remarks by the president at the signing of The Defense Appropriations Act for 2005  (At least he is honest here)

We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: from a UN Speech in Sept 2004

I think war is a dangerous place.
~George W. Bush

These people are trying to shake the will of the Iraqi citizens, and they want us to leave...I think the world would be better off if we did leave...
~George W. Bush (on Iraqi Insurgency)

Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: from a speech on 10/3/03 (LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL how hypocritical can you get)

Oh my gosh. Did we really have this man leading our country for 8 years?

It's quite fun to fight 'em, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling.
~Lt. Gen. James Mattis, USMC
About the quote: Comments from 2/1/05 conference in San Diego, California. Lt. Mattis commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SICK.

The worst barbarity of war is that it forces men collectively to commit acts against which individually they would revolt with their whole being.
~Ellen Key

They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.
~Ernest Hemingway
About the quote: from "Notes on the Next War," published in Esquire Magazine, 1935.

If my soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the army.
~Frederick the Great

With no notice to the American people...this country entered the war...Stranger than the fact was the passive acceptance of it.
~Garet Garrett

Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it.
~General Douglas MacArthur

I believe that the entire effort of modern society should be concentrated on the endeavor to outlaw war as a method of the solution of problems between nations.
~General Douglas MacArthur

Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency.
~General Douglas MacArthur

Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear.
~General Douglas MacArthur
 About the quote: MacArthur was an American army general who lived 1880-1964.

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
~George Washington

I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough to want to force it upon anyone.
~H. L. Mencken

How can you make a war on terror if war itself is terrorism?
~Howard Zinn

It's more humane to cure your enemies than to kill them.
~Hugh Mann

Even philosophers will praise war as ennobling mankind, forgetting the Greek who said: ‘War is bad in that it begets more evil than it kills.'
~Immanuel Kant

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
~James Madison
About the quote: This quote is from the period he served as a US Congressman (he represented Virginia from 1789-1797).

Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner.
~James Wolcott
About the quote: in his article “From Fear to Eternity” in Vanity Fair, March 2005

I'm afraid, based on my own experience, that fascism will come to America in the name of national security.
~Jim Garrison

Scary to ask ourselves…has this already happened?

Yes, we love peace, but we are not willing to take wounds for it, as we are for war.
~John Andrew Holmes

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
~John F. Kennedy

If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.
~John Lennon

I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private individuals.
~Joseph Heller
(author of Catch-22)

We have to show the American People that war is not patriotic.
~Justin Raimondo

The war on terrorism is akin to the war on drugs…unwinable, unless you kill everyone…or address the root causes.
~K. W. Ibrahim

The greatest protection against war is a well educated populace.
~L.L. Castetter

Wars are inevitable... as long as we believe that wars are inevitable. The moment we don't believe it anymore it is not inevitable.
~Lydia Sicher

It takes more courage to get out of a war than it does to get into one.
~Mark Couturier

Why, the Government is merely...a temporary servant...Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.
~Mark Twain

     

Is it not a strange blindness on our part to teach publicly the techniques of warfare and to reward with medals those who prove to be the most adroit killers?
~Marquis de Sade

There are many terrorist states in the world, but the United States is unusual in that it is officially committed to international terrorism.
~Noam Chomsky
About the quote: from his book "Necessary Illusions" (p. 270)

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.
~Pentagon Official (unnamed )
About the quote: This quote was from a Pentagon Official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War.

Power is usurped from the people, first by implementing fear, then it is maintained by slandering as 'unpatriotic' those who refuse submission.
~Ramman Kenoun

The occupation and robbery of a nation occurs under the illusion of freeing its citizens from brutal oppression.
~Ramman Kenoun

When American presidents prepare for foreign wars, they lie.
~Robert Higgs

There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we went in. It was we who gave the perfect conditions in which Al Qaeda could thrive.
~Robin Cook
About the quote: Cook is Britain's former foreign secretary. He resigned from the British Cabinet over the Iraq War.

Terror is a tactic. We can not wage "war" against a tactic.
~Ron Paul

War--after all, what is it that the people get? Why--widows, taxes, wooden legs and debt.
~Samuel B. Pettengill

I abhor war and view it as the greatest scourge of mankind.
~Thomas Jefferson

If you kill one person you are a murderer. If you kill ten people you are a monster. If you kill ten thousand you are a national hero.
~Vassilis Epaminondou

If [America] becomes militant, it will be because its people choose to become such; it will be because they think that war and warlikeness are desirable.
~William Graham Sumner
About the quote: from 1903

The greatest crime since World War II has been US foreign policy.
~William Ramsey Clark
About the quote: William Ramsey Clark was US Attorney General under Lyndon B. Johnson

And finally…I don’t normally like to combine the gospel and politics. But this isn’t something you hear preached over the pulpit much, yet I believe it is fundamental to what our religion stands for. So I close with this quote from a General Conference in 1942:

The Lord is a Lord of peace. He has said to us in this dispensation:
“Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace . . . ” (D&C 98:16) Thus the Church is and must be against war. The Church itself cannot wage war, unless and until the Lord shall issue new commands. It cannot regard war as a righteous means of settling international disputes; these should and could be settled—the nations agreeing—by peaceful negotiation and adjustment.
A message from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and David O. McKay), delivered in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah, Monday, April 6, 1942, during the closing session of the 112th Annual General Conference of the Church.
http://www.latterdayconservative.com/articles/j-reuben-clark-jr/war-first-presidency