I live in upstate new york- there is no more beautiful spot in the early
summer- trust me. it is green and sunny- not too hot- and birds chirping all day. Idyllic. Peaceful even. I can only imagine what it must be like- no strike that- i can't imagine what it must be like for iraqi families who live in constant fear amidst the filth and ruin of their home. I can't imagine what it is like for the iraqi refugees fleeing the chaos and death on all sides- only to be turned away from some countries.

Now- triple or quadruple that to include the palestinians, the folks in bosnia, the folks in darfur- you get the idea. We may not have direct control over many troubled parts of the world- but we do have influence. We are directly responsible for iraq. It is arrogant and disgusting to feel that we 'fight them over there so that we don't have to fight them here.' Why are our lives so much more precious? The short answer is- they aren't. We need to pressure our "leaders" to stop
this way of thinking and to stop fighting everywhere. If folks attack,
then we defend- here. A free and open society has to take that risk- otherwise what is the point? How can we advocate for our democracy when we are forcing it on others? Peace-- in our time.