Wow, two posts in two days, well I guess I've been given a fair amount of food for thought. So I was told today that I, "think too much". Is there such a thing? I would have to answer in the negative. My general response was something to the effect of, If we do not thing then we become complacent. Complacent to whom? Complacent to any person or group of persons who wishes us to follow their ideology in any form. Blind allegiance to ideology can be worse than no allegiance or belief at all. Which is why I get so angry when I hear people spout off about their politics, yet when you challenge them they are at a loss of words because they don't know why the believe what they believe.

So when I hear someone say that I think too much I think of such connotations as excessive or that I over think or that I"m obsessive about it - all negative connotations. So what if I think less? Sure ignorance may be pure bliss, but is it real happiness? Is it good to de-construct the world to a shell of what it really is in order to achieve this artificial happiness? No it is not. I've come to terms with the complexity of the world although it is still a source of great anxiety. Yet I choose to continue to think deeply and critically about the world because when I cease to think is when I cease to become a free person.

In conclusion, I will not comply and I will most certainly not be happy with the world at face value. Yes it causes anxiety with the complexity, but once we understand this complexity our possibilities are completely endless. Human beings less than a century ago had a less complex understanding of the world than we do today. We've made progress because of those who "think too much". This just boggles my mind. Perhaps this person is simply a mind in the stages of its intellectual infancy, and this is what I believe, I can only hope this view changes.

It has been a while since I have written on this thing, so I'm just writing to see what comes to mind. Oh well here is a good one, I was sitting in the mall food court on my unpaid half hour lunch watching CNN. I saw that our fearless leader George W. Bush ok'd some covert operations which were to be aimed at undermining the Iranian government. I really am an opponent of this sort of sabotage and warfare. It goes to the heart of my argument against war. Well, I suppose I am not completely against war, but I feel it should be an absolute last resort. This means take into account all diplomatic means to secure an agreement or solution before war. Yet even now I am doubting my support for war. I feel like human beings try to draw cut and dry lines too much; they want win or lose, black or white, right or wrong...unfortunately this is rarely the case. Thus human beings always draw themselves into the realm of competition (ie, war) where winners and losers can more easily be distinguished.

Is it possible that we can really give diplomacy a chance instead of undermining governments? I certainly hope so. I think Iran has some honest complaints. For example, they have a legitimate beef with our militarism and bolstering of our own nuke programs while at the same time condemning that of other nations. Would it be so hard to demilitarize in exchange for the same from Iran? Wouldn't this show a much more conciliatory attitude toward the rest of the world and perhaps improve our tarnished international image? It may be idealistic to hope for world peace, but it is not so to hope for a less arrogant and condescending United States of America.

So back to covert operations. What happens when we undermine the Iranian government? I should not that I believe the method of choice was attacking their financial institutions which doesn't just impact the elite in Iran but the poorest of the poor, some who already struggle to get by. So what we'll create in Iran is an increasingly unstable country, while fueling the already masses of religious and anti-west zealots. Iran need only to point out that the reason the easily convinced masses are struggling is because of the evil United States...and is there not an element of truth to this? I love my country, I love our ideals and what they stand for, but the people need to continue to force their leaders to live up to those ideals. Ideals, although we may not live up to them always, challenge us to a higher state of existence, which is why idealism is important. An apathetic America has allowed our leaders, in particular the right, to become increasingly bold, unyielding, and myopic on the world stage. The answer to Iran is not covert operations or military chest thumping in the gulf. It involves listening and diplomacy...talking. These are things Americans struggle with.