WWIIGuy's View of the Israeli-Lebanese Crisis

This particular entry is dedicated to my friend, Melissa, who about the time I was working my way back to Cincinnati, decided to up and leave for Arizona. We've only had the chance to discuss politics and world issues a few times, but it's enough to know that I miss sparring with her now over the current geo-political (Are you impressed with my vocabulary?) situation.....

So, interesting things have developed in the Middle East lately. On top of the tumultuous situation in Iraq, the Iranian nuclear situation, the North Korean missile situation, Afghanistan (and the list could go on), now we have the war between Israel and either Lebanon or Hezbollah, depending on how you view it. One thing you learn when studying Geo-Politics is that each nation can be expected to look out for it's own interests. And in today's situation, you might even tweak that a little and say that each political organization, ethnic group, etc. can be expected to try and further their own interests. For in today's situation, we don't just have to take into account the actions of nations, but also of the Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and many other sub-sections of peoples whose borders are sometimes completely unrelated to the boundaries between nations. The reason we must do this nowadays is that the actions of a relatively few - perhaps only several thousand in the case of Al-Qaeda - can radically affect the overall Geo-Political landscape for millions and even billions of others. Does all that make sense? I hope so.

One of the first questions that came to mind when the current conflict between Israel and Lebanon flared up, was what are the sides? Because even though it's officially only a two-nation war right now, anyone with the ability to see beyond the surface knows that a great many more nations and political groups are involved here. There are probably three or four or even more sides in this one.

First of all, we have the Hezbollah, who we must remember through all the smoke and mirrors, started this current fight. Even though they are part of Lebanon's government, it can be argued that the majority of the rest of the nation really does not share their radical, violent perspective. We already have two sides emerging. In fact, Hezbollah draws more of its support from Iran, Syria and other closely related radical Islamic groups.

Second, we have the rest of Lebanon. At first they appear to be innocent victims here. There is some truth to that statement, but one must ask how did Hezbollah gain a base of power in Lebanon in the first place? It's an issue very parallel to the question of what guilt did the average, everyday citizens of Japan, Italy, and Germany have in creating the monsters of Fascism? Remember, one thing all those nations have (had) in common is that they were in some fashion, democracies where the citizens had a say in the governmental leadership. Unlike the Soviet Union under Stalin or the People's Republic of China under whatever Chinese guy they are under now and in the past. Israel has even tried to make a point of saying that their beef isn't so much with Lebanon as it is with the Hezbollah. Many would argue that, in fact, even though the geography of the fight is in Lebanon and Israel, she is actually more at war with Syria and Iran than Lebanon. Some nations who are supporting Israel (including the USA) have taken the stance that they want to see Lebanon's current government remain intact.

Third, we have Israel and some of its very close allies. The USA and UK would probably be the two and perhaps only allies that fit in this category. Although there is a minority in each nation who would trade in the alliance with Israel and maybe even be willing to see her destruction in hopes of a less volatile situation in the Mid-East, those views are currently overruled by a more powerful contingent who view Israel's presence as a strong counterpoint to the parts of the Arab and Islamic world that stand against Western culture and political aims.

Fourth, there are more moderate Arab nations. Although they don't particularly care for Israel, they would prefer the lesser of two evils. While they can't officially take sides with Israel because of their Islamic faith, the unspoken knowledge is that Israel definitely makes a better neighbor than some of their violent, radical brothers in Islam. Here's an analogy that just came to mind. A year or so ago, one of the homes next-door to my parents went up for sale and a gay couple bought it and moved in. Now, my faith tells me that they are living in a way contrary to what I know to be right (and just so you know, I'm not a gay-basher. When I was fornicating I was living a life just as wrong as theirs, but that's another whole blog entry!) But would I have preferred it if a militant abortion clinic-bombing, gay-hating family had moved in instead??? No freaking way!!! And in fact, that analogy is not even a perfect one, because I would have no qualms at all in stating that I'd rather have the current neighbors instead of the more militant ones. On the other hand, these more moderate Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan - whatever official stance they take, they must step carefully, for if they offend their neighboring militant Islamic brothers they risk receiving retribution as violent as what is poured out on the official enemies of radical Islam.

Fifth, you have a huge chunk of the European nations. While not being next-door neighbors, they live in close proximity to this Brew-haha, and also do not have the same resources with which to defend themselves from these elements as the USA has. US citizens do not realize what a luxury we have in our powers of self-protection. Much of Europe's security since WWII has been reliant on the USA. If 9-11 had occurred in Europe, they wouldn't have had even close to the same ability to enact measures to try and prevent another terrorist act from happening again. So, while not walking on eggshells like the moderate Arab nations, they still don't want to piss off the neighbors down the street too badly. The second factor that draws some of the European nations together, is their stance towards the USA. At times, it's like the relationship between two siblings. There is the older sibling who had his/her glory days but due to unfortunate events, now finds him/herself in the shadow of the younger, more powerful, more successful sibling. They even ask for help sometimes, but that doesn't mean there isn't a nasty streak of jealousy there. Haven't you ever had a friend or sibling whom you cared about, but at some point became jealous of? They sort of "got too big for their breeches" in your opinion and you secretly took pleasure in seeing them knocked down a few notches? It may not have even been that they did anything personally to hurt you - in fact, they may have been very good to you, but still it felt good to see them fall on their face and maybe made you feel closer to being equal with them. It's not that you wanted to see their destruction, but it was more a feeling of "Ha, you're not as righteous and strong and up-standing as you want everyone to think you are! Serves you right!" The USA is not the bully that some nations want to portray us as being. Yes, we can be arrogant at times; we can sometimes stick our noses where it might be better to stay out just like an overprotective or overbearing big brother or sister; we can be bossy on the geo-political landscape; we may even have some hypocritical ways such as owning a nuclear arsenal while trying to prevent other nations from having them (although I'm not sure it's being hypocritical to say to a crazy man, you shouldn't have nukes). But in the larger scheme of things, there are few if any nations who could honestly say they would be more generous and tolerant of it's neighbors (friends and enemies alike), and less imperialistic than the USA has been with the power, prestige and place God has given to us. Can you imagine the French, the Soviets, Japanese, any African nation, Mexico, Israel, China, Korea, any Arab or Islamic nation being so generous and tolerant of its disagreeable neighbors or being less dominating to it's allies? I think not. Perhaps India or one of the South or Central American island nations could be. All in all, the USA has done a more admirable job than most nations would have done in how we have used our power and influence. Again, defending the USA to her jealous European brothers and sisters though is better left for another blog entry. One other point that might have some legitimacy to it is the undercurrent of anti-Semitism in some parts of Europe. I do not believe that it is too far-fetched to say that some of the people and descendants of people who allowed over 6 million Jews to be exterminated just might have some bit of influence in the overall European community's stance towards Israel and the current conflict. I'm not saying they have a lot of influence, but some influence. So, three things that unite a good portion of the European community:

1. While not being next-door neighbors to these radical elements, they are close enough that they would prefer to not piss them off too badly in their geo-political stance.

2. There is a very noticeable undercurrent of jealousy and/or animosity towards the USA. They don't necessarily want to see our destruction, but they do sometimes seem to take satisfaction in our failures and struggles.

3. There is quite possibly a bit of anti-Semitism in their stance towards Israel.

Sixth, there is Russia and some of the former Communist states. They still have some degree of antipathy for Western culture. And though the cold war is over, there is still that carry-over feeling of "If it's hurting the democracies of the world, it's probably a victory for us." But on the flip-side, there is that gut-feeling that radical, militant Islam is a far worse enemy than their old traditional enemies of the West. Even though militant Islamic groups are mostly targeting Communism's old traditional enemy, the Western Democracies, even Russia has the sense to know that through a Jihadist's eyes, Christians, Jews, and Atheists are all Infidels who must be converted to Islam or destroyed.

Seventh, there is China. Even after all these centuries of contact with the West, both peoples are hugely an enigma to the other. It's as if the Great Wall is both a physical, as well as political and spiritual barrier between our two very different civilizations. In the last 100 years, we have both fought beside and against the Chinese. But I think we would have more in common with and better understand aliens from another planet than we do our Asian neighbors. It's not that they or we want to see the other's destruction. It's more a matter of we're concerned with will we get in each other's way? A people who would take the terrorists of this world and privately torture and then publicly execute them - well, we have to admire some of their qualities even if we don't understand them very well. But we just have to remember that they would do that to us as quickly as to a terrorist if they felt it was in their nation's best interest. Maybe it's best that we keep that Great Wall up for as long as possible.

Eighth is North Korea. On the surface you might think that they would obviously belong to the side of the radical Islamic nations and organizations. They've shared nuclear and military technology with Iran after all. And who knows what other assistance they've given to our enemies. However, though they are ruled by a crazy man who resembles a cult leader in his governing style, North Korea still has that Asian mindset. The North Koreans would ditch their Iranian and Syrian allies for another partner in crime in a heartbeat if it suited their ends better. In fact, they wouldn't just ditch them, they'd be the first to stab their former allies in the back if it was beneficial for the North Korean agenda. North Korea's word or honor has no credibility in the world community, but neither do they seem to care. There is some advantage in being known as the hot-headed crazy man in the neighborhood. As long as you don't go overboard in keeping that reputation, you can get away with a lot that others wouldn't be able to. You can be the loud-mouthed drunk in the bar who goes around talking trash to the other patrons. Sure you upset the other people in the bar, but is it worth their time and trouble to try and shut you up?? Maybe you're full of hot air and would go down with one solid punch to the nose, but then again, they can't be sure of that. Maybe you'd put up a pretty nasty fight and both parties would end up in the jail or hospital. As long as the loud-mouthed drunk doesn't become too obnoxious it's probably not worth anybody's energy to stir up trouble with him. Just let him vent and get it out of his system. But then again, a loud-mouthed drunk in a bar usually ends up pushing things a little too far. Unless he sobers up in time, there's a very good chance he's going to take his attitude just a little too far. At that point maybe it will only take that solid punch to the nose to shut him up and send him on his way out the door, or maybe he'll put up a pretty good fight for a drunk man. I tend to think North Korea is one of those punks that if you show him he's going to get whooped, he'll back down as long as you let him save face. Lets hope I'm right.

So there you have it. I've just spent an hour or two writing my thoughts and I've found eight sides already. I'm sure there are others, and if this conflict grows, some sides will join up forces with other sides in a melding of agendas until there the warring parties can be classified into only two or possibly three factions, with an outside chance of four. I'd love to write more, but a much more important issue than the Mid-East crisis - eating some breakfast - is calling me.

God the Microwave, God the Crockpot

My thought for the day.....

I was at church the other day - the Tri-County Vineyard - and the speaker, Andy Ransdell was speaking about marriage. To illustrate one of the differences between men and women sexually, at one point he brought out a crockpot and a microwave. Now, I know I have heard this sort of comparison before and you probably have too: the woman is the crockpot and the man is the mic. In terms of sexual intimacy, the man is like - BOING!! Ready to go just like that, no matter what negative or positive things have been going on during the day. As for the woman however, although she desires closeness and intimacy, the ingredients for it have to have been preparing all day long, perhaps all week or month long! Otherwise, no can do sex. Well, all that is a generalization and I have found myself on both sides of that analogy at different times. However, generalizations in my opinion can be useful if they are right most of the time, and I believe this one, while it may not describe everyone everytime, describes most of us most of the time.

That's just the lead-in for my thought for the day. As sexually frustrated and messed up as I am, this entry actually isn't about sex. It's about our relationship with God. Think about how God is: would you describe Him as a crockpot, a microwave, both or neither? I was listening to one of the christian radio stations the other night on my way home from work, and I heard one of those short one or two minute devotional thoughts for the day things. The guy said that in our instant-world of everything, we can't expect our relationship with God to happen that way. Short 30 second prayers here and there and little scraps of our time will not by themselves build a strong, happy healthy relationship with our Father and Jesus.

Now his comments and Andy Ransdell's analogy got me to thinking. Being the politically correct guy that I am - NOT - I thought, "God encompasses the traits of both male and female." And so I thought further, "I think God is actually both the crockpot and the microwave." We know from His Word that at any point He is willing to welcome us back into His loving arms no matter what we've done. In fact, Jesus used the parable of the Lost Sheep to illustrate not just how God is waiting for his lost ones, but He is actually out searching for us when we stray! He told Peter to forgive his brother seven times seventy times. How much more is God's mercy! He says in Isaiah or one of the Psalms, that He removes our sins as far as East is from the West!

We could've just done some dastardly sick sin, and in the split second after we've done it and can say "God, I've just sinned, please forgive me," our slate is wiped clean with Him. I'm not making that up, it's in the Bible. To me that is hard to believe that He could so instantaneously forgive us so completely; you know, the number of times I ask for forgiveness for a specific sin is often in proportion to how awful I think the sin is. Getting impatient and maybe saying something I shouldn't while driving behind a slow driver - one forgiveness request. Gossiping - guys only gossip every once in a while - maybe two requests to be forgiven. Looking at stuff online or chatting with someone online about things I shouldn't - multiple multiple requests for forgiveness. But according to the Bible, that's not how our Father or His system works. We confess, ask His forgiveness, and all of a sudden we are clean before Him again. Amazing! Free to get back up off the ground or out of the muck we just fell into, and start living for Him again. Wow! In this way, God is definitely a microwave, actually much, much faster than any microwave I know. Except for Bob the Microwave.....I'm just kidding, I don't know or have any microwaves for friends. Point is, in regard to His desire to be in relationship with us, to restore us back to Him, He is so much more instant than anything or anybody on planet Earth!

Now, the crockpot. So, we've been forgiven, countless times by Him and restored. I would guess that most christians would say they would like a close relationship with our Father and Jesus. Would you? I know I want mine to be that way. If yours already is this way, I am happy for you. But I think for me and many others, we are somewhere short of that. We want the awesome relationship with Him, but we don't want to put the work into it. We are lazy or distracted or whatever other excuses we throw up in our defense. Think for a minute of someone that you would really like to be much closer to but they have hurt you deeply......time's up. Now, imagine, that person comes to you and says they are soooo sorry for what they have done to hurt you, they want things to be right with you, they care about their relationship with you, they love you, blah blah blah. You know they are at least somewhat sincere. Will you forgive them? Probably. Will you be grateful and maybe even feel a few warm fuzzies because they are making an effort to make things right again? Probably. The next day they call you up and say hi and you talk for 30 seconds while they are driving or getting ready for work. They do this for the next several days. You're going to feel soooo close to them again and everything is going to be all better, right? Nope. Even though you maybe even forgave them before they came and asked for it, and even though you desire desperately to see the relationship completely healed, you know that intimacy must be nourished and grown over time. Even if someone hasn't hurt you deeply, still intimacy takes time. We would be fools to think that just because we spend 30 seconds everyday talking with someone, they are now our bestest buds and we can share anything and everything about ourselves with them and loan them our car and give them a key to our home, etc.

Deep lasting trust and closeness come over time through a lot of contact, communication and seeing each other in a lot of different situations. Think of your closest friends. The ones you really count on have been with you in good, bad, neutral times, have been happy for you, loved you, been angry with you, sad with you, disappointed in themselves and in you at times. You have experienced each other through thick and thin and with every "communion" you have with each other, you become more intimate. Even some of the bad experiences can in the long run make the two of you closer if you allow them to.

So, if that's how it is in our closest human relationships - male and female - why should we think our relationship with God is any different? In the words of Paul in Galatians, we reap what we sow. You want a good relationship with God or another person on earth, you put the time and the effort into it. No way around it.

Our Father is more microwavy in His love and willingness to forgive us than anything we can think of in our instant society. Our Father is crockpot-like in how a good relationship is built with Him over time. These are my long-winded thoughts for the day. Do you have any? In 30 seconds or less of course :)

Need Motivation to Get Something Done?

Helpful Tip for the day.....

If you're having a hard time getting the motivation to do something you need to do - walk so many days a week, read in your Bible everyday, do an around-the-house project, or whatever - try the brainstorm I had yesterday on my flight back: put some money on it.

I'm having a heck of a time getting my butt in bed by 11:30 every night, and then getting up by 7:30 on weekday mornings. I know my life would be so much better if I could do this, but when Night rolls around, I'm like a little kid fighting to stay awake, and when Morning comes knocking, I'm like a bear hibernating in the dead of Winter. So, I'm going to post a $100 bill up in house, and if anyone catches me up goofing around past my bedtime, or still sleeping past my wakeup time, then the money is theirs, no arguments. I may even go a step further and say that if the money still hasn't been claimed by the end of a month or two, I get it back to treat myself somehow - a combination of negative and positive reinforcement.

The moral is if you need to do something, get some accountability to others and find a motivator that works for you.

This Is War

Thought for the day.....

This life is war. Anyone who doesn't believe it is kidding themselves or just not observent enough to look deeply into their own life and the lives of those around them. I turned 35 yesterday, and with what I've been through, especially in the last few years, I think I'm finally beginning to realize that I've got a huge fight on my hands. Whether people want to believe it or not, there is a Devil, there are demons, there is a corrupt, immoral world that rejects Father God and Jesus, and there is our own evil nature that is in everyone one of us, from saintly Mother Theresa to Adolf Hitler and everyone in between. Everyday that I wake up I have these powerful entities at work against my good and fighting for my destruction.

I've been living life as if it should be one big picnic basket with lots of cool food.....ahhhhh, coooool fooooood (said in Homer Simpson drooly voice)......almost taking the perspective that everyday should hold some sort of fun and entertainment for me. Whatever! Soldiers on the frontline in any grim battle know better than that. They know that most days are a fight for survival and pleasure to them is at its most basic form: a hot meal, a dry foxhole, a clean pair of socks, looking at a picture of loved ones, the brotherhood of the other warriors around them.

We need to get real about what we are up against in this life. Although our enemy may not seek our physical destruction on this particular day, he certainly seeks our spiritual and emotional destruction. And we need to be grateful for the simple gifts in this life instead of thinking God should've plopped us down in the middle of some cosmic carnival with fun and games and being horribly surprised when we wake up to the fact that we've been transported to the frontlines of the biggest war on earth.

This life is a war and we are in it.

Great Thoughts from a Great Mind : )

Haven't written in here in a long, long time. Don't have a lot of time this morning, but I thought I'd give it a shot and scribble down a few thoughts....

First, I'm thankful to God for a lot of things lately. Friends, material things, my family. The usual stuff I guess, but I think I'm seeing the people and things around me through a more grateful perspective.

We worship God not just by singing songs to Him and telling Him with our voices how great He is. In the last couple two or three Psalms, they talk about everything on Earth praising God: the lightning, the mountains, deers, cattle, the rocks, etc. A big part of how we can praise and worship Him is by doing what He created us for. Cats bring praise to Him by being cute and cuddly, purring and bringing their masters little critters that they caught from outside. Dogs bring praise by licking their owners in the face and behaving as if they had they hadn't seen their master in weeks everyday when they come home from work. Trees bring praise by giving shade and branches for kids (or me) to climb on on a sunny Summer day. I guess even this computer can bring praise by allowing me to type this journal entry. By discovering and using my talents and passions, I will bring praise to Him. There are things in my heart that I want to do for Him and others. They will not be easily achieved, but I feel it in my soul that they are the things I can do to praise Him. From some small things like writing a relative whom I hardly know who just lost her husband, to someday creating some sort of orphanage or big brother/sister kind of organization for lost and hurting kids. These are the things on my heart - the ways God has given me to praise Him. In what ways has He put it in your heart to praise Him both today and 1, 5, or 20 years from today?

Discipline - seems that not much worthwhile is accomplished without it, and somewhere along my life's journey I lost it, if I ever had it. With the help of God and the efforts of my counselor, I'm trying to get this in my life again. I'm finding that discipline in even very small things is what sets me up for success in bigger things. Making myself go to bed at a decent hour, avoiding the computer when I know I'll probably only do bad things on it, calling that insurance adjuster about my car insurance claim (that I've procrastinated on for the last two months), doing things to become more professional in my career, reading in my Bible on a daily basis and breaking through that occasional feeling that it's impossible to see how it all relates to my daily life. Discipline in smaller things can lead to success and discipline in the bigger projects of life. Do you have discipline and if not, what are you doing and who are you becoming accountable to in order to get your life on track?

There is no escape from pain that goes along with growth. We can seek to dodge it, but eventually you just find yourself back at the same place. We are not allowed to skip the lessons we don't like and just do the fun ones. A good, healthy, productive life is built one brick at a time. Each one has its place, whether it be an easy one to put in place or a difficult one. And sometimes it seems that the foundation and the final finishing touches on a home can be the most difficult parts of building a good home. Right now, I feel like I'm redoing some of the foundation of my life and it is difficult, laborious work at times. But I'm trying to remember that the more solid my foundation is, the better that house will be that's built upon it. Are their painful areas that you are dodging right now, only to find yourself facing them again and again? Maybe start facing one or two of them with the help of some close friends.

Even with all the pain and mishaps in this life, I'm convinced we can be happy, have good relationships with others, reach our God-given potentials, and be glad we went through the experience. I know it seems that most people don't have this, but God didn't put me on this planet to be miserable and to be a disappointment to Him, myself and others. I think any of us can come up with things in our lives that we just wonder, "Why in the Hell did you let me go through that God, why did you let that happen to me???" And we will probably not know in this life the answer to such questions. And we can blame God and others and ourselves and use those things as excuses to be failures and unhappy in this life. Or we can trust that God really does love us and that He can use the nasty, painful things in our lives and make something beautiful of it all. I look back and ask Him why He allowed me to grow up in a screwed up, cult-like church environment, why he allowed me to fall into addictive patterns of living, why my relationship with my parents is so dysfunctional at times, why He didn't save my baby. I'm not going to get good answers to these things in this life. But I don't have to for Him to still be able to work good from all of it. Sometimes I need to do less thinking and analyzing, and more thanking and trusting Him. What are the wounds and issues that we are confounded by in our lives? We need to take them to Him and He will lead us to others around us to help us grow in trust and thankfulness.

Time - been thinking a lot about time lately, but I think this one may have to have its very own post one of these days.

Well, these are some of my thoughts for the last few weeks. Anyone else have any themes they have been thinking about lately? I'm curious to hear them if you have.

Letter to Lina

Written to my little girl on Friday, June 23, 2006, what was supposed to be her due date.


My Dear, Precious Lina,

My precious little Lina, there is so much I want to say to you. Today we were supposed to meet for the first time. I was supposed to be holding you close to my chest today on the happy day of your arrival. Telling you I am your daddy and that I love you so much! Instead I am writing you this letter, hoping that your and my Father in Heaven will deliver my words to you across the gap of this life and the next that separates us. I am writing on paper anointed (ask your Father in Heaven what that word means if you don't know) by my tears of grief and sadness over not getting to be with you. I love you so much Lina! If I would've been given the blessing of being with you and raising you in this life, I'm pretty sure God would've had to teach me to worship Him alone, because I would have worshipped the ground you walked (or crawled) on.

Lina, I have so much more to say to you, but for now just know I love you dearly and miss you terribly with all my heart. I don't know exactly when and all the details of how it's going to happen, but there is coming a day when our Father is going to reunite us. Everyday brings us closer to when I will hold you close like I want to be doing today.

With all my love I write to you Lina Estelle,

Daddy