The Other Consequences of War

Did I mention that I just got back from New York? I love to spend time in real cities, DC seems like a suburb of a great Capitol of Some Country, just not America. We the residents of the District are trying to live up to the faith that Americans have put in us, but we just can't quite seem to get there. New York is my second favorite city in the world, just behind Chicago. I love that when you're in New York, you can eat anything you want, any time of the day or night. There is always food for sale whether it's 2 pm, or 2 am, and it's always good.

I spent four days just across the street from the UN. My partner A. was giving a presentation there, and since I have recently quit my day job,(did I mention how much unemployment suits me?) I had a few days to spend there with her. It was pretty cool, looking out of the window of the hotel and seeing those flags flying, but once I went down to the ground floor, and walked past those bomb sniffing dogs, the idea of a peaceful global community was replaced by the nightmare of the real world we live in, where peace is just something that John Lennon once imagined.

The dogs were sweet, and I flirted with a cop, and he let me pet them.

The things that trouble the world are often put on the back burner, in favor of security. My partner A. was giving a presentation about making voting booths accessible for people with disabilities. While the rest of the world is trying to vote, or maybe even just eat, the UN is busy trying to stop the conflicts that plague the planet, and tied up with resolutions asking nations not to enrich uranium. While that is a noble goal, I personally believe that the less atoms we split, the better off the planet will be, people die every day from disease, from the lack of food and water, and from a lack of focus on what is important. Yes, Iran might have nuclear weapons in ten years, but today children in Africa die tragically from malnutrition and AIDS. And while we may not be able to stop the splitting of atoms in Iran and North Korea, we have the ability to feed these children, we have the means to give them basic medical care.

While the UN is concerned with sanctions and peace keepers, Darfur is dying.

And war wages on in spite of the time and energy the world spends on avoiding it.

Let's get our priorities in order.

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