I was thinking last night about why I was so eager for this war and what my reasons are for supporting the war. Iraqi liberation is all well and good, no people have ever been created that deserve to live under tyranny. Am I ready to sacrifice tens of thousands of dead Americans for the cause? Am I willing to die for that cause? Actually, no. And that’s the revelation I had last night. The real reason I’m so keen to see this war prosecuted is rooted in my deep and abiding need to follow the rules.
I’ve always tried to follow the rules. I read directions, I obey the law and never do anything totally out of bounds although it often seems like I do. I think others should be made to obey the rules as well, the world isn’t a democracy, there are some things that are non-negotiable. You had better not invade your neighbor if he gives no offense. You had better not blow up skyscrapers for no good reason. You had better not feed people feet first into tree chippers or plastic shredders or whatever. You had better do the best job possible to ensure liberty and provide for the needs of the world’s people. I’ll let Thomas Jefferson make the point for me:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness
There you go, if the government won’t ensure Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it. Bingo on all the tyrannical regimes the world over. Them’s the rules folks, play by them or be subject to total anhiliation. I think it’s incumbent on the United States, by hook or by crook, to ensure all governments are held to the very simple precepts laid out in the Declaration of Independence. We’re the biggest, baddest defender of the oppressed on the block, we’ve got the power and the skills to make people follow the rules. Who are we to shun that duty?