Misbehave a Little,Louise Ananrino 1-11-2013
The people who were trying to make the day worse
were not taking the day off.
Why should I?
Bob Marley
It is tiring to be a change agent. Whether one is a writer, activist, educator,or politician the day-to-day grind takes its toll. But, failing to write,be involved,teach or legislate for positive change is not an option in a democratic republic. Those who raise questions, challenge the status quo,post on facebook pages,knock on doors,make phone calls,write letters to the editor,speak up in meetings,add unpalatable topics to agendas and otherwise interfere with business as usual are not trouble-makers but patriots.The Chuck Hagels of the world are too far and in between.
Backlash like backwash is never pretty. It carries the flotsam and jetsam of petty jealousy and fear. Leaders too often react as if activists’ suggestions for change are criticisms of their leadership rather than a course correction of the effort in which they are each engaged. Leaders fear being shamed, replaced or made obsolete, especially when grassroots activists engage in the process of evaluating their common effort. We have no time for such emotional attachment to correctness while opposing forces marshall against our gains and plot our losses.Those engaged in the effort to make the day better do not have the luxury of sitting on their laurels, as Sister Robertine,OP used to warn her students. Women get this more easily than men. Perhaps because they are seldom ceded power.They paste it on bumper stickers with the phrase “well-behaved women seldom make history.”
Ego too often gets in the way of real change. Thus, we must continue to urge change and not take the day off. We must set aside focus on individuals, and focus on the enterprise itself. Those with overdeveloped egos have trouble doing this. Like weightlifters who overwork muscle groups they sometimes get too big for their britches. This is something we are all prone to do.Thus,we all must fight against it. Bloggers,educators,party leaders and politicians must welcome comments no matter how uncomfortable, because comments stimulate new ideas and offer insights otherwise unavailable to them. And, this is why diversity is so helpful to reaching well-developed strategies and positions. This is why Chuck Hagel is needed at the Pentagon.
So,take time to comment whenever you can. Your input matters. You are what makes democracy work. Misbehave a little. As we would say in the 60’s, “Tell it like it is!”
annarino writes 
The Quietest World War in History,Louise Annarino,1-13-2013
The Quietest World War in History,Louise Annarino,1-13-2013
Drones have enabled the west to fight a world war without its citizens being aware. These unmanned silent ships of surveillance cruise the world directed from afar. U.S. and RAF pilots control these flights from Nevada, except for the initial take-off and landing which are controlled by companion crews where the drones are physically maintained.1
The United States,unlike Britain also uses armed drones to attack targets the drone has isolated; the RAF uses conventional weapons once the drone has isolated a target. U.S. surveillance drones are also used by French forces to guide air attacks. The U.N. relies upon drone surveillance to understand threats to nations around the globe,and make appropriate decisions calling for intervention. Nowhere is this more evident than in the growing threat from Islamist rebels aligned with Al Quaeda in northern Africa known as A.Q.I.M. (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), where troops from 15 nation regional block the Economic Community of West African States known as ECOWAS are being trained by the European Union.2
This world war is as different from the Cold War as the Cold War was from WWII,which differed from WWI. But, it is as widespread and threatens the survival of nations, and kills both combatants and civilians. There are at least two notable differences: First,the lack of awareness by citizens of the west that they are engaged in a world war; a war which will not end with the withdrawl of conventional troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. and second, the lack of attention we citizens of the west pay to media accounts.
There is growing concern over the backlash of the use of drones. However, the alternative to the use of drones would be far worse. There would undoubtedly be more civilian deaths,more combat deaths and injuries for soldiers on both sides,more property destruction,higher numbers of refugees,more danger to our troops etc.1 We must question,however,whether this reduced impact of war by the use of drones merely extends its duration by lessening our attention and outrage.
President Obama and Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel share a world view that war is hell and we only go to war when asolutely necessary. Each seems to understand far better than we that we are engaged in a different kind of war, a war where acts of terror are the weapon of choice by those bent upon the destruction of western economic,social, and religious dominance. Such a war cannot be fought with conventional methods. President Obama and Chuck Hagel are ready to restructure the Pentagon and the military industrial complex. The military and industrial complex is fighting back. Companies which manufacture conventional weapons fear lost revenues should they be forced to compete with high-tech robotics industries, or re-tool conventional arms to high-tech arms manufacturing plants. It is all about the bottom line for them. It cannot be so for the nation,nor for the security of its citizens.
Our national security depends upon a new methodology,one understood and currently deployed to maximum effect possible by President Obama. It behooves us to pay attention and to understand the need for change he suggests. A smaller overseas military footprint; development of new technology to reduce civilian deaths,increase certainty as to terrorist targets,use of surveillance for broader objectives etc. is our future.3 Beating swords into plowshares must still be our goal;but,how we get to that place is changing. However,we cannot condemn what we do not understand. The silence is deafening and Hagel’s Senate confirmation hearing will be more about protecting the financial interest of private contrators and arms manufacturers than our country. The dones may be silent. We need not be. We must not be.
1.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9552547/The-air-force-men-who-fly-drones-in-Afghanistan-by-remote-control.html
2.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/world/africa/french-airstrikes-push-back-islamist-rebels-in-mali.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130113
3.http://www.popsci.com/category/tags/drones
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Tagged as Africa, aviation, Chuck Hagel, drones, France, Great Britain, politics, President Obama, RAF, technology, United nations, war