Reactionary

When visiting my aunt and uncle in the UK one year, I went along with them to look into this small British winery in the South Downs they had heard about via a magazine. It was in a green valley, misty, with a treacherous path that lead to it. Afer just about breaking off the bottom of the car, we arrived at a farmhouse and barn surrounded by grapes. We knocked and the owner came out to greet us. We sampled a bit of the wine and my uncle decided to buy a case. So he asked the owner if he only took cash or could he pay with a credit card? Taking a puff at his pipe, the owner said he’d do either one but the credit companies always took a share. My uncle dug around for enough cash to pay him and as he was gathering the money, he asked the owner what he did about the surcharge credit companies took. The man shrugged and said, “Most people prefer to pay that way so I just take it on the chin.”

With no end in sight to terrorism, maybe that’s the best way to deal with it. More security won’t guarantee safety, as PM Blair said in his speech post London. Invading other countries won’t guarantee safety (and if you think so, you’re an idiot). All the Bush administration has done by creating a ruckus in the Middle East in the name of moral superiority has only made the problem worse and has increased al-Qaeda recruitment. So what’s the best way? Yes, perform investigation, plant covert officers, chase down terrorist cells and arrest and punish them. But it cannot be done haphazardly making many suffer for the supposed involvement of the few. As any Briton could tell Americans, it doesn’t go away. As long as someone believes they’re right in their abhorrence of you, it won’t go away. So what do you do? Trust Interpol, the CIA, etc with the intelligence details and the emergency services to be there when something happens. Because unlike Bush seems to think, it’s not going to go away and there isn’t a whole hell of a lot either he or anyone else can do about it. Take it on the chin, and go on.

Posted on July 11th, 2005 under Life, News •  Print •  Email • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed