The High Cost Of Denial

While
the proof lies ahead, it appears that the adults finally are in charge.

This
national moment of giving voice to the single-minded and the bellicose,
left or right, may well be over, but the question remains, "Can the
damage be repaired?"

The
damage of which I write is the high cost of denial.

A
couple of days after the election, I was surfing the cable in my hunting
quarters in the western mountains of Maine. It seemed to me that
there was an excess of the "Semper Fi" rhetoric. One popular
local talk show host was trotting out heart-rending stories with continued
emphasis on how the troops are defending our freedoms here at home while
the rest of us enjoy such luxuries as playing golf or, one might say,
hunting.

It
occurred to me that there is a certain latent macho culture that never
will see life from anything but a simplistic point of view and that,
to our detriment, they have brought our nation and our young men and
women in the armed forces to the brink of disaster. Unfortunately,
it is not always those certain of their opinions who are the most sane
among us. "Stay the course" often is the cry of those unable
to see the alternative or unwilling to admit the error of their ways
— or, perhaps, unwilling to measure the cost before jumping in.

Either
way, doing the same old thing and expecting different results remains
the classic definition of insanity. A complimentary expression
is a biblical one: "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
Fearing to tread might well have been the better course of action before
rushing into Iraq for reasons that may never be understood.

It
has been clear from the beginning of this War in Iraq, undeclared as
it was by Congress except in a conciliatory sense, that Iraq had nothing
to do with the exporting of terrorism, nor was it a priority threat
to the security of the United States. The war was, instead, a
gut reaction to 9/11 that failed logic and reason at the time but appealed
to the existential warriors among us — "Do something; anything!"

Denial
has followed a predictable pattern.

As
it became clear that the UN inspection team was correct in its assessment
of no WMD's, the overthrow of thug, Saddam Hussein, became our new agenda,
leaving other thugs securely in place.

As
the civilian body count began trickling in (now estimated at some 150,000),
even people of faith were saying, "Better them than us." That
would, we assume, include pregnant women and their unborn fetuses.

As
the brutality of torture and human rights violations surfaced, leaving
America's image of a new model for humanity severely tarnished, it was
papered over with the need to obtain information against our enemies,
by now reaching exponential numbers.

As
the Taliban regains its strength in abandoned Afghanistan, he who "can
run but can't hide" mocks us from a cave in nuclear power, Pakistan.

As
Iran finds itself at last rid of its nemesis, Iraq, it now flexes its
near-nuclear muscles in the region.

As
Iraq lurches into civil war, we hear the uncertain call for self-government.

And
the troops — loyal and brave to a fault — are pawns in a game that
has split our nation right down the middle. While most share the
conviction that the War in Iraq has little to do with defense of our
freedoms, what else can we do or say to comfort those loved ones left
behind?

In
the words of the Bard, "What tangled webs we mortals weave, when first
we practice to deceive."

There
is hope for our nation.

That
hope lies in the recovery of our spirit from our addiction to contact
sports, the most violent of which is war. While "kicking butt"
may play well in the NFL, it is a game of last resort when life and
limb are at stake. The game in Iraq was far from last resort.

Recovery
is a process. It begins with acknowledging that we were wrong
and repenting. It proceeds with asking help of those nations and
individuals who are able and willing to help. It ends with the
dawning realization that outside our Higher Power, we are helpless to
extricate from this miasma in which we find ourselves.

Some
dare refer to such a process as Revival.

The High Cost of Denial