Kids of Iraq

I'd like to take a moment to post about an organization that I was involved with while I was deployed to Iraq last winter. Kids of Iraq started as an outreach to the community from a military facility in central Iraq to the local residents "outside the wire". Some of the company grade officers had the idea that they could collect clothes and school supplies from the US and distribute them to children in the area. That's where I got involved. Since then it has blossomed and grown far beyond anything I had envisioned while I was there. I have to admit here that I had very little to do with this growth other than to let a couple of people know that the effort existed. They took it from there and made it much more than I could have imagined. Check out the photo gallery to see some graphic pictures of American servicemen "abusing" Iraqi children. This is what America is really about, not an imperialistic effort to rule the world, but a true generosity and willingness to share our wealth with those less fortunate. We should all make an effort to support causes and organizations like this.

A Perspective on Elections

The American election season is (finally!) over, or maybe it is just beginning all over again. These days, who can tell? In the aftermath, I have been very interested in some of the comments from overseas, not just the news organizations, but also from some of the blogs I read on a regular basis. One of my favorites for inside information on Iraq is Iraq the Model, written by a couple of Iraqi guys in Baghdad. They have a unique perspective on the election, at least to my American mind. We have heard a lot about race in this campaign, and that aspect was not lost on Omar & Mohammed.

"People in the Middle East are amazed by the large number of white people and
Republican voters who voted for the “other.” America — who is always accused of
racism — has shown us that in fact our countries in the Middle East are where
racism flourishes. We didn’t choose that, but it’s the rule of tyranny and
repression that uses hatred and intolerance to further itself.It is liberty and
democracy that allowed America to become the great humane and mature nation that she is."

It's worth reading the whole post. I think it is too easy for us as Americans to get lost in the acrimony of a hotly contested election and forget that in many parts of the world, the idea of holding a free election is unthinkable, to say nothing of a peaceful transition of power between opposing political parties. We should not take our system for granted. This is a perspective I try to keep in mind. It is one of the reasons I joined the Air Force, and one of the reasons I continue to serve. Our country is worth fighting for, and even more than that, it is worth preserving in the political realm as well. You may not agree with the actions our government takes (heaven knows I don't) but if you are an American citizen, you have the ability, and indeed the duty to take action and change that government. Call your representatives, educate yourself and vote, run for office yourself (maybe even start a blog). Just never, never let yourself forget that those are rights and privileges that can be lost if not exercised judiciously.