I heard an interview on my local (well, Manhattan) NPR radio station with an Iraq War vet named Paul K. Chapell talking about how this is the century, the 21st, when we can end war. I was expecting the usual pieties and unrealities, but this guy is the real deal. He took questions and criticisms and even ridicule with an equanimity and consideration that was a living example of what he is striving for.
His premise, to oversimplify, is that two hundred years ago slavery was accepted in much of this country and so was the idea that females were property. Now anyone who tried to defend those beliefs would be dismissed by most of us as ridiculous. Well, the idea that we can solve issues by killing each other is as ludicrous, he contends, though he uses other words and is more convincing than I'm being.
I couldn't find the interview (it was the Phillip Lopate show I think, or maybe Brian Lehrer) [My son Miles found it and put it in a comment but here it is too.]. But there's several sites (here's one) on his book proposing the idea that we can end war in this century. And I notice a few talks and interviews on Youtube, but too long to post here. So just go check him out for yourself and you'll see. His arguments are reasonable, logical and totally convincing. They certainly convinced me.
9 comments:
Three summers ago I had the great good fortune to spend an afternoon with Dr.Maya Angelou. Among many other things, she said: "They say that geniuses use ten percent of their brain and ordinary people use five percent. Imagine if ordinary people used fifteen percent of their brain and geniuses used twenty percent--the very idea of war would be laughed out of the room! Imagine the notion that I have to kill you to get my point across!". Along the same lines as what you speak of.
Cut and paste below to find streaming audio of Chappell on Brian Lehrer's show.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2012/may/25/end-war-veteran-paul-chappell-peace/?utm_source=local&utm_media=treatment&utm_campaign=daMost&utm_content=damostcommented
Caught most of this the other day and have to agree.
Thanks for the link Miles, I'll put it in the post.
It is one thing to have Obama lose Clinton, Deval Patrick, Cory Booker et al, but is another thing for him to lose Maureen Dowd. Obama is in deep do dodo.
As usual, you take things out of context and distort the truth and reality, further evidence of your weak intellect and weak character.
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