A Game of Political Chess Anyone?

by

And here we go again.  Talks of military strikes being used against Syria now fill newspapers and the nightly news.  I am, as the majority of people are, horrified by what may be taking place in Syria.  I can’t help but wonder what the hell is going on in our world.

We’ve heard testimony as to the atrocities that are allegedly occurring in that nation.  And yes, I agree whole heartedly that something needs to be done if this is the case. It is an ugly thing.

The chess board is being set up as Russia voices its stance on all of this warning the U.S. to not do anything without United Nations approval.  Russia is allied with Syria and the U.S. has Israel’s back.

Then you have the pawns that are shuffled about the board as alliances are made a broken.  Political persuasion and innuendo reign supreme as the powers that be move and contort about the board.

I was told once that I don’t want to know the true goings on of governments and I am in agreement of this.  I don’t want to know the ugly deceit and decay that exists.  I’ll keep my head in the clouds and continue to believe that we can all come together as rational beings and work through our problems peaceably.

Have you ever wondered why all Presidents, Prime Minsters and the like end up with grey hair?  Stressful job?  Most definitely.

Still, there needs to be accountability for such actions.

Regardless of whether President Bashar al-Assad is aware of the use of chemical weapons or not (and he likely is), because of his station he needs to be held accountable.  In my opinion, it starts at the top and moves down the list.  No pointing fingers and passing the buck.  If you are the elected official running the show, you damn well better be able to explain the use of such force.

And in truth, there is no reasonable explanation to use chemical weapons or to kill your citizens.

The thing is this region seems to just be mired in civil unrest and warring factions have been playing this political chess game forever it seems.  All through my youth and adult years there has always been some type of military action and being taken against one regime or another.

Rebel forces rise up insisting on change and should it come then it seems to open yet another avenue of unrest and disillusionment.

Democracy.  The prize either being sought or defended.

Yet even though I live in a democratic country, I am not always pleased with the result of the vote.  I can, however, voice freely why I disagree with the current government without fear of reprisal.  I am on the record as not being a fan of Prime Minister Harper.  I don’t agree with how he governs and am upset at some of the policies he has brought in and the policies he has discarded. I can voice my opinion and cast my vote to change this.

Running a country is a delicate balance.  At no time can you please everyone.  The idea to me is to ensure that all citizens are provided with the fundamental rights and freedoms that should be enjoyed on a global stage.

Governments, in my mind, should not be influenced by religion.  Governments purpose should be to uphold the laws of the land and ensure that all citizens have access to the basics such as education, housing, medical care and food.

It is up to each of us all to care for the land that we inhabit.  It is our responsibility to ensure our planet’s health is adhered to.

That said, the laws of the land are at times driven by the religions that are practiced in them.  So how do you separate the two?

At the end of the day though, we are all human.  We all share that commonality.  Cut us, we will bleed.  We all cry.  We all have fears.

But we are also wonderfully creative and beautiful in our humility.  Think of all the art works that have been created dating back some 35,000 years.  The Cave Chauvet in France is an excellent example of our basic desire to leave our mark, to express ourselves, to capture a moment and pass it on. Look at the buildings we’ve erected, the cities that we’ve built throughout the spans of time.

We have embraced the written word with such a passion and of course, there is the universal love of music we all share.

And all of us want to be loved and accepted.

So while they set up the chess board once again, I’ll go stick my head back in the clouds and hope that one day we can get past playing with guns, and bombs, and chemicals and killing…

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