Conscious Choice: The Bomb 'em and Move On Legacy

May 2003 | Editor’s Note

The Bomb 'em and Move On Legacy

Mom won’t be around for her three-year-old daughter and four-year-old son. Private First Class Lori Piestewa is dead — killed in an enemy attack during the war on Iraq. The 23-year-old Arizona woman has been hailed as a hero; the one anemic consolation that her kids will be able to cling to as they grow-up motherless. It’s hard to hug a gravestone.

But what’s the consolation for the Iraqi children who had their mothers violently shot or blown away in the course of deposing and disposing of Saddam Hussein? Perhaps these mothers can be hailed as heroes, too. Although not in uniform or combat trained, one could suppose that they were the primary defense for their children when the bombs started dropping. Maybe it’s why many Iraqi children will live to tell firsthand of their war ravaged experiences. That’s their consolation, as these kids may not even have a gravestone at which to grieve.

This is not an original thought, yet I can’t help but imagine that every little Arab boy who sees America as the Big Bad Fighting Machine and Imperialist Conqueror is a terrorist in waiting. What other aspirations are left in a burned out hulk of a country than the one to avenge the death of his father or mother or sister or brother. Have no doubt about it: war begets war. As a result, I believe, the more war America wages, the more our government will turn the screws on homeland security resulting in suspension of an ever increasing number of civil liberties (read about Patriot II at www.aclu.org/safeandfree/).

Moreover, there’s always big talk about "rebuilding" a country that the U.S. just leveled but somehow Uncle Sam peters out in that department. For a firsthand perspective of this, I invite you to read Natasha Walter’s moving account ("Futility Of War," pg 34) of the decaying netherworld that Afghani war victims inhabit following the 2001 U.S. war action in their country. One wonders why it would be any different for our fellow humans in Iraq.

Back to the Future?

Used to be that the residents of every city and town in America kept their community healthy by buying local goods and services...local dollars were kept local. Then along comes the big chains and the multinational companies with their ruthless bottom lines. Their ugly legacy has been one of breaking local businesses, treating working people like disposable commodities and recklessly spewing toxic pollution into neighborhoods.

What goes around comes around and what’s emerging is a nascent movement toward "localization" from the dysfunctional "globalization." Jim Slama and Edvina Quetua report on how local businesses are taking back their turf by cultivating local community relationships that buck the trend of profits-at-any-cost.

New Faces

We introduce Chicago nutritionist Bonnie Minsky this month as our new "Health Conscious" columnist. With credentials as a Certified Nutrition Specialist, Public Health Educator, and Certified Menopause Educator, Bonnie expertly unravels the commercialization of osteoporosis and how it’s "sold" to consumers.

As promised, Julia Mossbridge joins us as our Body/Mind Health columnist. Julia writes from the perspective of a neuroscientist who is a serious student of spiritual transformation. This month she explores near death experiences.

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