Reasons for optimism

I must admit I'm a little down today.  I'm stuck on negative thoughts as the price of oil tops $68 a barrel, the price of gas at the cheapest pump in town hits 277.9, the Republicans look headed for disaster in November, thousands are marching in the streets in support of people who are breaking the law of the land, the killing of innocent Iraqis by other Iraqis continues unabated, the world is not a happy place. 

I need you, dear Bookworm readers, to tell me why we should be optimistic about the future of America and the world.  I suppose I'll get things started by noting that just about every generation of Americans has believed that things were going to hell in a handbasket yet America is still the greatest success story the world has ever known, almost no matter how you measure success.  The internet gives wonderful people like the Bookworm and all of her readers (and me, from time to time) a chance to meet each other and share ideas in a way never before possible.  People are living longer and better and science and medicine continue to astound.

I feel better already.  Okay, it's your turn.  Why should we all be optimistic in the face of so much bad news?  What are the signs that give you hope that we should continue the fight and the world will ultimately be a better place for our having done so?  Let's share some good news, for a chance.  

Proud to be an American

DQ again.  I'm a NASCAR fan, but I normally TiVo the races and skip the long opening ceremonies.  Today, there was nothing much else on, so I watched the race and the ceremonies live.  I was struck by the pure pride in America that infused those ceremonies.  It's sad that almost the only time we see real pride in America is in a time-eating ceremony before a sporting event that is televised mainly to provide time for more commercials.

We have so much to be proud of in America.  We have done more good in the world, by our actions and by our example, that any other nation in history.  We judge ourselves harshly, but only because we set a higher standard for ourselves than any nation ever has.  We make excuses for everyone else, but never for ourselves.  Others can teach hate and target innocent civilians, and we tsk-tsk but do not really condemn, because we do not expect more of others.  Others attack our most sacred institutions, and we sympathize rather than defend.  But let our soldiers or politicians misstep and we are unceasing in our condemnation. 

I'm proud to be an American.  I'm proud we hold ourselves to the highest possible standard.  I only wish we didn't act like we're ashamed of who we are and what we have accomplished.  And I wish we held others to the same high standard.

Let’s talk body count

Just a short note from DQ.  I saw a headline the other day which informed me that 14 people had died in a rebel attack in Afganistan.  Sounds like a really successful attack until you read the article, which reveals that 12 of the 14 were the rebels themselves. 

Now, it's pretty well understood that the main point of these attacks is to drive up the body count to levels that death-abhorent Americans will not tolerate.  The rebels are dying for headlines like the one I saw.  But should their deaths count in the totals?  It's one thing to report how many of our soldiers and allies died.  It's another thing to report how many of the enemy we have killed.  It is still another thing entirely to report on how many of our enemies killed themselves.

What offends me is that the headline written saw nothing wrong with lumping all deaths together and printing the total, as if there was no important difference between the deaths of the attackers and the defenders.  Our enemies are losing the war on the ground but winning the war in the press.  As long as all that matters is the body count, and we're not even very concerned about whose bodies we are counting, we have no chance of winning the war for the hearts and mind of Americans.   We badly need to reframe the debate into one about what, if anything, these deaths are accomplishing.  To do any kind of cost-benefit analysis, we really need to understand the benefits, as well as the costs.

So the obvious question is — what are we accomplishing, both in Afganistan and in Iraq?  And how do we spread the word?