Wheels within wheels.

We're going to war with Iraq and frankly I can't make any sense of it. The issues are so confused. Some argue moral obligation, some argue that war is immoral, some argue that it's all about oil/money/power, and say it's about empire. Personally I feel to some extent that I can see the validity of many of the arguments against AND for the war. The thing that most fundamentally disturbs me is I can't see the real reasons. I can't peer in to slackjaw's head... or the heads of any of the people behind him.

There are a few things, though, that I CAN get my brain around. I would like to talk about those for a moment.

First: Iraq and terrorism. There is so much FUD being spewed from every corner about this.

I want to make a few things clear.

1. You CANNOT predict terrorism. What makes terrorism so terrifying is that it can (and does) come from anywhere, at any time, with no warning... and from sources you didn't expect. Terrorism works because it exploits holes and blindspots in your system that you didn't know about or expect anyone to take advantage of. Terrorists are people that, for whatever reason, perceive themselves to be victims of tyranny and opression. You will NEVER prevent terrorism by going to war. Period. If you want to prevent terrorism help alleviate its causes... don't breed new hatreds.

2. What country in the world DOESN'T aid or harbor terrorists? Think about it for a minute. Joe Blow over there could be a terrorist... but you have no way of knowing that. Take it a step further. You're Joe Blow's doctor and he is desperately ill... can you refuse him on the basis that he might be a terrorist despite the fact that he hasn't shown any outward signs? Now, that said, I do realize there is a difference between my example and funding, equipping, or otherwise assisting known terrorist organizations.

Second: moral and religious viewpoints are subjective.

Not everyone believes the same things. In a country that theoretically respects and protects personal freedoms the government has a responsibility to make a case for war based on tangible and concrete criteria.

I do believe that Saddam is a tyrant and the perpetrator of morally reprehensible acts. That alone does not, in my mind, make a case for war. If that were the case we would be at war with everyone.

Third and finally: being against the war is not treasonous or even unpatriotic.

Perhaps I need to bone up on the constitution but I believe we are granted the right to question our government. I believe we are also granted the right to dissent. I don't think most of the war protestors are against this because they hate America. On the contrary, I believe they wish to try and prevent a mistake that they believe could bring serious harm to her. That seems fairly patriotic to me.

Anyway.

In some sense, after you strip away all of the layers of rhetoric, philosophy, and even perhaps sentience, this war is just a manifestation of natural forces at work. Predation comes to mind. Perhaps it is just another of nature's ways of maintaining balance. The world is too crowded. I still find the present situation no less abhorrent. It seems like we should have evolved beyond the need for such primitive solutions. Man is still an animal... but animal gifted (cursed?) with the ability to chose how he will adhere to nature's laws.

...

In other news, I want to share something I am learning about life from Everquest. Leadership. It amazes me how things fall in to place when you take responsibility for leading something. It doesn't seem like you really even have to know much about what you are leading... people who do can be relied on to offer insight or be delegated responsibility. Any more work you put in to it than that simply improves your effectiveness (moves you up from being a bad or mediocre leader).

It seems that simply taking responsibility for leading is 50% of the task. The remainder is knowing who to consult/draft and when to make executive decisions. It's remarkable how much a group of people can accomplish when someone takes charge, assigns tasks, and presents and enforces a timeline.

I can no longer say that the time I have spent playing the game is completely wasted. I guess this is pretty basic stuff for most people but I am not a leader and I find it fairly astonishing. There have been so many times while playing the game that I have seen what is essentially a mob coalesce in to a useful and successful force simply because someone took charge.

Amusingly enough, I think that I might quit playing again, in spite of all that. There is only so much time I can stand to spend chasing the proverbial headmounted carrot. The designers of everquest have proven themselves to be brilliant at making sure there is always another carrot just out of reach... at every level of play and for every player archetype.

Socializers and killers entertain themselves. Explorers and achievers are the people for whom you design content. It's amusing to see those seemingly abstract pigeonholes play out as perfectly as they do in EQ.