Stop the bloodshed, stop ISIS

To the editor,

On Super Tuesday, I went to the Democratic Caucus in Durango, where I listened to people speak about Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy experience and how she is best to lead us as president. This led to me writing this opinion, but it originated with conversations with other party voters. I have spoken with liberals who work in social services who vote and claim Republican positions based on foreign policy and military. I have spoken with Republicans who proclaim real politic global positions, yet are compassionate and caring. It is all of the above who deny our own experiences and the beliefs of other cultures.

As a country, we pride ourselves on toughness combined with compassion. We also pride ourselves on family but see ourselves as patriots who rally behind the flag, regardless of who is president. However, we fail to understand that other people and cultures are just like us. They believe in their family, their country and their religion. People are people, they are not defined by their leaders.

We as a nation started a war in Iraq. Now, people fall under different opinions for justifying such actions, but I want you to consider yourself an Iraqi citizen. Think of the last 13 years, since the United States invaded. There has been constant death and war, be it at the hands of our troops, our drones, so-called insurgents, sectarian violence, etc. You may die on your way to City Market due to an ambush, or your child may lose his legs on his way to school. Or your husband may get killed while being forced to bury an explosive, or because he refused. Maybe your mom is killed babysitting your son as she sits next door to a group of alleged insurgents. Or maybe a drone kills your wedding party. These are real life scenarios in Iraq and many other places in the world, such as Syria.

Yet, we believe we should continue these scenarios for the greater good. But, I ask, what is the greater good in killing a family man, because he was forced to dig a hole?

We believe the Islamic State (ISIS), is an evil that needs to be eradicated. But we fail to recognize that their atrocities were raised from 13 years of numbing warfare. Warfare is brutal and it only leads to more brutality, not less. We fail to recognize that ISIS recruits believe they are doing the right thing for their families, their country and their religion. This is not something one can defeat by killing – you cannot kill a belief.

I am not saying ISIS is a noble group, but we cannot kill our way to victory. Just like we cannot kill our own mistakes. There are other ways we can defeat or contain ISIS, such as removing ourselves from the situation. Granted, we may have some moral obligation to help prevent its spread, given our actions helped form this caliphate, but it does not mean adding to the carnage. It is for the people of the land to stop or accept them.

Hillary Clinton voted for the war in Iraq, which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, including our own. It led to a huge monetary endeavor that has no end in sight. It has led to an us vs. them mentality. But “they” just want peace in their life, to be able to drive to City Market without the risk of death; to celebrate their religion; to watch their children grow; to work. And do we really believe they would attack us if we were not there with our troops or drones? Do we think they would sacrifice everything to kill us if we did not make great efforts to kill them?

As we look to the next election, we should vote for people who do not support our involvement in continual carnage. But maybe it is too much to ask for something other than violence and vengeance. Maybe it is too much to rely on diplomacy. But maybe not – after all, we celebrate Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Maybe we can recognize the greater good in ourselves and stop killing. Maybe we need to know that blood is spilled in our names when we call for war.

Or maybe we can only imagine our own lives in the San Juans.

I may appear to be a pacifist – which is partially right. I spent a decade in the U.S. Marine Corps and have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, where I was awarded multiple medals. I stayed not because I believed in the cause, but because I believed in my brothers. Just like our alleged enemies who fight and do so for their beliefs. I may have believed our cause was wrong, but I did not believe our fighters were.

We must harness these thoughts as a country and apply them to all peoples and learn to live sustainably on an earth that is deteriorating. If we stop intervening, maybe we could learn to heal instead. And we would have dollars to help support that endeavor. Instead of companies making money on militaristic endeavors, they could make money and create jobs based on sustainability and education.

And one last thing, stop asking veterans if they have PTSD. It is rude and irritating.

– Neil Talley, Durango

 Porque todo lo di

(for the nearly half million migrant children
who harvest our food each year)
Mi Dios vivo
Con tu ojos
Carga el agua para nadia

Como un hijo
Suelo comprende,
Con largo Ilanto
Como si no hublera adido
Como si no hubler a adido

Cuando ruedo la nieve
Yo quiero alcanzar, si vive
Siento como que va de mi subiendo
Tal cidra y vino

Since I gave all

My living God
With your eyes
Carries water for nobody

Like a child
I’ve come
With flowing tears
As if it had never burned
As if it had never burned

When snow swirls
I want to reach him, if he is living
I feel as if another soul rises from me
Like cider and wine

– Burt Baldwin, Ignacio