“Perspective”

by Steven A. Stegeman of Ocean Township

I am going to begin by putting the goings on with regards to Iraq in perspective, my unique perspective. I lived in the other area of the world receiving similar attention these days, South Korea, for just under seven years. I was not in the military living on a military base; I was not involved in big business, government or journalism and getting red-carpet treatment; I was an English instructor living among the people in average Korean neighborhoods. I speak Korean and am married to a Korean.

“Anti-American” protests are commonplace in Korea, and many of our “anti-war” protesters cite international protests as support and even basis for their positions. The “why are so many people around the world against us” argument carries a lot of weight among our anti-war protesters. Understand, protests there, like here, are not really indicative in intensity or even number of the sentiment of the country as a whole. Moreover, there, like here, protests are not typically guided by reason, but, unlike here, to a degree that cannot be fathomed by your average American… obvious publicly-sponsored disinformation. Case in point, an anchorwoman for the Korean Broadcasting System, after a report on a recent anti-American demonstration, offered up an apology, saying she was ashamed by the excessive violence and negativity displayed. She was summarily fired and forced to make a public statement the next day indicating what she meant was that she was “ashamed that she was not there participating”. And, that is the free side of the 38^th parallel, not North Korea, not the Middle East. Point being, “anti-American” protests abroad are not solid grounds for domestic protests and using them thusly is just indicative of the naïve, inconsistent, over-generalized and under-researched thinking of your typical protester.

Now on to the greater point at hand, South Korea boasts one of the strongest economies of Asia; they live in relative luxury and freedom. Why? Bottom line, because of the outcome of the forgotten war, the Korean War, and their alliance with us thereafter, period.

So, what are the evident, tangible and significant possible outcomes of the war in Iraq, moreover, in their logical order? …Since that is all we can “really” discuss, unless you have some kind of insider knowledge that I, and obviously the protesters, sure do not have. So, let’s just talk it through, layman-to-layman. They are: 1) The liberation of the Iraqi people (from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein); 2) The establishment of a democratic government in the region and the beginnings of stabilization, AND THEN come the residual effects and “matters of fact”, 3) In the long run, a friendly, as opposed to hostile and unstable, regime, which would be easier to “deal” with, in control of Iraqi oil, ultimately hopefully resulting in reasonable pricing; 4) Improved human and women’s rights in the country, and 5) The elimination, among world leaders, of an Al-Qaida empathizer and provider of weapons of mass destruction and death to terrorist groups. No, logically, and ironically, neither oil nor Al-Qaida is the #1 reason for this war. That is how the “dominoes” are set up. If numbers “3, 4 and/or 5” happen, “1 and 2” had to have. You will find that if you reverse the logic, it just is not cogent. As such, I urge protesters to think it through and get some perspective before demonstrating against your country.