Be careful pontificators…we may not know it all

Reaction to the media tripe, academic articles that have elements of truth, pundits well written articles, and personal stories that make instant experts all drive us crazy. I suggest we calm down and use our brains, common sense, and fairness. I call it KISS, keep it simple stupid. To others it might be called the “smell test”. If something smells bad, it is probably because “it smells bad”. There are many other versions of this approach, we all know many, and I suggest we use them.

The main reason of alarm is that all we have is media reports, and they are the most notoriously prejudiced and inaccurate and agenda oriented. While most would like more boring government info and intel reports, they are not free. And many fear the influence of media’s influence on the voting public, a legitimate fear. Since I have more faith in the voting public than many, it is more like a case of giving the media and media masters enough rope to hang themselves. That is what I think is happening. Hence my opinion.

The idea of knowing our enemy, especially thinking like easterners, seems to have digressed to demeaning them since they often don’t think like us. This lack of respect is wrong if we are to fight by war and ideas. They are not ten feet tall, but they have values that work for their society that we must know if we are to wage the war of ideas often spoken of by we westerners.

Recently I read an article about the Taliban and homosexuality. It was a wonderful academic article. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=26199
But my time, mentored by an Afghani, and years later amplified by a Marine guard of Iraqi POWs, suggests many other cultural values are still alive and well. No where is there mention of: little girls can’t ride tricycles because it might break their hymen, having hymen’s restored in Syria, women on a pedestal (including cousin sex), the visit of friends is an all consuming custom, and men sex to save women is not homosexuality even brought up. My point is don’t act or even over react to the media or academic reports, there is more info that should be considered. There is more going on than we hear.

This idea works domestically as well.

And so what do we do? Certainly pontificate. Use what we know. Even communicate to our politicians? For sure, vote the next time around. And for sure: homework, homework, homework.