Policing the World

They say we don't have the right.
I say we have the obligation.
You can view world politics in microcosm on a playground.
The biggest kid lashes out at those around him, beats them into submission and extolls money from them. The ones he doesn't have to hit and torture are afraid he will. He enjoys it. He loves that everyone is afraid of him, loves the feeling of hitting smaller kids.
if a teacher doesn't step in and stop him from doing this, the rest of the kids will always be afraid of him. his cronies will carry out his retribution, and it will continue.
a new kid comes to town. He's smaller, but more effective. His upbringing says he cannot allow this to happen. The new kid beats the shit out of the big kid, and everyone loses their fear.
Fear is the worst emotion to have to live with.
Imagine you live in a country where every thing you do on a day to day basis is driven by two things. The need to feed yourself and your family, and fear of men with guns killing you for the fun of it.
wouldn't you want to come here? wouldn't you want the United States to send in troops to take out the guys with guns that will kill you and your sons and rape your wife and daughters just because they can and they feel like it?
wouldn't you want what you have now?
Wouldn't you want your worst worry to be whether you buy Cingular or Vonage?
I think so.

Crossing into the blackness

I lost part of my Job Description today.
Since I got my car back, I have been lackadaisical and lazy about getting to work on time. My job wasn't worth the hassle, which is the wrong attitude to have at any time.
I have not lost pay, but I will no longer be using 3D modeling programs in an engineering sense. I will still get to use them for website perposes, but...
It seems to me that hitting bottom is something we do as a group. It's never a story of one person falling, It's a story of one person falling and the people around them being dragged down with them.
I'm still not sure where the line is, but I know it's coming fast.