Washington Out of Context

I read in passing in Clayton Cramer's blog this quote from George Washington that stikes a general chord when taken out of context

Let us look to our National character, and to things beyond the present period. No morn ever dawned more favourably than ours did; and no day was ever more clouded than the present! Wisdom, and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm.

The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript
Sources, 1745-1799. John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor.
Mount Vernon, November 5, 1786.

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The Road to Radicalism

The Christian Science Monitor has an article on the emergence of radical Islam in otherwise moderate Kenya:

Desperation and poverty, say observers, play a part in the radicalization process. The road to transforming the "us against them" mentality into a willingness to do battle with "them" is not a very long one, some say, especially in a country where more than 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. [fertile ground in Kenya]

And this is not the way to stem the tide:

• You're either with us or against us
• We're gonna smoke 'em out of their holes
• There must be a regime change in Iraq

While these sound bytes might play well in the Western street, they fall flat on the ears of many Muslims who are more likely than not to see such language simply as evidence that few alternatives to violence exist.

We will not be taken seriously until we demonstrate our understanding of this. Worse: we will fan the flames of hatred.

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An Energy Boost Like That

The light was fading. The temperature was cool. The colorful leaves of yesterday had begun to turn brown.

He ran along the trail beside the river, pushing harder now that his body had warmed up. It always seemed, on cold days like this, that it took a while to get going, but he knew that by the time he reached this point things would click, and they did.

He had just passed two people jogging along with a dog. But as often happens when you pass someone on the trails, they seemed to speed up as he went by, spurred perhaps by his passing.

As he ran, he heard their footsteps behind him and the chinking sound of their running dog's collar. It sounded to him like they were keeping on his heels. He expected any moment that the dog would pass him, so close did the chinking sound. His foot fall quickened. His breathing accelerated. The cool air swept against his face. The chinking sound began to fade.

Then he looked up. In the distance, a vaguely familiar shape came close. She wore a burgundy top. She was tall. She had a smile on her face. He knew her.

He raised two left fingers to wave. She stayed to her side, and at first, he stayed to his. They smiled at each other. She was grinning, ear-to-ear. He was waving his fingers and breathing hard.

But then he slowed and veered to the left. He stopped. She slowed and stopped. He walked up to her and leaned toward her and kissed her.

See you at the end.

Ok.

He moved back to the right and started again. Behind him, he heard the foot falls and chinking sounds again. He began to pick up his pace.

Did you even know her!? a voice behind him asked.

He laughed and turned as he ran. No! I bet you never got an energy boost like that!

They laughed. He turned back around and picked up his pace again and left them behind and ran to the end of the trail.

9:05:38 AM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []