David and I went to Walmart this morning after Starbucks. As we entered, I was struck with a flooding memory of another Walmart, in Gilbert, Arizona several years ago. I was with my son and his family and we had stopped after church to get a sub and do some shopping. That was an ordinary day as well, though it was not our ordinary Sunday after church stop. Chris was ordering when he leaned into the order taker and said, “I will pay for their lunch , ” and nodded at two very young soldiers in their fatigues waiting in line. I had not even noticed them and I turned and looked. Oh my , they were so young.
We got our food and went to sit down as the young men started to order. All of a sudden they turned and looked in our direction and smiled. Carrying their trays of food, they walked over to our table. They spoke as one to Chris, “Thank you so much sir, for your generosity!” Chris replied, ” I thank you for your service,” and I wiped away tears. Just a moment on an ordinary day, two young men were thanked with a simple lunch and a mama was thankful and proud of her son.
Today, this memory made me think of sons… mine , those young soldiers, the sons and daughters gassed in Syria, the American soldiers who may well be called into yet another situation in the Mideast, the ordinary Syrians who wait and hide from soldiers killing them on the ground and airstrikes which seem inevitable from the Americans. 
There are sons everywhere even Mr. Assad, who is trained to be Dr. Assad, after taking the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm.”
How did he go from a vision to help the blind to gassing his own people? What should America do? There seems no where we have gone to “”help” with our treasure and our children that is better now after our sacrifice…Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and now Syria standing boldly with Russia, and China and Iran who supply them with support. Will we be helping our enemies if we arm the rebels in Syria? Are they out to destroy us, too? Everything is so complicated! 
Will that young man in Tunisia in December 2010 with his act of desperation and self immolation become the impetus to WWIII?
But the United States has a history of helping the downtrodden….right? But not in the Sudan….. I think of the sons and daughters in our government who are deciding on what the US 
should do. . . . .Mr. Obama and his advisers. Why can’t people show mercy and generosity, why can’t they treat others as they themselves want to be treated? It seems to me that all people everywhere want what Mr. Jefferson wrote so eloquently in our Declaration of Independence, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Oh, but how to get there?
“Life is a series of choices that are made in the present moment.” -Darren Main
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” -Japanese Proverb
Lord have mercy on us all!
Namaste. . . . .. . ..This Is the World Today
Syrian refugees in Turkish camps. . . . .
Bodies with no visible wound filling the morgues in Syria.
TalesAlongTheWay 
The horror in Syria fills me with such sorrow, but thank you for writing and for sharing. P.S. I’m proud of your son, too. 🙂
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Bless you Carolyn! Thanks for the lovely comment! Namaste. . . .Anne
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Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
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You outline the situation very well. I think medicine has the answer for us, at least for now, “Fist do no harm”. I see no way for us to make things better for anyone, even us. And yes I also am proud of your son, and the rest of them as well. I hope we give them the tools they need to make things better.
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Oh thank you for taking time to comment. Yes, it seems that our allies in Europe are one by one pulling out the collation.With so much uncertainty and so much unclear, you are right that “do no harm’ is the answer. Well said! Namaste……Anne
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You are so welcome. It is such a bizarre situation, the USG wants to go fast but has nowhere near enough power to accomplish anything. It smells of a distraction for domestic consumption, no matter how many people it kills. There has to be something better, or do nothing. A hundred years ago we wouldn’t have known it was happening, so we would have left it alone.
Cheers.
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That is such a great point. It reminds be of the dilemma of extraordinary life support for terminally ill people. Is it extending life or death? But the agony for the family with absence of a living will. Life is very fragile and precious. . . . .Anne
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A good point, which even an old neo-con like me can appreciate. I have no compunction about using the military to advance our interests bu we have to have something like a goal. Somebody forgot the lesson about being an example vs. making an example, I think.
cheers.
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I plan is very important. Telling the world we are not wanting a regime change and then hitting them with million/billion dollar missiles. . . crazy. Do you think he is doing it to save face after his “red line” remark?
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Basically, yes. The one good thing about that is that we have to be really unlucky to miss our enemies. But Tomahawks aren’t cheap. I hope he uses the Brits and the UN as an excuse, what one more flip-flop. he has to know he has nobody’s respect anymore.
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Amen!
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🙂
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Do you think Assad will attack Israel if we do something?
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Not sure he has that capability, israel has moved a couple of iron Dome systems into the Bekaa Valley. I’m more worried about Iran in that scenario, depends on everybody’s calculus, and we ain’t got one. we’re just flying around blind as far as I know.
What airpower we’ve got over there is in Oman, but the israelis are no slouches either, they live in a bad neighborhood, but that won’t help to bring in Europe, might hurt, in fact. Even the Brits are pretty anti-zionist
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You are so knowledgable. Military background?
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Actually no, but a lifetime interest, and a military history major.
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We need you in the government!
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I’m far to logical for them to hire me, let alone tolerate me!
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Though I am not very logical, I am some logical linear thinkers in charge. . . Shh, don’t tell my husband! I am always to stop thinking so much!
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I hear you and agree with you but it’s not what our ruling class does these days, it’s a lot of what needs changing, in my mind.
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Reading your first two paragraphs I felt a lump in my throat – what a beautiful gesture, so obviously sincere and heartfelt. I’m sure you were a great mom and teacher to Chris 🙂 All the stuff you have written about the state of the world – well, sounds exactly like me – worried, sad and anguished…There are so many of us who feel this way, but big decisions are taken by people who seem to see the world as private property, to do with as they please.
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I was very touched at Chris’ spontaneous gesture. I think that power is very seductive and humans are very easily seduced to think that they as leaders and now more important and untouchable so to speak.
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