Miley Cyrus is Not That Syrias

There has been some wacky news in the media this past week. By now, we've all heard about Miley Cyrus’s twerk-dance performance on the VMAs. The majority opinion is that she crossed a "behavioral norms" line. I agree. That is not the type of performance we are used to seeing at awards shows. Her performance was uncoordinated and sloppy. Some people were shocked about Miley’s explicit use of sexuality. People are too uptight about sexuality. We shield our children from the process that created them. Sexuality can be displayed beautifully and artistically. However, Miley’s performance was neither. It was more of a car accident that America couldn’t help but to watch. And to be fair, I say that as a person who is generally a huge fan of Miley Cyrus.

The weird thing is, while we were all watching this car accident, there were War-provoking accusations of Syrian chemical attacks going on in the background. Some people heard this and turned around immediately. Some people heard this, watched Miley Cyrus twerk for a little bit longer, and eventually turned around. Some people never turned around at all. I understand that it’s almost impossible to resist turning to watch something a large group of people is gathered around. But we can’t become so distracted that we allow ourselves to become blind to the rest of the world. Glance over at Miley Cyrus, form an opinion, and turn your head back around to see the state of the world.

We are on the brink of War with Syria.

According to BBC News, “US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Syrian government forces of killing 1,429 people in a chemical weapons attack in Damascus last week. Mr. Kerry said the dead included 426 children, and described the attack as an "inconceivable horror". Syria has dismissed Mr Kerry's statement as "full of lies", insisting the rebels carried out the attack.”

BBC also notes, “Russia - which, alongside China, supports the Syrian government - has challenged the US to present its evidence, with President Vladimir Putin describing claims the government was behind the attack as "utter nonsense".

CBS notes, “When Mr. Obama said the use of chemical weapons in Syria would mark a "red line" that Assad wouldn't be allowed to cross with impunity, McCain said, "he didn't say, 'It's a red line - and by the way I'm going to have to seek the approval of Congress.' He said it was a red line, and that the United States of America would act.”

This is more important than any news about Miley Cyrus. This is the type of news that we should all be gathered around and talking about. This is the type of news we should be protesting about. The Trayvon verdict a few weeks ago shows that Americans still know how to join together in public support of a cause. We can do it again to prevent our nation from tumbling head first into another War. A War that nobody wants to pay for – not in dollars, not in lives.

I know I’m not the only one reminded of Iraq. Here we are again claiming we have irrefutable evidence of the use of forbidden weapons that would force the U.S. to take military action. When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, we did not find any weapons of mass destruction. That doesn’t mean Syria isn’t using chemical weapons. But it does mean we should be a hell of a lot more sure about our evidence than when we slaughtered thousands of Iraqis on false premises. With Russia and China supporting the Syrian government, I think we should at least be careful enough to avoid World War III. Plus, even if the U.S. could prove that Syria used chemical weapons, there are still many opposed to intervening in the Civil War of another country.

An NBC poll finds that, “only 21 percent think taking action against the Syrian government is in the national interest of the U.S. By comparison, 33 percent disagree and 45 percent don't know enough to have an opinion. And just 27 percent say that U.S. military force will improve the situation for Syrian civilians, versus 41 percent who say it won’t.” If the U.S. intervenes in Syria, Peace is not guaranteed. In fact, going to War with a country is usually the opposite of Peace. Hopefully there are enough of us that can agree upon our desire for Peace to voice opposition against another War.

This week, let’s meditate on re-aligning our focus. It is easy to get caught up in Sports and Entertainment News. But we cannot forget that we are all citizens of this country. And when this country makes a decision to go to War, it is a decision that affects each and every one of us. People have existed for thousands of years. For thousands of years we have been killing one another. For thousands of years, we have not found lasting Peace. It is not impossible. I pray it is inevitable. I must believe that humans are capable of transcending War. I must believe that we are capable of co-existing peacefully, without killing each other. In our hearts, we all want to live in Peace. So let’s pay enough attention to the important stuff to make our goal of Peace a Reality. 

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