The people Iraq today are outside, standing free in their own country. Their dictator is defeated, thier children free from tyranny for tomorrow. They set out to destroy the images that remind them of Saddam Hussein.

As the Iraqi people rejoice, I wonder if they will cherish a freedom that was handed to them. A freedom that foreigners shed their blood for. A freedom that their own people opposed. How precious is freedom when it is handed to you freely? No toil or sacrifice to make freedom more precious. Will the blood of Americans we spilt on foreign soil be as precious to them as it is to us. Will they remember the names and sing songs of the saviors who lost their lives in freeing them? Is it possible for us to instill in them this preciousness?

We at home mourn the loss of every life lost. Some of us wonder if this conflict was necessary, if truly righteous. Most celebrate our show of might, the strength of our steel and conviction. I can only hope that our quick success in Iraq doesn’t make us thirsty for more foreign blood.

UPDATE: Damn, we even took down the statue for them. We even managed to insult the Arab world by putting the US flag over the face of Saddam. That Marine was quickly reminded ours was a liberation force, not an invasion force and a pre-Gulf War flag was put up in its place.

UPDATE 2: Hume An drops some knowledge in the comments section. Take a peek, then you’ll know why Hah-vad wants him. Here’s his website. Be sure to read his thoughts page, it’s well written.

Wow, this was so funny, even Yara laughed. Fark’s look at Fox News’s coverage of other historical events.

Sean Shelby, my old roommate, has returned to the States! He’s been traveling around the world for the past 7 months or so. He’s been throughout Africa and Asia, sampling all the local cultures had to offer. His traveling buddy, Alan Huffman, arrived back in the states a few weeks before him. Be sure to say hello while they are still alive as they were in Asia during the SARS outbreak. I’m sure they’ll both survive, despite Sean’s solo trip through China.

I’m glad he’s back. Most of the people who read this site will probably know who he is, so I’m sure you guys are glad too.

I’ve been playing a lot of Zelda lately. What a cool game. It’s like playing interactive Samurai Jack. I think the cel-shaded graphics give it a kind of timelessness. Not that I think there will be a lot of historical playing of old games, but who knows with good emulators and such, my kids might be playing Galaga until late into the night.

UPDATE April 8, 2003: I beat Zelda this weekend. This is probably the first console game I’ve beaten in a good while. The last one I beat was probably Soul Calibur on Dreamcast.
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Here’s an interesting question Yara asked me the other day. What would America be like if Al Gore’s victory in the election had been confirmed by the Supreme Court? Would we be at war with Iraq? Would 9-11 have happened? Would we have gone into Afghanistan? Would the United Nations be looking at the same fate as the League of Nations? What would Gore do?
Post what you think.

UPDATE: Apparently, this is what Mr. Gore would do regarding the war.