James Dobson

Dr. James Dobson, host of Focus on the Family, made me angry. He recently interviewed Ambassador Paul Bremer about his work in Iraq. Dr. Dobson asked how harmful it would be if the United States were to "cut and run" from the situation in Iraq. He used that phrase repeatedly, and used it to suggest that those of us who believe the United States should not be in Iraq are cowards.

Dr. Dobson has been around long enough to understand that reasonable people can disagree over complex issues (or simple ones for that matter). At the very least, he should be honest enough to abstain from mischaracterizing the views of those who disagree with him.

I believe the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. I believe this for a number of reasons, but the primary reasons are:

1) We shouldn't have invaded in the first place. Remember how we went to find weapons of mass destruction?

2) Despite how awful his regime was, Saddam was a stabilizing force in the region. His regime was secular, predictable, and most importantly, contained. In his absence, religious fanatics have gained a great deal of influence, and no one knows what to expect besides more kidnappings and suicide bombings and power outages.

3) Al-Qaeda had no significant presence in Iraq during Saddam's regime. Now that he is out of power, al-Qaeda makes its presence felt on a regular basis.

4) Forcing regime change by military force sends the wrong message to the international community, particularly when you claim to be doing it because the leader is a brutal dictator. If the United States is truly committed to promoting democracy through forced regime change, SURELY it is planning to invade Zimbabwe and overthrow Robert Mugabe. I could list the other dictators that the U.S. is surely planning to overthrow, but this post would become very, very, very long.

5) The war in Iraq bears some striking similarities to the Vietnam Conflict, where thousands upon thousands of Americans lost their lives, or were physically and emotionally maimed, only to find out that their sacrifice didn't really make that much of a difference. At least not in terms of what the United States claimed to be doing (i.e. halting the spread of Communism). The vast majority of thinking people understand that we should have left Vietnam long before we did. Actually, we never should have gone there.

There are more reasons, but in the interest of saving time, I'll end with this:

If the United States is serious about maintaining its status as a superpower while simultaneously promoting democracy around the globe, it must engage in fair trade with, and offer financial assistance to those nations that are serious about embracing democracy. The United States must not rely solely on military might because it drains resources, chips away at the public morale, and makes our nation less open to the dialogue that always, always, always accompanies truly free speech.

There are only so many soldiers, and they are best used for defense rather than regime change. They are best used for protecting democracies rather than trying to force democracy upon people who aren't ready for it, or who simply don't want it. So yeah ... I think we should bring the U.S. presence in Iraq to an end.

But back to Dr. Dobson, who boils my arguments down to the phrase "cut and run." I find this so troubling because he is allegedly one of the most prominent Christian leaders in modern America. Dobson claims to be on a mission to strengthen families by using sound Biblical teaching. He is an accomplished author who claims to want to do God's work. He speaks about Jesus all the time. And yet ... he seems to be characterizing my views in a way that seems so typical of Karl Rove.

I'm disappointed.

Books

Stepping into a room full of books at your disposal is a wonderful experience. But there are other things which make the experience even more amazing. Natural sunlight is always a plus. The quality of the books makes a difference too. If the books are old, but in good condition, there is a subtle historical vibe: you are aware (maybe only in the back of your mind) that hundreds, perhaps thousands of hands have turned those very pages. Perhaps someone held that very book fifty years before, and sat in the same spot, enjoying the same story. And your one connection is that book.

Sometimes I notice handwriting in a book that says something like "Lois Henderson 1706 Park Lane" and I'm tempted to drive by the house to see if it's still standing. Sometimes I notice names written that are "ethnic", and this gives me an idea of how long ago it was written. Certain neighborhoods haven't been Polish or Jewish or Irish for many decades.

I notice the font, the style of the illustrations, whether "William" is abbreviated to "Wm." I notice the smell of the books, and whether the tops are dusty. I notice the other people who are browsing, and if a person has hair that is gray and unruly, and he wears collared shirts and eyeglasses, I assume he is a professor. I never chat with the other browsers; I assume they are like me, and wish to be left alone to enjoy the books. If they wanted to chat they would have brought a friend.

An old book store with used books is a sacred space where almost everyone is alone, but not lonely. For me, the loneliness seems to stay outside the walls of the book store. I feel comforted by the presence of so many books, and the sounds of pages turning, or the sound of an old wrinkled professor coughing.

If I can find a chair in a fairly quiet area of the book store, near a window, I feel like I am experiencing a foretaste of Heaven.

A Small Gift

The other day one of my co-workers brought his wife and children into the office for a visit. The children were friendly and well-behaved. They were excited to visit their dad at his office.

As they were leaving, my co-worker and his wife began to chat with another adult in the room. I sat at my desk and listened quietly. One of the little boys walked up to my desk, and while pointing to a bright green box, asked "What's that?"

I told him it was Scotch tape. I picked up the box to open it, but decided not to because I have plenty of tape left in the dispenser. I said "It looks like this, only it's in the box." I made sure he could get a good look at the tape in the dispenser.

The other adults wrapped up their conversation, and the family began to walk out of the office. A pair of little eyes were still fixed on my tape dispenser. So ... as soon as mom and dad turned their backs, I snatched off a piece of tape, and handed it to my new friend. I waited until the parents weren't looking because I thought they might say something like, "You don't need that" or "Tape isn't a toy." I sort of expected the little boy himself to look at me like I was crazy, or ask "What am I supposed to do with that?"

Instead, he reached for it eagerly, and once he had it, ran to catch up with his family.

I was happy, and he was happy, all over a piece of Scotch tape. Go figure.