Absolutely nothing

Before I really start getting into this, I just want to point out that I am not political - at all. I don't generally offer opinions on things, because to be entirely honest, I am very uneducated on all things political. I see people spouting off uneducated opinions constantly (ahh, social media - thanks for that aspect), and I never want to sound like them - especially the ones who clearly read nothing, or who are doing nothing more than sharing a meme which a few seconds of fact checking prove is filled with inaccurate (or even outright wrong) information. I refrain from posting opinions or even links to articles on my Facebook (I'll stick to inspirational quotes, occasional selfies with good lighting, and pictures of my pets, thank you very much), but I am pretty surprised right now that I don't see more people offering up opinions about the attack on Syria the other night.

Here's the thing - I don't even know what is going on in Syria. Other than those haunting images a while back of children, bloodied in the back of an ambulance after being attacked by their own people (right? Without me pulling up some research, isn't that it?). But we (you know, not me personally, and not even the United States on its own - France and England were with us on this) dropped some bombs on Syria the other night. And now Russia seems to be threatening us (or warning us) for doing it. You know, despite the fact that Russia is supposed to be kind of patrolling Syria's airspace - and they knew we were coming, and I'm pretty sure the general conversation was something like "Yeah, that's cool... just bomb over here, and we'll move our planes over there, so you can do your thing." Did people somehow miss this? Perhaps my mind is picturing things all wrong, but apparently Russia did manage to shoot down some of our bombs before they hit their targets, but I'm picturing the entire mess being pretty lackadaisical. 

I just don't understand why everyone can't just let people live in peace and leave other people alone. Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't step in when a government is using chemical weapons against its own people. I feel like that should somehow be our obligation - to look out for those who need it. But how could it possibly get like this in the first place? What person thinks "gee, I think I'll use these chemical weapons against five-year-olds today..." What is the end-goal? What do they think they're going to accomplish? Everyone always seems to want more than they have. More money, more land, more stuff. For what? Granted, I would love some money and some land - but mine is because I realize how much good I could do for others if I had the resources - not because I want a shiny new fancy car and a house made out of diamonds. I want more money so I can help those in need. I understand the need for government in some form. I understand the need for laws, and for order. But this constant need to fight? This need to be better than everyone else or to have more land or things than everyone else? Imagine the good that could be done if we'd stop fighting and start working together toward a better world.

Perhaps I'm just some overly optimistic hippie. I just can never grasp why people must be so horrible. Maybe we could spend some of the energy we spend destroying things to build things instead. Maybe instead of murdering your people, you could educate them, feed them, help them. Maybe instead of spending money on bombs, we could spend it on housing and support for homeless veterans, or for mental health support for those who need it. Plant a garden. Create art. Teach people worthwhile life skills.

But no, that'll never work. It's back to war we go...