On the Failure to Support Syria

04/05/2017

What's on my mind? Not on my mind, in my heart.

I feel like we are all failing Syria. All of us. I haven't done nearly enough. We haven't done nearly enough. What can we do?

I don't know.

Maybe start calling it what it is with greater fury: a 20th century-style, citizen-genocide masquerading as a slightly less abrasive consequence of regional power politics. Does that sound right? Too cold.

Maybe it's the destruction of an entire generation of children who may end up changing the world through anguish and bitterness and vengeance instead of love and hope. Does that sound right? Too emotional.

Maybe we call it Syria's holocaust.

And maybe we don't judge that as an insult to the 20th century Jewish Holocaust, which was not the first or last time we have seen atrocity at scale. Given what we know about human nature, global chess and villainous characters like Bashar al-Assad, this cycle will continue. Similar, global "characters" allow each other to operate with violent impunity. Look at Iraq, Libya, and other nations the world helped to depose their despots. Maybe the bargain before is better than the apocalypse after, even at the expense of those little freedoms we in democratic nations take for granted every day.

Maybe we just let ourselves feel it deeply, I mean let it tear at us as we live within our little, comfortable bubbles. Let it prick us awake for a while, and consider how lucky we are to be who we are, where we are, with our list of relatively petty concerns and relatively harmless local struggles. It's good to be alive and safe, right?

Definitely struggling with this one today. My mind and heart is with Syria.