Dreamer's World March 18 2015 - Collective Insensitivity

     I posted an article today from Al Jazeera America regarding the ongoing tragedy in Syria. It has been 5 years since the civil war broke out in Syria as a part of the Arab Spring, and yet we have seemingly forgotten all about it. Syria seemed to be the one place where there was a dictator that no one liked, and the revoution there was seen as a very positive sign.
    Unfortunately, as with all things, politics reared it's ugly head here. RWNJ lunatics accused everyone of wanting to get involved in a war in Syria, so the response was overwhelmingly cautious. I am not now, nor did I advocate sending troops into Syria, but I felt that much more could have been done to provide aid to the rebels fighting the Syrian government. Month after month, we heard the stories and saw the images of destruction in Syria. Millions of refugees streaming over borders trying to escape the violence, and the deaths of thousands and thousands of innocent victims.
    Apparently, we here in the US became immune to this story since there was no help for the rebels, they could not defeat the government. The carnage and slaughter went on and on and Americans simply turned away.
    Why did we do this? Are lives overseas worth less than the lives of Americans? SInce I did not advocate sending our troops to die in Syria, that might seem like an odd question to ask, but it is important to realize how we have just abandoned the Syrian people to this horrible fate. The despair that has gripped Syria helped to spawn IS. Of course, we instantly recognized the threat that IS posed, only AFTER they made their presence known in Iraq, right next door to Syria. Therefore, our negligence and apathy about the situation in Syria caused us another heartache with IS. I believe that we could have lessened the impact of IS with appropriate support of and humanitarian aid to the Syrian rebels when we had the chance.
    The lesson that all lives on this planet matter should not be lost on us. If we choose to be a part of this world, we all have responsibilities to care for each other.

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