cyclideon:

Folks are already reporting that the airstrikes have killed at least four Syrian civilians. That number will only increase. And no number will be great enough to quench the West’s thirst for greater power.

If it’s not about taking resources that aren’t ours, it’s about power. It always has. There’s certainly no moral argument for attacking Syria. Assad has done nothing that the US and its allies haven’t done over the past century. This isn’t meant to defend Assad; I want him and his government to be overthrown, just as much as any other government. But that’s for the people of Syria to do, on their own terms.

American authorities — political and capitalist alike — have kept us at war pretty much all my life (and if you’re a millennial, probably yours too). We have spent almost two decades turning the whole Middle East into a bomb crater. We have done so in the service of powerful people, who do none of the fighting and suffer none of the consequences.

This is just part of life now. Peace doesn’t exist. It will never exist as long as we allow people to dominate others.

But while the lion’s share of blame belongs to the authorities, some of it has to fall on regular people who tolerate or support this shit, intentionally or not.

Liberals who supported or ignored Obama as he did the same thing.

Liberals who would’ve supported or ignored Clinton once she did the same thing.

Conservatives and nationalists who actually thought an aggressive, predatory billionaire would somehow keep us out of war.

I don’t know if World War 3 is in our future. If it is, those responsible will be brought to justice someday. And I hope the consciences of the people who put them in power are haunted by what they did.