An accidental experiment and other trivia

Last night I accidentally performed a little social media experiment. I posted a blog—nothing spectacular, just cheeseburger soup (so good on the first cool night, even though cool hadn’t yet quite hit), some thoughts that struck me in church yesterday, and comments on a church Connection luncheon we went to. The point was to connect with other members, and I thought it a great idea. Anyway, today I did not get one like nor one comment, and I guess I’ve gotten spoiled and used to feedback.

So I checked. I had neglected to put the post on Facebook. If you want to read it you can find it at https://judys-stew.blogspot.com/2019/10/could-fall-really-be-here.html But it demonstrates to me that a big part of my audience is on Facebook. In Sisters in Crime and other groups, there’s always debate about the usefulness of Facebook, but one comforting bit of social media advice I like is to do what is comfortable for you. So I have given up trying to master Instagram and I don’t do much other than post on Twitter, but I am really vocal on Facebook—and that includes occasional advertising in the form of “boosting” posts. So my experiment kind of confirmed what I do.

Another bit of cyberspace wisdom I picked up yesterday; two friends said they had tried to order So Far from Paradise and were told it was unavailable. So I ordered a free sample as a test—no problem. Then I called Amazon. It seems you cannot always order all books from an iPhone of iPad app. So my advice to readers: if you try that and get word the book you want is unavailable, order it from your computer. As an author, I wonder how many sales lots of us have lost because that fact isn’t commonly known.

Not much spectacular today, except that I got a routine dental appointment out of the way. Dentistry brings out my anxiety, and I tried to explain it to the hygienist: when I was a young teen, I had lots of cavities (poor enamel inherited from my dear father, whom I otherwise loved a lot). Our dentist was an uncle (by adoption if not blood), a taciturn man who scared me. Plus dentistry sixty-five or so years ago was not as smooth as it is today, and I still have a real dental phobia. So grateful that Jordan drove me and picked me up, that Stephanie the hygienist is such a good soul, and that my teeth are good enough the cleaning was brief, and I got a clean bill of health.

My day ended with a most pleasant happy hour with friends—one of those small world situations. I honestly thought we met on Facebook but Mary Kay Hughes tells me years ago she and her mother came to a reading group I conducted through TCU’s Community Education programs. But we also have our church and our politics in common, plus she works with Christian, and her husband proved to share all our convictions and more knowledge than I had about some of them. An evening of lively and interesting discussion.

I am heartsick tonight about withdrawal of troops from Syria and the almost instant bombing by Turkey, though I don’t think we know the truth of the situation yet. What does seem clear is that the orange one, he of “great wisdom,” let himself be hornswoggled again. He has not the faintest idea of the cost in human lives—ours and Kurdish—of his impulsive acts and lack of negotiating ability. But I won’t belabor the point—it’s all over the internet, and we will have to let the true facts sort themselves out. Tonight, my prayers for the Kurdish people and for our troops in the region.

Ambivalence

I read something on Facebook this morning to the effect that all it takes for the evil man to triumph is for the good man to do nothing. It’s as true for nations as it is for the man on the street. The part of me that cries out for justice knows that is true. The U.S. could not ignore Assad’s heinous chemical attack on his own people, the women and children who died. That part of me is okay with the air strikes, though I did read, unverified, that what the planes bombed was a repair and storage facility not an active air field. Talk about planning.

But this attack comes after Trumpf first said there would be no repercussions to Assad. So why now? Trumpf has been obviously looking for a war since his inauguration. The man has no patience to wait for a war, so he’s going to begin with strikes, perhaps justified, on Syria. Abhorrent evil cannot be ignored.

But wait! Why is he so concerned about Syrian women and children when they are the very ones he turned away from our borders, on the grounds they were probably terrorists. And last night he was on TV, sentimentally bemoaning the deaths of those innocent children. I suspect he blows with the wind of popular opinion.

My fear is that he will have last night felt a surge of excitement, a sense of “Hey, this is fun,” that will lead him to order other attacks. Having seen once, in apparently a spontaneous move, how easy it is and the thrill that results, why stop now?

No matter the justification, war begets war. Air strikes make that many more Syrians hate us and long for vengeance. Where are the scales of justice balanced? Must we avenge or should we think ahead and protect our own people? What if this leads to conflict with Russia, though I doubt it will come to that.

I am ambivalent. I remember coming out of church one sunny Sunday morning only to hear that we had bombed Iran. I was devastated, especially by the irony of the moment, and I still think it was a huge mistake, although there was a meme on Facebook showing George Bush essentially saying, “I told you Iran sent chemical weapons to Syria.” That would take a lot more investigation to be proven.

I wish this were an isolated incident, but I fear not. A sense of dread fills me tonight.

Facebook and Syria

I've thought about this a long time. There are so many things on the Web about Syria and our future course of action, that I hesitate to put my opinion out there. And yet I feel compelled to share my confused thoughts.

 

Like many Americans, I get news, laughs, friendship, and questionable information from Facebook. I check it every morning. Also like most Americans, Syria looms on my mind, and I’m conflicted. Today, I saw two graphic postings on Facebook that struck me: the first was a political lampoon: “Last week Fox News demanded President Obama get congressional approval to bomb Syria; this week they’re outraged that he asked for congressional approval.” The second, with a clear picture of destruction reminded us: “Pearl Harbor: Not an act of war. Just a random air strike. No boots on the ground.”

I’m on the side of peace, of talking things out, negotiating. I am opposed to war and killing, and I’m baffled by the dictum of death as punishment for killing. I’m like the little boy—Facebook again—who said, “You’re telling me your country is going to bomb Syria because Syria bombed Syria?” I don’t think the U.S. has to be the policeman of the world, and I fear being drawn into another Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. I trust President Obama when he says “no boots on the ground,” but I’m not sure that makes a difference. I’d like to know that only military installations or WMP storehouses will be targeted. More than enough men, women and children have died in Syria already, and I shudder at the thought of more deaths on the U.S. collective conscience.

I’m no military strategist, but it strikes me as a little ludicrous that Congress is publicly debating what to do—while the world watches. Haven’t we lost the surprise factor? Did Japan have a public debate before Pearl Harbor? Was John McCain really playing games on his phone during the debate yesterday (that’s another of those Facebook posts you never know whether to trust or not). Facebook again: “We got to be the only country that sends out ‘save the date’ notices for an attack.”

On the other hand, I can’t bear to look at the pictures of all those bodies in Syria and think of the monstrous intent behind such an act. If we are to have a civilized world—and we all live in this world where isolationism is no longer possible—we cannot allow such heinous attacks to continue unchecked. Humanity compels us to take action (not going to get into comparing this to the non-existent WMD in Iraq). Would an attack change things? I don’t know. Can we just wave our hand and say, “Oh, too bad”? I don’t think so.

I’m certainly glad I don’t wear the President’s shoes? Have you noticed he’s aging?