History repeating itself will be inevitible with Syria if the players involved are not careful. 80 years ago, think back if you can, the world took a step back and tried to ignore what was happening. Everyone claimed “it’s not our problem.”  Everyone waited for someone else to make the decision to get involved and solve the problem, but no one did. The next thing our grand parents and great grand parents knew, Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany were committing genocide and taking over Europe.

Today it is the Middle East. Al-Asad is the one commiting the genocide with Hezbollah backing his play.  Innocent men, women and children with no inclinations for politics, are being slaughtered. Their only crime any of them committed was wanting to live their lives in peace. 

For the better part of the last 70 years, the United States has been, for lack of a better phrase, the cops on the beat.  Undisputed, we have the most powerful military on the planet.  With that kinda power comes an enormous responsibility.  While I know there are those who wish we could just concentrate on our own back yard and let the world fend for themselves, and I am one of them most of the time, we cannot turn a blind eye. “What does their problems have to do with us?” is what I keep seeing being posted and tweeted across social media and blogs that I have been reading since yesterday’s announcement by the President. History again coming full circle.

In the early morning hours of Sunday December 7, some 72 years ago, while everyone was going to church, or drinking coffee while reading the paper, or just waking up depending on where in the country you were, no one knew that we were about to get the awakening that would change the course of our nations history.  The following day, General Isoroku Yamamoto of Japan made the statement,”I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with terrible resolve.”  That was Pearl Harbor.

Almost 60 year to the day later, we woke up again, Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Through the 80’s and 90’s we ignored Al-Queda. Osama Bin Laden was nothing to worry about. Then the Towers fell.

What has to happen next to get us to wake up? Do we turn  blind eye to the crazy of the world until it comes to bit us in the perverbial ass again? Or do we stop it, because no one else will? How many innocents have to die before some says “Enough, no more”?

It is the 21st century.  War should be part of history books read in class rooms. Conversations should be the devices to solve conflict.  We should see ourselves as one race, the human race.  But that unfortunately is all just wishful thinking.  Anger will always get the best of us and Evil will always show its ugly head.

Can you look into the eyes of the children being slaughtered and say,”I’m sorry but we can’t help you.”  I’d like to meet the person who can do that who has a soul.  I hate war in all its incarnations. But standing by and doing nothing while people are in pain isn’t something I can live with.