How Long?

I was just cleaning out the trunk of our car (the "boot" for you British people out there). I'm embarrassed to admit that, under the jumper cables and the Women in Black banner, I found a sign that I had held at a rally before last November's elections. Hmmmm, only a year old... It said, "Eight is Enough", referring to the previous 8 years of Republican rule.

If you keep things long enough, they eventually become relevant again. (An example: the hip-hugging pants that people are wearing now. If only I would have kept some of my favorite pants from high school.)

In 5 days, on October 10th, we will have been in Afghanistan for - you guessed it - 8 years. Again I might say that "Eight is Enough". How long does it take to realize the horror and futility of this war and occupation?

If you look at the numbers here, you will see that every month we lose more soldiers to the Afghanistan Occupation than we lost the previous month. How many lives are enough?

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I have been watching my critical thoughts lately. I am noticing when I don't like someone and when I have judgments about others. I'm more embarrassed by my thoughts than I am about the year-old sign in my trunk! Judgmental thoughts don't make my life any happier. They don't change the people I judge. They just feel like ick. And still, I judge and criticize. How many years of that is enough?

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Until I can answer that last question, I don't think I'll even attempt to speculate on any of the others.