The Monsters Under the Bed

I am not an Apocalypse kind of guy. I do not follow the Mayans and that whole Dec. 21st thing. I simply think they ran out of room on that stone and figured five thousand years was enough to put into a calendar. I do, however, know full well we are in a shooting gallery out here on the rim of the galaxy and the Yellowstone Caldera is way, way overdue.


But there is little (if anything) any of us can do about that.

No, what scares me the most are the monsters.

Monsters come in all shapes, sizes, colors, races, genders, national origin and political dogma. Being a monster is a truly equal opportunity employer. It is difficult to spot them at first and some can be quite disarming and, by then it’s too late. Some monsters wear suits or uniforms and carry weapons. Some we elect, appoint, even install then, when we realize they are out of control we kick ourselves for doing so and have to eliminate the monsters we helped to raise.

By far though, the monsters that scare me the most are our enemies and the threats from the Middle Eastern monsters are at the top of my list. Hell, we cannot trust most of our so called ‘friends’, never mind our enemies. That is a danger that will be with us forever and ever.

No sooner were the tire tracks of the American pullout eroding in the desert winds of Iraq did violence erupt. This proposed negotiations with ‘moderate’ Taliban is a farce and will only buy them more time to re-arm and re-organize for the day that last NATO vehicle crosses over the Khyber Pass.

Ron Paul may be correct in his use of the term “blowback” True, many of our foreign policy mistakes have put us where we are today, but that is irrelevant. It is all in the past and we cannot change it. What is relevant is the monster we now have at the gate determined to kill us all. What is also relevant is that no amount of placating will sooth this savage beast. That move exposes our weak hand and that is when the monster bites down hard.

Why do we tell our children there is no such thing as monsters? What if we told them they are not under the bed but living among us? We could just continue to lie to them and say they live far, far, far away. We pick and choose the monsters we are willing to live with and those we should fear. I would prefer no monsters at all but this is totally irrational.

We must see the beast for what it is and we must reconcile with the beast within us at the same time. In order to defeat our enemies we must be as monstrous as they are. It is called winning a war. The negotiations will fail. The monster smells weakness and he is luring us into his cave with a friendly, extended hand.





....And That Is The Diatribe....