Don't Close Your Blinds
The other day, our nine year old son wanted to know why we were at war. My
husband looked at our son and then looked at me. My husband and I were in
the Army during the Gulf War and we would be honored to serve and defend our
Country again today. I knew that my husband would give him a good
explanation. My husband thought for a few minutes and then told my son to go
stand in our front living room window.
He told him: "Son, stand there and tell me what you see?"
"I see trees and cars and our neighbor's houses." he replied.
"OK, now I want you to pretend that our house and our yard is the United
States of America and you are President Bush."
Our son giggled and said "OK."
"Now son, I want you to look out the window and pretend that every house and
yard on this block is a different country", my husband said.
"OK Dad, I'm pretending."
"Now I want you to stand there and look out the window and see that man come
out of his house with his wife and he has her by the hair and is hitting
her. You see her bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, he throws her
on the ground, and then he starts to kick her to death. Their children run
out and are afraid to stop him, they are crying, they are watching this but
do nothing because they are kids and afraid of their father. You see all of
this, son...what do you do?"
"Dad?"
"What do you do son?"
"I call the police, Dad."
"OK, Pretend that the police are the United Nations and they take your call,
listen to what you know and saw but they refuse to help.
What do you do then son?"
"Dad, but the police are supposed to help!" My son starts to whine.
"They don't want to, son, because they say that it is not their place or
your place to get involved and that you should stay out of it," my husband
says.
"But Dad...he killed her!!" my son exclaims.
"I know he did...but the police tell you to stay out of it.
Now I want you to look out that window and pretend you see our neighbor who
you're pretending is Saddam turn around and do the same thing to his
children."
"Daddy...he kills them?"
"Yes son, he does. What do you do?"
"Well, if the police don't want to help, I will go and ask my next door
neighbor to help me stop him," our son says.
"Son, our next door neighbor sees what is happening and refuses to get
involved as well. He refuses to open the door and help you stop him," my
husband says.
"But Dad, I NEED help!!! I can't stop him by myself!!"
"WHAT DO YOU DO SON?" Our son starts to cry.
"OK, no one wants to help you, the man across the street saw you ask for
help and saw that no one would help you stop him. He stands taller and puffs
out his chest. Guess what he does next son?"
"What Daddy?"
"He walks across the street to the old lady's house and breaks down her door
and drags her out, steals all her stuff and sets her house on fire and
then...he kills her. He turns around and sees you standing in the window and
laughs at you. WHAT DO YOU DO?"
"Daddy..."
"WHAT DO YOU DO?"
Our son is crying and he looks down and he whispers, "I close the blinds,
Daddy."
My husband looks at our son with tears in his eyes and asks him...
"Why?"
"Because Daddy.....the police are supposed to help...people who needs
it....and they won't help....You always say that neighbors are supposed to
HELP neighbors, but they won't help either...they won't help me stop
him...I'm afraid....I can't do it by myself.
Daddy.....I can't look out my window and just watch him do all these
terrible things...and.....do nothing...so....I'm just going to close the
blinds....so I can't see what he's doing........and I'm going to pretend
that it is not happening."
I start to cry.
My husband looks at our nine year old son standing in the window, looking
pitiful and ashamed at his answers to my husbands questions and he tells
him...."Son"!!!
"Yes, Daddy."
"Open the blinds, because that man.... he's at your front door now..."WHAT
DO YOU DO?"
My son looks at his father, anger and defiance in his eyes.
He balls up his tiny fists and looks his father square in the eyes, without
hesitation he says: "I DEFEND MY FAMILY DAD!! I'M NOT GONNA LET HIM HURT
MOMMY OR MY SISTER, DAD!!! I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM, DAD,I'M GONNA FIGHT
HIM!!!!!"
I see a tear roll down my husband's cheek and he grabs our son to his chest
and hugs him tight, and cries...
"It's too late to fight him, he's too strong and he's already at YOUR front
door son.....you should have stopped him BEFORE he killed his wife. You have
to do what's right, even if you have to do it alone, before......it's too
late," my husband whispers.
THAT scenario I just gave you is WHY we are at war with Iraq.
When good men stand by and let evil happen is the greatest EVIL of all.
Our President is doing what is right. We, as a free nation, must understand
that this war is a war of humanity. WE must remove evil men from power so
that we can continue to live in a free world where we are not afraid to look
out our window. So that my nine year old son won't grow up in a world where
he feels that if he just "closes" that blinds the atrocities in the world
won't affect him.
