"Cultural Sensitivity and the War in Iraq"
Author: Paul B. Schlosberg

I was sitting in Starbucks recently and could not help
overhearing a discussion between adults regarding the
war in Iraq, the group of them were probably in their
early thirties. It was as though they were speaking
about a super bowl or local high school game,
displaying their obvious pride about how we are "doing
in" and "dominating" the Iraqis in Baghdad.

My realization and related disappointment of how far
many Americans have to go before we become an aware,
conscious, evolved society struck me rather
fiercely because I was also struck by the realization
that the attitude of these people overheard is the
same attitude that many, if not most, Americans
possess. It's not surprising that large groups of
people in communities around the world are not happy
with America's unilateral actions, but I feel that
it's really our prideful attitudes that are making
them most unhappy.

Viewing war with excitement, joy and pride is deep
ignorance and is not unsimilar to that
which has gotten us into the conflict in the first
place. This notion of conquest for dominance and
control is the brutal mindset that Saddam Hussein has
directed toward, and ultimately imposed on his own
people. It's also the reason that we are sending our
own healthy young men and women to risk their lives to
to overthrow his disgusting regime.

We've reached a point of sophistication and near
surgical precision with military tactical warfare, and
our leaders are taking every possible effort to harm
as absolutely few innocent Iraqi civilians as humanly
possible. Our leaders tell us that it's the Iraqi
regime we oppose and not the Iraqi people. Our
leaders make this statement lucidly clear, over and
over; it's not with joy and pridefulness that we are
destroying Iraq, many of it's people decent human
beings with families. Yet why is it so difficult for
many Americans to understand this relatively simple
concept?

This is not a time for bragging, it is more
importantly a time for sensitivity, decency and
awareness. As Americans, we are taking on the role of
"World Superpower" and "Big Brother"; we must follow
with the maturity and awareness to back it up,
otherwise it's mere hypocrisy. The Iraqi people and
Muslims are not our enemy, we must reach out to them.
I would like to urge us as Americans to wake up and
get with the program of supporting each other and
living together in the new global community of diversity.








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Paul B. Schlosberg is a mental health counselor in the Boston area. He writes and publishes regularly as the editor of ReachingTree.Org Stress-Management site and other sites on the internet

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