The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: Conflict

  • Two Truths

    Two Truths

    Not all truths are self-evident.

  • Flags Scare Me

    The first flags were battle standards used during conflict.

  • Part of Me Sleeps

    This will come as no big surprise, but a very large part of me likes to avoid conflict, stress, and confrontation. Decades ago, I decided that the most effective way to not deal with the slings and arrows of life was to sleep. I absolutely love to sleep. My spirit animal is probably one of…

  • Allow Me to Simplify

    Here lately, humanity seems to be struggling with concepts that should be pretty straightforward. It doesn’t make any sense at all. It is causing conflict and anxiety that seems completely unnecessary. Given that so many people these days don’t seem to want to think, let me lay down some basic concepts for you: Nazis? Bad.…

  • Honne and Tatemae

    Recently a dear friend introduced me to the Japanese concepts of honne and tatemae. I had never heard these words before. Without her, I would  probably just have assumed they were the names for a Japanese pop culture couple or something. (They do say that opposites attract.) After reading several articles on the subject and…

  • When Someone Has a Sad

    Many years ago, I came across a woman who was crying. I didn’t know her. I didn’t know the reason for her tears. It didn’t really matter. I just knew she was sad, so I gave her a hug. Sometimes you just need a hug. She clung to me like I was a life raft…

  • You Do You

    It occurs to me that a lot of the conflict and scandal and overall kerfuffle in this world could be avoided if we all stuck to one basic tenet: You do you. I’ll do me. (That is, as long as what you’re doing does not negatively impact others.) For example, I’ll never understand why people…

  • Peace Day

    If I were getting a masters degree in world history, my thesis would be an attempt to answer this question: Was there even one day in the recorded history of mankind when no one on the planet was at war? I’ve honestly wondered that my entire life. Of course, you’d have to create a firm…

  • The Past, Present and Future of War

    If I were an historian, I think an interesting exercise would be to see if I could pinpoint one day in history, just one single precious day, when no country on earth was at war. I think it would be a lot harder to find than any of us would care to believe. Having said…

  • To War or Not to War

    There really hasn’t been a good clean war that everyone could sink their teeth into since World War II. Okay, I’m being sarcastic, but at least we can all agree that Hitler was the bad guy, and people were willing to ration their food and give up their panty hose for the cause. We were…