HAWKS, DOVES & ANGELS

I was a loud and screeching hawk for two weeks after September 11, 2001. On that morning the dove flew out the window and I forgot everything the angels ever taught me. Let the rest of the world be damned: my heart was full of patriotic pride for the United States of America. I was ready to go shopping for a gun, a discount fare to Afghanistan, and a cute little Army uniform in desert camouflage. Osama Bin Laden couldn’t hide from me and my angels.

"Isn’t that right, Angels?"

They didn’t answer me. There were no "thumbs-up" in my mind’s eye. And physical confirmation, in the form of cold chills and goose bumps, simply did not happen. Like an impatient drill sergeant I repeated the question, "Right, Angels?" And then I listened to the silence. If I was hell-bent to go to war, the angels couldn’t stop me. Because they didn’t even try, my fervor dissipated and the dove reappeared.

Then came the war in Iraq. Rather than ask the angels what I should do, I assumed that they wanted me to oppose the evildoers. So I became a belligerent statesperson for peace. I signed petitions, argued with unenlightened friends, and fought hard for non-violence. It felt good to be on the side of justice, with the angels.

"You’re happy with me now, aren’t you Angels!

Archangel Raphael whispered, "Evil has no power unless it is recognized."

I started thinking about the continuous neutrality of Switzerland. The Swiss have won more Nobel Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other nation on Earth. Over 500 years ago they chose peace, neither fighting in nor against war. The result has been an increase in personal creativity.

Whether you are for or against this current conflict, the angels love you and respect your decision. If you choose to take a neutral stance, you may have more time to think and create. Perhaps you’ll come up with a solution that would make combat unnecessary and obsolete. As Jonathan Larson said, "The opposite of war is not peace, it’s creation."