Over poor Spanaway

I'm not a particularly warm person. I tend to run hot or cold. This is one of those flaws I pretend to be proud of, as though there is some honor in snapping from fury to dispassion at the drop of really any kind of headgear. I think writing is frequently how I explore this tendency, and also something I rely upon to temper it. I've written my fair share of hot-headed letters (or emails) and sent them before I had the good sense to calm down, but usually the act of putting words into sentences cools me down (or thaws my sub-zero side) before I do any real damage.

So instead of going to bed angry or in tears, instead of sulking silently, I am writing. Tonight I wanted to write about Libya, in part because while I'd like nothing more than to see that little despot in the sunglasses brought to Holland and marched through the streets of Den Haag, (I think this might be a little residual conquer-lust from reading Cleopatra,) my love for international law as an academic exercise and my red-hot fury at the murder and human rights abuses have unexpectedly combined to make me kind of wary. I want to see the Libyan people free of Gaddafi, and I would think seeing him face charges wouldn't be out of line. But freedom (in the pre-Bush administration sense of the word) shouldn't be imposed upon a people externally. This tweet (yes, I know I'm not on twitter but I can't avoid it when it shows up elsewhere) caught my eye today: "To all those celebrating the UN resolution on Libya, so-called "humanitarian intervention" filled our graves to their limits. Love, Iraq."

Now, there are a number of reasons why the invasion of Iraq is not so much oranges to an intervention in Libya's apples as it is an entirely separate food group all together. Those differences aside, am I ultimately more comfortable with a military intervention now because our commander in chief is less cowboy-crazy for explosions? I'll admit, I probably am. President Bush was a scalding/freezing type and I'm frankly more comfortable with these decisions being made by a President who thinks things through. Furthermore, (and most importantly) I think the support for intervention in Libya is greater internationally and within Libya itself is much greater than it was in Iraq. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have so bankrupted this country (of actual money and of moral credibility) that we simply can't commit to that scale of intervention in Libya, so maybe that's a small comfort as well. I don't like the idea of President Obama or any one going in and telling the Libyans how to run their country, but clearly Gaddafi's people have had enough of him and I have no problem if President Obama or the UN wants to do whatever it takes to get their backs.

And just to mix things up a little more, I'm going to bring up the No Taxpayer Funding For Abortions Act (HR 3). I want to know why the "pro-life" Republicans don't bring up a "No Taxpayer Funding For Executions Act" or a "No Taxpayer Funding For Predator Drones Act". A great West Wing quote about taxpayers paying for things they don't like is coming to mind, but TV-references aside, I understand why people respond so emotionally to this. I get it, I do. It isn't an easy thing to talk about and it isn't easy for most hardliners on either side to see past their own position. But it is hard enough already. Unwanted pregnancy, (and, I'd imagine, particularly the kind that result from rape, incest or that threaten the life of the mother) are hard enough. It is the worst place most women can find themselves, and we should commit every effort to see that fewer do. The only way to prevent abortion is to prevent unwanted pregnancy and de-funding Planned Parenthood will only increase it.

But more importantly (and here I'm not going to resist the temptation to quote West Wing) if we're about freedom from tyranny, then we're about freedom from tyranny, and if we're not, we should shut up. What greater tyranny could there be than the suggestion that my body (in any condition) be subject to some one else's control? We've got to make sure abortion is safe, and that means making it legal and accessible to every woman (not just those with a spare $650). Even if you're married or too old to have kids or a Lesbian or a man, this issue directly affects you. It speaks to the very health of our society and to the sincerity of what we call American values. Our bodies are our bodies and no one and nothing (not religion or law or even economic circumstance) should allow some one else to claim sovereignty there.

See, I'm feeling calmer already. I don't mean to be so coy about why I'm having such trouble breathing lately, I just want to be careful about telling secrets that aren't my own. I have a friend who was in a tough situation and who made her choice and got her way out of it. It was unavoidable that it was going to bring up some old issues from my own past, but we're Iraq and Libya on this. I was a disaster, there were lots of complicating circumstances that made a tough choice for me into a complete nightmare. She's Libya, in this metaphor, and she's got a difficult road ahead but she's got a much better support network, a much better head on her shoulders and I think she's going to be OK. I can't pretend that we're in the same shoes just because it makes for a snappier 140-character quip.

With that, I am calmly off to bed.

PS

The title of this post comes from a song that keeps running through my head every time I check my blog stats to see who's reading. I guess sometimes warning shots across the bow just don't work like they did in the days before they were metaphor. Anyway, here are the lyrics for the song, but if you haven't heard Neko Case yet, you should do so right away:

"The Needle Has Landed"
Neko Case

Here I am in traffic's slow flow
Where the needle touched down
Carbon planes draw a cage round the air force base
Where the needle touched down
My foot on the brake it's ok to fly low
Over poor Spanaway

An eagle swooped down from a semi-trailer
Took the name of your town from a sharp-toothed freighter
The needle's the same that recorded and played
When you left me at the greyhound the year I moved away
And if I knew then what's so obvious now
You'd still be here baby
My baby, baby

So that's why I never come back here
That's why they spit out my name
Your ex's have clawed up the bible
Trying to keep me away
With the sledge of tectonic fever
The needle has landed again
Let it play

And the needle touched down
The needle is landing
And the needle touched down
The needle is landing

An eagle swooped down from a semi-trailer
Took the name of your town
From a sharp-toothed freighter
And if I knew then what's so obvious now
You'd still be here