Andy Borgmann's Blog

When I was in high school, I took this class we affectionally called "Block." The class consisted of combining AP Literature with AP Social Studies. Freshman year was World History, Sophomore year was US History. While some of my most fondest high school memories are from that class, and I do believe the work in there had more than adequately prepared me for college, I have come to realize that Block, for the most part, was a chance for those deemed "gifted" to somehow bask in the glory of their giftedness with those who were also gifted. There was a degree of arrogance that kids in this class had (myself included) and the class itself only encouraged it.

Now this isn't a post of education, this is a post on war. One of the most impressionable things I can remember from Block was watching the 1930s movie "All Quiet on the Western Front." Now I should put a disclaimer on that statement. I am not 100% positive what I am about to write really stems from "All Quiet on the Western Front." And I am going to do what I hate, and what Block certainly taught against, which is to make a statement as if it is a fact, even though you aren't positive it is a fact. It kills me not to go rent the movie to make sure what I am saying is true. In the end, I think this will make my point stronger. But I digress.

There is a brilliant scene in that movie (I think), where it goes back and forth between those fighting on the western front, and a bunch of old guys sitting at a country club talking about what should be done on the western front. Now I don't remember a lot from Block, and you have to keep in mind that this showing predated the Iraq war by 6 years or so. But that scene stuck in my head and I think it is all the more relevant today.

You see, we, myself included, have become an arrogant culture from a very secure location. Bloggers particularly feel that their opinion matters, yet to what authority do we feel we have to speak on such matters. The News is probably worse. Maybe we do have keen insight as to what should be done in Iraq and the rest of the world. Yet, it is estimated that somewhere between 20%-30% of Americans own a passport (this number is a hard one to nail down). Even if we go with the high number, only 30% of Americans have the ability to travel internationally. If you take out all the "tourist" travel (that gelato in Italy was fabulous), that leaves a horrendously low number of people who actually have international insight derived from true international relationships and conversations. Yet we sit on this side of the Atlantic and tell each other and the world what to do from our figurative "country clubs" while men and women are dying on the "Middle Eastern Front" all in the name of democracy.

This post is not about being for or against the war. This post, like my admission to quoting All Quite on the Western Front, is about humility - something that wasn't taught in Block. And before we confidently assert that we have the next new answer that will solve all of the worlds problem, I think we need to add, in humility, the words "I think" behind it.

P.S. This was a very humbling read about what everyone seems to be an expert on, The Haditha Killings.