SamSaid!

THE GRAND AYATOLLAH

     He goes by the name of Ali Sistani, and he is the Grand Ayatollah of the Iraqi Shiite Muslims. He could well be the most dangerous man in the near term future of the USA.

     There are three distinct groups of people in Iraq  — the Shiite Muslims, the Sunni Muslims, and the Kurds. They don't much like each other ( a great understatement) and all three have decades or centuries of scores to settle. The Shiites, who were massacred, tortured and persecuted by Saddam (a Sunni Muslim), constitute 60% of the Iraqi population and are stomping at the bit for elections  — now. Never mind about a constitution, the rule of law, voter registration, honest vote counting and all of those niceties  — elections now. Their religious honcho, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, is at the head of the pack.

     The US and the Coalition countries want a pluralistic government based on a well constructed constitution serving as the foundation of a democratic secular State. Ali Sistani sees a Muslim Theocracy beholden only to the Koran. The great concern is that if the Shiites gain power without controls on government excess, a religion based civil war in Iraq is very possible. While many Iraqis see a democratic future, the Shiites see “payback” time  –  with a lot of scores to settle. If the US stays several more months to allow time for the formation of a government and supervised elections, the pot could boil over. On the other hand, if we leave Iraq too soon and turn the country over to the Shiites, it could easily become another Middle East blood bath in short order. They will not be gentle to their tormentors. We are walking a tightrope.

     I don't disagree with the decision to go into Iraq and topple Saddam. Time was not on our side. It was the right call. And the second guessers from Kerry on down are doing us no favors with their “split and go” comments. War is a messy business that always has to deal with Murphy's Law. i.e., “if anything can go wrong, it will”. And we will always have to deal with those possibilities. Since John Kerry is all wrapped up with the UN and and an International force to intervene in Iraq, I wish George Bush would appoint him as the Major Domo for Internationalization, and say “Go gettem, John –  show us how”. Better yet, maybe he can have a chat with Ayatollah Ali Sistani and tell him to cool it.  

     When a guy voted for the War Resolutuion and now says “I didn't mean it”, I can't give him a lot of respect. But Kerry is not my main worry. Ayatollah Ali Sistani is.

ONLY WORDS

     Not long ago, my wife and I rented a movie and settled down for a quiet evening at home. It was an eminently forgettable movie whose name I can't recall. After 10-15 minutes of crude, vulgar, obsecene language, I hit the reject button and returned to network TV, bland as it may be. I just do not feel comfortable being subjected to gutter language watching TV in my own family room.

     Over the years I have always been impressed by the many men who can successfully manage and use 2 distinct vocabularies  –  one for mixed company and the other for all- male company. It is almost as though they can flip a switch when talking to a bunch of guys or chatting with ladies being present. Maybe it is a vestige of the days of chivalry (if there ever was one) or just the product of good parental training, but the presence of the fair sex has had a great cleansing effect on speech. I can comment from a bit of personal experience here. In addition to being raised in a rough and tumble coal/steel environment, I spent three years in the military and three more years in a college fraternity. Add to that athletic locker rooms and various sports teams. The story was always the same  –  storm trooper language at one place, and carefully used words at the other. At one time or another I think I have heard every conceivable crude, vulgar, obscene term known to man  — in all the various forms, including verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, participles, infinitives, gerunds, etc. etc. And for the most part, with few exceptions, nary a slip of the tongue at the wrong time.

     Now things have changed. The Hollywood elite and the entertainment industry are bound and determined to de-sensititize the public when it come to filthy language. Not only that, it seems that the route to stardom for young actresses nowadays is the ability to use vulgar and obscene language to “emphasize reality”. And TV and the movies have had an unmistakable effect on young people who think it is cool to use gutter language. Personally, I am repulsed by foul mouthed women.

     At a time when using crude language is more and more commonplace with women, the need for a dual vocabulary among men becomes  less and less. Too bad. Loss of a real skill. The last barrier, of course,  is the use of the F— word in prime time TV.  Now it is just bleeped out. Soon it will fall the way of “doggone” or maybe even “hell”. And the entertainment moguls will say, “What the F—, it's only a word” 

     We are only 3 bleep spaces away.