Doubt

We, as a species, have trained ourselves to be comfortable. We weren't always this way. We used to be vigilant, careful, and full of doubt. We doubted everything, and it was from this doubt that we rose. We were careful, and sought the safest yet best solution to our problems. Such is not the case anymore. We have gotten cozy and let our guard down. Look around. See the world for what it is, not what it used to be. Not what they tell you it is. Look and see. Doubt everything, only then will you realize. They tell you this is the best solution, but is it? Is the solution they propose truly the best? Ask yourself that. Then, ask yourself how you would make it better. If there is no way you can think of that could yield better results, than it really is the best solution...for you. In your eyes. Remember, though, that others will try to find better solutions in their eyes as well. Listen to the. Cooperate. Only through this process (doubt, revise, compromise) can we find the best possible solution to the most amount of people. This is the process we need today, in our governing systems, not certain branches controlling others or threatening them or bickering and battling with them. We need these branches to work together to keep the tree alive. If they can't, then it is time to plant a New Seed.

Twitter

Follow me on Twitter @thedyingtree to see what should be done about various issues.

Afghanistan

Recently, news of Afghanistan has been both good and bad. The good news is that we are finally ready to end the war (which has been the longest war in U.S. history) and bring back 25,000 of our troops. The remainder will stay for another year to help train their police force and counter terrorism.  The bad news is that the negotiations between America and Afghanistan are getting rocky. America is granting legal immunity to the remaining U.S. troops (meaning they can't be prosecuted) and, possibly, prolong the date by which all American troops must leave Afghanistan (it is currently December 31, 2014). In return, Afghanistan is asking for the U.S. to give Afghanistan two things: (a) a guarantee of Afghanistan's security and (b) The United States to hand over their information on terrorist groups such as al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The first of the two negotiations is a tricky one by itself. They mostly just want America to protect Afghanistan from Pakistan which may be harboring terrorist groups like the ones mentioned before. Terrorism can be difficult to handle, as we know well by now. This means making a guarantee for protection may prove to be more difficult than anticipated.

The second condition is the controversial one. Many people think that it's a bad idea to share any ideas with other nations. They believe that giving other nations valuable information could eventually lead to them to becoming strong enough to threaten us. I disagree. I think that it will give us a better relation with Afghanistan, and perhaps allow it to get back on its feet, not allow it to threaten us. Besides, we really need that immunity.

The problem with war is the collateral damage. Civilian lives accidentally being take is what I'm referring to. As unfortunate as it is already, what makes it even worse is if an American soldier is prosecuted for accidentally taking the lives of the very people he's trying to protect. Immunity would allow it to where he is unable to be prosecuted, and although that may not bring back the dead, it allows that soldier to continue fighting and perhaps make it up to those people to whom he owes so much.

This deal needs to happen, not for us, but for the people Afghanistan who have gained nothing and yet have lost everything. This deal is not for the better of America or the economy, but for humans who need help. Their tree is dead, but we can plant for them a New Seed.

Results?

It seems that this week people are more concerned about the first government default: http://www.defenseone.com/politics/2013/10/week-two-shutdown-will-there-be-compromise/71399/ . However, although we know what the end result will be, we are no closer to the solution. The Senate is still unrelenting and the House is still pushing for negotiations, evens if it's not on Obamacare. You would think that knowing what the result would be, we would work harder to prevent it. Apparently, such is not the case.

Whose fault is it?

All week the democrats in the senate have been blaming Speaker John Boehner for the government shutdown. They claim that he has the power to call a vote and call for a clean CR (continuing resolution), which may be true. However, this isn't going to solve the issue. It will end the shutdown, naturally. However, the shutdown is not the problem. The shutdown is a sign of the problem, the inability to agree or even reason with one another is a problem.

The democrats in the Senate believe this inability to reason is centralized around Speaker Boehner, but, in fact, they were the ones who refused all four of the bills passed by congress to negotiate Obamacare in the budget. The Senate claims that the House is the one being ignorant and should just give in to the demands of the people, who they are pushing to push Boehner into calling a vote for a CR. In reality, though, the Senate is being equally, if not more, ignorant to the issue. All the House is trying to do is slow the debt and spend less money (and money is their specialty, being composed of mostly republicans), and after all their attempts at negotiation, they are still being called the stubborn ones! However, it isn't entirely the Senate's fault either.

The Senate is trying to reopen the government, and that is in the interest of most Americans, including the House. All anyone is trying to do is provide appropriate funding where it is needed, and the Senate believes that Obamacare is an appropriate place for funding. Obamacare has done some great things for people, but everything has its pros and cons. One of Obamacare's cons is its price. The House may cover up and claim that it's policies aren't entirely clear, or they're confusing, or vague. But they really just want to get the people to think Obamacare isn't that great so it's easier to get rid of.

The Senate blames the House for the shutdown and its Speaker's inability to call a vote for a CR, whereas the House blames the Senate for its inability to negotiate a common ground. These are the problems that are killing the tree. The shutdown isn't the problem. Our inability to agree is the problem. Such a problem that we can't even agree on where our inability to agree lies.

Pins

Today's American government is in quite the dilemma. The House of Representatives and the Senate are too busy fighting over superiority than actually getting anything done. Thus, the government shut down. Now, normally we could just negotiate the terms of a budget and go on our merry way, but our leaders in said branches of this dying tree are too headstrong and arrogant to want to succumb to each other. We need to band together to fix problems, not separate ourselves. We need to talk about the things that are wrong, not put pins in them for later dates. We've been doing that for far too long. We've been living in wonderful bliss of ignorance to the problems in our government, but now the bulletin board is full of pins and papers. Too many, in fact. The government shut down is proof that our dying tree of a government is just procrastinating fixing the bigger issues like the debt and the budget and focusing of the more media appealing issues like gay marriage. The truth of the matter is we need to plant a new seed from the same tree before its legacy is lost forever.