The War … Between Sunday’s New York Times cover shot (I couldn’t find a link – a marine held a four-year-old girl whose mother was killed by Iraqi cross-fire) and a recent tête-a-tête in the office (in which I was not included, but forwarded the correspondence by someone who was and thought I would be interested) my position against the war has solidified.

I’ve been in a state of complete information overload. I guess I realized I had crossed the line into insanity when on Sunday morning I was reading the Times, listening to NPR and flipping back and forth between CNN and MSNBC. My husband came in the room and said simply, “I’ve had enough.”

The war has given me a constant knot in my stomach and sleepless nights. All I can think of is the mothers losing their children and children losing their parents, regardless of their nationality. I am heartbroken and exhausted and we’re only a few days in.

Truth is, Saddam is horrible and heartless, according to what I’ve learned from our media. I would love nothing more than the folks in Iraq to have freedom, but on their terms. Bush has taken matters into his own hands and has been acting dictatoresque (he makes up words, so why can’t I?!).

The man wasn’t even elected by the popular vote, he had his republican minions engineer and approve a bill in which he can declare war without any congressional approval and he insulted the intelligence of the other countries in the UN by dismissing their insight and opinion and going to war. I don’t know about anyone else, but I think the fact that someone with merely an MBA (no offense to business students, I was pursuing an MBA myself pre-kids) is “running” the country is frightening. And an admitted C-student as well. You’d think at least our economy would be taken care of with a businessman at the helm. Anyway, his background should, in some fashion at least, reveal his priorities. I’d much rather have a much more intelligent social scientist in charge.

Do I want Saddam out? Of course. By these means? Absolutely not. The antipathy and flippancy concerning human lives in the media as well as among co-workers (well, one) is startling and disheartening to me. When will this society evolve?

My 2-1/2 year old approached me this weekend, put his hand on his chest and said earnestly, “I come in peace.” Now, that’s my boy.