Na'im's Wisdom

My Friend Bobby sent me the following dialogue with his son:

4/30/07 - Driving to school with daddy, listening to NPR: “Why are they
talking about Iraq so much on the radio?” “Because there's a big war
there.” “I know there's a war there, but why are they talking about it more
now?” [This is during the surge/deadline for withdrawal debates.] “Because
some people want the soldiers from America to stay there, and some think
they should come home.” The kid then reveals that he's either a closet
conservative, or an expert politician: “But if they come back, then someone
may explode a bomb in our land.” “Who told you that?” asks Daddy, with some
agitation. “No. No. No. If they stay THERE, then someone may explode a
bomb in the *city* where we live.”

Then some discussion about how hard it is to understand what's going on in
Iraq.

Soon after, a story on increasing antagonism toward U.S. soldiers notes that
sometimes they are pulled from their beds, and interrogated in their “night
clothes”: “What are 'night clothes'?” “Pajamas.” “Why do they talk to
them in their pajamas?” “Well, because there are some bad guys, and so they
go to find them in the middle of the night, and they can't tell which ones
are the bad guys, so they don't want to give them time to get dressed,
before asking them questions.” “Why are there bad guys there?” “Because
one group thinks that they should run Iraq, and another group disagrees, and
thinks they should run it.” “I don't think either George Washington or the
other people should run it.” “I agree, son, I agree.”

Written while groovin' to Haven't You Heard (12“ Version) from the album ”Real Music For Real People“ by Patrice Rushen