Heads I Win

A coin toss is a simple and almost perfect way to decide the random outcome of a wager or even a close non-crucial argument. That's because with the possible exception of that one Twilight Zone episode the only outcome will be heads or tails.

For the most part we must have a winner and therefore a loser clearly delineated so that we can go on with our lives. Many people internalize the feeling so as to not cause further discussion and may even mumble "loser" as they pass an adversary.

But for years now we have been listening to, no subjected to political adversaries demanding to know if we can win the war in Iraq or now Afghanistan.

"Can we win without sending more troops?"

"Can we win if we allow the Afghanis to govern themselves?"

I have a simple question - Would someone please define WIN?

Would it be considered a win if we could get out without any more of our troops (young men and women who used to be called our children before the military dehumanized them by calling them troops) being murdered?

Should we consider it a win if we can annex Afghanistan as our 51st state?

Before we do annex the country can we find out if they would be a red state or a blue state?

We now know that a win in Iraq meant that Cheney and his cronies were able to get their hands on lucrative contracts through subsidiaries such as Haliburton and Blackwater.

But what happened to all that inexpensive oil we were promised? Did they hide it somewhere?

For me and many other Americans I believe a win would be ending the war and securing the future of our young men and women in a more productive way.
I believe the rest of the world must join us and take up the task of securing peace in the area.

No, I am not filling out a form to compete in the next Miss America pageant although I wouldn't with World Peace. However we cannot do it alone.

Alexander the Great surely wanted World Peace. He just went about it in a slightly different way.

Someone once said, "Winning isn't everything." Unfortunately he didn't stop there but he should have. Winning may be the only thing but only after we have a clear understanding of what "Winning" means.