As a child I used to watch my grandmother do the crossword puzzles. It was part of her morning ritual. When she came to a word that she couldn't figure out she'd ask the younger generations hoping we knew what was going on in the pop culture and could help her out. Suddenly the crossword became a family game and we could all play together. Ten years ago I picked up a newspaper and for nothing better to do, I started it. How pleased I was that some of the more difficult answer could easily be obtained by a quick search on the internet or just catching up on current events. Suddenly the use of the crossword puzzle to educate and keep one up-to-date seemed to make sense. I enjoyed it as a hobby, but because of family demands had to drop it a couple years later. Now I find myself dabbling with the crosswords again. As I give some of the clues to my teenagers we can fill in most of the puzzle without going to a Crossword Dictionary or the internet. There are days when I just want to 'cheat' and I pull out the internet. I am still learning. For instance I leaned yesterday that Japan's constitution, Article 9, prohibits the country from declaring war, or rather suggests that it can defend itself, but should not use war to settle matters of state. However they could use a military to keep peace, for defense, and help the United Nations in peace keeping missions. This Article was written just after World War II, and makes sense in light of that. In 2014 Japan added Article 69 clarifies and amends Article 9 allowing Japanese military to also defend its allies. There was some question as to the way this article was passed. However the Japanese Diet, also known as the Japanese Kokkai or National Assembly (started in 1889 under the Meiji Constitution and reorganized in 1947), recently enacted a series of laws to allow for the support of its allies. As we learn new things like this, perhaps it gives us a different understanding and appreciation for other cultures and the lessons that history has taught as we look at current conflicts.
In the same paper was an article about how the US was backing certain groups in Syria against ISIL (aka ISIS) near Aleppo and how Russia and Turkey were doing the same and wound-up firing on the people the US is supporting. One may ponder, why are they firing on each other if they have the same enemy? We tend to forget that it is more complicated than that. Recall the Arab Spring that started in Tunisia in 2010? The discontent with Arab rulers spread quickly. By 2012 Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen all had new leaders because of the civil protests that had erupted. Meanwhile there was ongoing civil unrest in Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Sudan, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Western Sahara, and Palestine with some of the Libyan unrest spilling into Mali. It was during this time in Syria had major protests against President Bashar al-Assad, who in turn enforced violent crackdowns. The United Nations in their report in 2012 stated that the conflict in Syria had turned sectarian. That is to say, Shia versus Sunni, versus Alawite. (The government was primarily Alawite.) There has been fighting in Syria ever since. Interestingly there were elections help in 2014 and several candidates for president were able to run. With 30 countries watching the election procedures President Bashar al-Assad won the election. Due to rebels, Kurdish and ISIS control of parts of Syrian land, 60% of the country could not vote. So as we hear reports of the allied groups against ISIS/ISIL, we need to remember that Syria's troubles are like a complex Gordian knot that need to be unwound and solved carefully and with thought. So many countries have soldiers, weapons, and other investments in the country. How much is too much? And what of the people? If peace was intent of Japan's Constitutional Article 9, what will be the intent of the people of Syria in the future? For what should we hope?
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