Why cookies.

Usually I try to confine the cooking portion of this blog to Calamity Shazaam, but while this post/rant is from a food related incident, it is not really about food.

As you know from my previous post I participated in the great cookie bake off known as Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support). I baked, packed, and shipped a box of cookies to a soldier in Iraq. It was a fun thing to do, and I plan to do it again.

I blogged about it and talked about it to folks who asked me how my weekend was. Mostly the reaction was "Fun!" "Cool" or "Where's my cookie?" but then twice now the reaction has been "Cookies for soldiers? In Iraq? Wait, do you support the war?" and "Why for a soldier? You could serve dinner locally at the shelter instead".

Huh? Really?

Sometimes I am surprised at the things that come out of people's mouths.

First of all, I don't support the war, but I am not opposed to war. War is a result of human nature. We can't prevent or stop it anymore that we can stop or prevent people from inventing stuff or having road rage or desiring to procreate. That doesn't mean we have to love it or hate it.

Second of all to me I am very grateful that I live in America. I have a wonderful life. I've been vaccinated, have had regular dental & health care, I have hot and cold running water on demand out of three separate faucets, I have three separate toilets (yay indoor plumbing!), if it's cold I flick on a switch and heat comes on, or if I am too hot I can turn on a fan. I figure out ways to live with less so as to reduce my "carbon footprint". I was given a privileged education, I have my choice of careers, I own my own car, I can choose to drive to work, or walk. I have a little money in the bank, a family that is more or less intact - happy, healthy, and mostly successful. I have a comfortable bed and electricity that is supplied steadily 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I get to vote in reasonable uncorrupted elections and can petition for change as and when I see fit. I could go on, but if you live in the States, you know what I mean. What we can and do complain about is mostly superficial stuff.

I believe that the reason that I have this great life is because our system has armed forces incorporated into it. Not that I necessarily agree with every cause of war, I think that the Civil War worked out for a majority of the population, and that the Revolutionary War resulted in something good. These days it's hard to even talk about it because people get foamy at the mouth around here when you mention the military in any positive light, but whatever. I see it like this. I pay taxes, taxes pay for the military, making soldiers my co-workers in society. And everyone knows, the happier the workers, the better a job gets done.

I am glad that I have the resources to send a soldier a little reminder of the good life. And to let them know that someone is thinking just of them for at least a few hours in a day.

So I am going to keep sending cookies. And the next person who wants to pee in the punchbowl is going to get a cookie shoved in their..... uh.... pie hole.