A TALE OF TWO OTHER CITIES

In Charles Dickens's classic "A Tale of Two Cities," he was referring to London and Paris. But their differences were minuscule when compared to the two ancient cities whose enormous differences somehow created what today we call the West. The two cities? Jerusalem and Athens -- the heart and the head of the civilization we're fighting to preserve...!

Ancient Jerusalem is the home of the Judaic-Christian monotheism where faith, mystic ecstasy and dogmatic scripturalism have supplied the West with its mythos and its God. Ancient Athens is the home of inquiry, reason and hubris which have supplied the West with its science and its Promethean spirit of progress.

In its rawest terms, there it is -- the beating heart and searching head that help explain who and why we are. From Washington and Edison and FDR, to Spielberg, Gates and Elvis.

To make sense of Iraq and Iran, you need to see this as a civilizational struggle waged by those who have resented the West ever since Alexander conquered the Middle East, the Western Crusaders tried to win it back, and today's US-EU-Israeli power stands within their midst. They were here first, but we've made first our very own.

Cheney-Bush saw this war in apocalyptic blacks & whites. This is our world and you're not getting it back. Obama-Clinton see this war in bloody greys. We're not leaving, but still there's enough to go around. Sometimes you have to scream "stop I want to get off....!" I mean, civilizations have been fighting over the world since forever. And to what purpose? Take your pick -- pride, anger, fear, greed. Each one, raw emotion more than logical explanation.

But try telling that to the warriors! Warriors have been fighting one another for so long, most of them can't remember why. It's like asking a racial bigot or cablecast ranter to explain their rage in one coherent paragraph.

Anyway, this was sent to you not through the courtesy of any Athens-Holy Land cruise line. Lets face it, they're taking you there to see the sights and buy the trinkets. How these two cities have helped make you you isn't likely to be on their itinerary.

But that's OK, take the trip anyway. Among today's trinkets, remember yesterday's truths. Even if you can't spell them, you're living them. Hopefully enough to preserve them.