The concept of 'Winning' after tragedy

A few years ago amid his professional and personal self-inflicted downward spiral, actor Charlie Sheen continually told the world one thing..

He was 'Winning'

Sheen shouted it, rambled it, Tweeted it..

Did so while he was being fired from a TV show paying him $2million per episode.. Did so while sleeping with two skanky porn stars he referred to as his 'Goddesses'..  Did so while continually destroying his mind and body with drugs..

Yep.. "Winning"

Most Americans seem to think the evil bastard or bastards who devised and set into motion the pressure cooker bombs that exploded in Boston on Monday are feeling the same..

Its personalized much like a nasty break up with a spouse, lover or long time friend -- "If (he/she) thinks I am going to sit home and cry, (he/she) can go F (him/her)self.. I'm going Out!"

We have heard constantly over the past couple days that if we cancel sporting events or choose not to attend, or alter our plans in any way, the terrorists 'win'...

At A&G, we put forward the contention that to think of it as win/loss a very faulty argument;  that those evil monsters really don't care either way if you attend a baseball game or run a future marathon..

We contend that the actions of the terrorists were strategic, not sadistic and admittedly we know that's quite a hard pill for many right now to swallow..

So let's go into a little detail..

Many believe when acts of terror are committed against Americans, its because we're hated; that the monsters are jealous of our freedoms or envious of our standard of life.   In a strange way it gives comfort to think like that because it means we have individual and collective importance in the eyes of our enemy..

But we at A&G think and fear differently-- That the criminals look at us as mere blades of grass before a lawn mowing';  One blade or one patch no more or less exceptional to another...   A woman no more sacred than a man; a child no more sacred than an adult..

The fear is we hold no meaning at all; we're simply collateral

And the whole act of terror against us maybe isn't concocted with emotional passions, but done detached; antiseptic...

When you take a can of ant or flying insect spray, and squirt at insects in the home or swarming about, or when you set a trap with peanut butter and cheese to lure and catch an unsuspecting mouse ask yourself, what emotions are going through your mind?  Rage?  Laughter?  Or are you simply completing a task...

If an apple falls from a tree and you're sitting under it, does the tree really care if you were hit on the head, the thigh or not at all?  What is the value of the person sitting under the tree to the tree?  Its devoid of humanity and it does not think like a human no matter how much we try to personify it...

So we argue this whole notion of 'winning' is ludicrous because those who try to harm us don't look at us as we look at us..  They are mentally detached from humanity and the human condition...

To the bastards, we are bugs..  mice..  blades of grass...

So on an individual level, how do we feel like we 'won' against an enemy that to use the tired cliche from the Godfather, doesn't look at their actions as personal but strictly 'business'?

First is we continue to live our lives-- do the things we enjoy doing.  A person has a greater chance of being a fatality behind the wheel of an automobile then a terror bombing, and yet it doesn't stop us from driving..

Second, is we trust our instincts more.  While its impossible to know for certainty if and where another attack may commence, we all have sixth-sense... That little voice in our heads that says 'Ehh, maybe this isn't a good idea'...   Learn to trust more in it and this goes for all aspects of one's life..

Third and lastly,  treat terrorists like a kicking and screaming 3yr old that has a temper tantrum because he/she wants ice cream for dinner-- Ignore and block out of your mind.

If you go to a baseball game or a rock concert or travel, you go because you Want to go and not to prove some point of defiance against ghosts who don't know you personally from any other...

The best way to "Win" if that's a feasible objective, is to make a group of deeply evil people as irrelevant and inconsequential in your minds as they see us.