The Wisdom To Know The Difference

If you haven't seen it on my Twitter, I'm feeling more and more personally responsible for the Iraq war. I, like most Americans, was not opposed to the idea when it was presented 5 years ago. It was lumped in with the "War on Terror"; there wasn't much explanation as to why and WMD's weren't found, but all that was overlooked then. And as this war continues, the question of how the war will be inherited and how to deal with those responsible is starting to come up (well... at least in the media outlets that should be given attention). There is also much talk about Bush being tried for his abuse of power and crimes (hopefully with the rest of his cabinet as well) but to be direct we will inherit this war. Whether you believe in "We, as Americans" or not, the problems the war has caused does effect us all. Even if you opposed the war at the beginning, you're still paying $4 at the gas pump (if you drive, if not, you're paying it at the grocery store). I wish there was a way to separate those that didn't oppose the war and those that did, I can only raise my own hand, and that's about it. I foolishly thought the death of one man would save the lives of many more. I wanted Saddam out of power, by any means plausible, but after that was accomplished it should have ended. But it didn't, and trying to embody another man's judge/jury/executioner cost the lives of many American soldiers. And some think its worth it, but I don't... I feel guilty. I should've known the difference.

Thankfully, the task of the next president is to put an end to these crimes against humanity.

[image provided by: counterclockwise @ flickr]

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I apologize if I offend anyone with my preceding comments.
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Although somewhat unrelated, I want to share another train of thought that really isn't all that disconnected from the commentary above. It begins with a question...

Why aren't we all anti-war activist? Is the war something we really cannot change?

!!!Incoming!!!|!!!Incoming!!!|!!!Incoming!!!
Another post, at another date (probably July 4th) is about how we, as Americans, shape America. After all, America is a democracy, as much as some of you may want to deny it, and a democracy is shaped by its people. (That's gonna hurt, comrade.)

[image provided by: spider2544 on deviantART]

Sometimes I feel like the "The Serenity Prayer" breeds passivity. Because of this particular prayer, many people choose not do anything when things aren't quite right. I think there's a door of ambiguity that is opened that is easily overlooked. What if the prayer was read in reverse? Bottom up? Something like this:

God, grant me
The wisdom to know the difference
The courage to change the things I can
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change

If it were read like this, would you get a different message? Is it something along the lines of trying the "change" before accepting the "cannot change"? Do you know what I'm getting at, or is there a different door of ambiguity that must be resolved in another post?