So, not unexpectedly, being a father means looking at everything from a new perspective, and politics is no exception. And I admit, that as I have been reading about the torture of Iraqis by American troops, I have been thinking about the world that Jakob will inherit. Perhaps, for some, parenthood makes people become more conservative, as you want to batten down the hatches and protect what you have — and I admit, I understand the impulse — but for me, parenthood really confirms my lefty instincts.

I think about what we have done in Iraq, and my overwhelming thought is, "How can we have engendered so much hate in the world?" I am embarrassed and ashamed by what we have done.

I am sitting here, laptop next to me on the sofa because Jakob is on my lap sleeping. I am awed by his presence, and I can only imagine that parents all over the world — regardless of race, nationality, religion — feel this way.

I saw the picture of Nicholas Berg’s father after he found out about his son’s death — he was crumpled on the ground, another son trying to console him — and I couldn’t imagine someone having to tell me that Jakob had died.

We are torturing sons and daughters — and according to Air America this morning, only 600 of the over 45,000 Iraqis we have incarcerated have ever been charged. I cannot imagine the anger — the hatred — of a parent if they saw their son in a photograph being tortured by American soldiers.

We have lost the lives of over 700 American soldiers, and given the age of most soldiers, that means that we can assume that there were over 1,000 parents who had to bury their children.

We have killed countless Iraqi children, and if an occupying army had killed my son, I would look for the first person who would give me a way to get back at those who had taken him from me. We are creating soldiers in an army against us with every day.

After 9/11, the world mourned with the parents who lost children — with the wives who lost husbands — with all those who lost loved ones, but we have taken that consideration and we have repayed with lies, with hatred and with death. What would an American say to an Iraqi parent who lost their child because of American bomb? Would we show the same compassion that the world showed to us?

Kat just reminded that much of what I am writing is very much part of feminist political thought, and perhaps we would have a better world if our politicians considered the reactions of parents first. Of course, most of our current leadership never fought in wars and they certainly made sure that their children would not either. There is a reason that this administration does not want pictures of coffins released… there is a reason that they do not want to release the pictures of what our soldiers have done to other human beings. And perhaps that is because more Americans will ask, "What if that was my son… what if that was my daughter?"

And as I sit here and worry and hope about the future that Jakob will inherit, I want him to live in a world where his government does not make martyrs of children. I want him to live in a world where all governments remember that the soldiers who fight wars are all someone’s son or daughter. I want him to live in a world where we consider the most noble action as a possible course of action, not merely the most expedient or profitable.

I want him to be proud of his nation, and I want America to prove worthy of him.