Thank the higher power of your choice for the internets. While there are clearly a certain segment of the population willing to accept the characterizations of the White House and traditional media of our occupation of Iraq as a great ideological struggle against the Others who wish us harm, the great equalizer of the internet allows us to see Iraqis as they truly are: real human beings, placed unwillingly into a horrible situation, trying to make as normal a life as they can.

YouTube has a series of videos called Hometown Baghdad that give us insight into life in Iraq. Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad. Imagine you or your children living like this: