Wolk K: Very well said, and it comes to this. The US, once we get going in times of crisis and war, has always focused on the opposing governmental systems as opposed to the common man/woman within these systems. This is why the US has been so willing to support other nations after conflicts as oppose to layering on a multitude of punishments. Perhaps this is because at heart we all know that somewhere in times past we came from somewhere else. Perhaps it's because we feel that however culturally steeped they may make of it, with a little help other governing systems will "get" the idea of Democracy.
In any event I'd like to share the following e-mail correspondence I sent to the President, the Vice President, and each of their spouses at the White House. I hope it is representative of general US sentiment:
Mr. President:
As a downtown witness to the events that have transpired in New York City I'd like to offer you, as one American citizen to another, this council. Especially now that I've managed to calm down a bit. If the news reports are true regarding terrorist cells sprinkled the world over, all funded out of "flash points" in the Middle East, still I don't necessarily believe your average Mid-Eastern civilian is any different from your average American citizen. They simply wish to live their lives quietly, raise their children and conduct themselves from the viewpoint of an optimistic future. Unfortunately they're caught by the throats in the vice of a fascist, quasi-religious or "cult of personality," government. Nazi Germany, military state Japan of WWII era, Pol Pot's Cambodia, recent conflicts in Bosnia, et.al., provide ample proof these governing styles do not go "gently into the night." While they exist they act as cancers on the body politic of our planet.
Therefore, we need to guard against acting on the premise that their common people are one and the same as the ruling powers which govern their lives. By acting in a fashion which shows we understand this distinction we will continue to be, as Americans, a unique and positive political example for the rest of the world. A nation where reason prevails over the heart, and Law prevails over Chaos. But even so let's face facts. The task ahead will be brutal. It will be bloody. It could be long. It must be done. These governments need to be removed via extreme prejudicial actions. It is only in this fashion that the world will have a chance to know any true, long term, peace. Enough is enough.
And as an American citizen I can only say I stand 100% behind you in this effort.
John Curtis
American Citizen |
