>>I sure hope not. I was always really shocked by the deadly soccer riots that occur in europe all the time. I'm glad they haven't exported that deal to us.
<<
Have you seen Bowling for Columbine? The gun violence stats should be more shocking than the soccer riots. Something like 11,000 (deaths) US vs. 65 Canada, and not a small number of guns in .ca
As for living elsewhere, yes the world is set up so people (especially US citizens) can find a way to live almost anywhere. I think Eno said he'd enjoyed his time in the US, and I'd say that his point wasn't that people disagreeing with certain views of a govt. should stay or leave, but that he hopes for the US to "do better". Most people who really dislike and do not believe in the US principles won't bother to voice their contrary opinions. Therefore it is egregious when people automatically attribute contrary views to "anti-Americanism". Many people against this war consider themselves very patriotic, and certainly trying to *improve* (this is a good thing, and yes, many dissenting thoughts are not constructive, but many are) both our nation as well as the world. So I'd say that your suggesting people may move if they dislike anything about the US should be disconcerting (to you). The US would look very different, and not better, without voices of dissent (which sometimes become the reasonable voices in time).
I don't know very much of anything about you, Victor, but I thank you for the discussion. In my life there's too much discussion with people who think the way I do, and that is reassuring but frequently does not lead anyone forward. Here are a few thoughts from a friend of mine, thoughts with which I do agree:
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Good list [of reasons war's not a good idea], but as my pride of country seeps out of me like
body heat against cold metal I keep thinking that the
problem with the debate, and our species, is that so much is
predicated on guessing the future. Saddam might attack, we
might win quick, Iraq might reconstitute into a grateful
democracy. It's impossible to know, and yet different
interests posit different futures to justify their
positions. I think we should respect the complexity of
uncertainty, hope for the best, and behave humbly in the
best tradition of ancient accumulated wisdom; treat
neighbors as you would be treated, no killing, etc.. If that
doesn't work and Saddam or whoever kills a bunch more
Americans, then let the burning phosphorous rain if a
culprit is found. We should be brave enough to risk death
for what we believe and what we love before we abdicate our
ideals and push buttons to destroy others. Jesus Christ,
it's not like Jesus Christ is my co-pilot, but isn't that
what Jesus Christ would do? I've never been able to explain
this notion, to myself, let alone others, but it's a
pathetic mistake of hubris that our species' and our
business' and our politics' is more obsessed with guessing
the future for narrow personal advantage than living by the
distilled gentle lessons of humanity's greatest
teachers. I'll keep trying.
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