what a friend -gg share the fire ah ?
Sure, what are friends for? The girls are... HOT :-)
I had other epic battles from the depression set
That one sounds interesting.
I have no idea why a difference on opinion, or the desire for the government to be more honest is viewed as an attack and made a "de-facto" enemy
There does seem to be a trend recently set in motion whereby one is either "With us or against us", and in order to be "With us", you have to shut up and obey. Any questions or criticisms can put you in the "against us" camp, there to rot for all time with the likes of Bin Ladin.
I can understand that it is a sensitive issue given 9/11, for that I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I myself have to remind of that day constantly and remember the anger I felt
I know what you mean. As someone who went to school amid noises of gunfire and bombs going off in the distance, I am no stranger to terrorism and the pain its random carnage causes.
Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. It just seems that way to North Americans who never really experienced it aside from a couple of sporadic incidents. 9/11 was a terrible event, made more shocking by its sheer magnitude and the ruthlessness with which it was executed. Yes, it was horrible. Yes, it was impossible to understand how people can commit such atrocious acts of violence. But, no, it does not excuse anything and everything that US did afterwards in the name of "fighting terrorism" - curbing personal freedoms, locking up people for years without a charge nor access to a lawyer, grossly exaggerating a remote threat so they can invade a country and occupy it, etc.
Re "fighting terrorism" - I find this phrase very bizarre and personally feel it detracts from the understanding of the problem. "Terrorism" is a method of warfare. It is the preferred method of fighting a state when you don't have their military means. It is not a person, a group of people, or any other entity that can be fought. Saying you are "fighting terrorism" is like saying you are fighting kung-fu.
I wonder why Bush did not define the enemy as Al-Qaeda and all their associates. I wonder why it is that the definition of the enemy is left so ambiguous. Could it be that if we don't have a defined enemy, the battle will never be won?
why are we ignoring the fact that slowly but surely, we are becoming less and less (numbers) while the third world is exploding in their populations
There is a saying, hereby massacred by my translation that goes "One eats, the other watches/Thus brews armageddon". As the disparity between nations grows, so does the tension. This is not to say, of course, that rich nations should pour money into poor ones to level the field at their own expense, but the dynamics are there and it would do us well to recognize them.
all they need to do --in general terms now-- is travel a little more.... oh yes and have better Geography teachers... I bet they would have a better understanding of what is it that in some lands, they view Americans the way they do.
Possibly. It would also help to reduce the diffusion of litanies such as "Everybody hates us because we are rich, powerful, and wonderful" in favor of a broader understanding that allows for the possibility that if groups of people resent the US, they might have different reasons, including the roles US has played in their own misery. For example, I would love to see this "You hate us because we are powerful" thing said to a Chilean tortured during the rule of Pinochet and had to flee his home, never to return :-)
in spite of all ills (as anyone else have) it is still a great place to be... very generous and positive... just a little blind here and there...
I agree. I especially like the west coast, but have visited New York, Boston, etc as well as I have friends and family members there. I have enjoyed every visit to the US, despite the jet lag that makes me want to kill myself the first couple of days as I find myself desperate to sleep at 5AM :-) |
