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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (26776)	9/12/2001 6:50:52 PM
From: The Philosopher	Respond to of 82486

Thanks for saying what was in my mind, but saying it a lot better than i would have.

To: Lane3 who wrote (26776)	9/12/2001 7:36:08 PM
From: cosmicforce	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 82486

I'm not an apologist of any kind for terrorism. And my sympathy extends to anyone who has suffered as a result of yesterday's events. But to get on with prevention, we should understand the "why" behind it. This wasn't a random act like an engine malfunction. It had a cause. Whether that cause was "fair" or "justified" doesn't help you understand the nature of the cause. I doubt that anyone can protect themselves absolutely from this type of event. 1% of any population is criminally insane and poverty makes this higher due to a variety of reasons (including heavy metal exposure and other environmental and sociological causes). So, for starters, being poor and having experienced the desensitization of violence makes you more amenable to terrorism and other acts of violence (like the 20,000 people a year that are kidnapped abroad). Hopelessness probably increases it too. Zealotry is a symptom and not a root cause, IMO. The root cause here is that the U.S. is perceived, rightly or wrongly, to be one of the causes of, and benefactors of, world suffering (as seen through the eyes of others) while simultaneously having the lowest per capita contributions in aid. While true and not an excuse for violence against us, it is a rational candidate for the root cause that makes us and increasingly visible target. There is also a change in the dynamic and some regional violence that was quelled by totalitarian USSR has now been uncapped. Does anyone remember when we gave missiles to Afghanistan because of their war with the Soviets? It would seem not... Our high profile and extravagant lifestyle makes us the envy of the world. If that wasn't enough reason to be hated, we are frequently self-absorbed, sanctimonious, arrogant, prescriptive and have a variety of other proclivities that must be incredibly annoying if you aren't from here. Seems like we should at least work on our image and table manners, if nothing else, to fix the problem. As long as the world gets poorer while we get richer, it will be easy to demonize us and we should expect more of this type of activity.