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

To: jlallen who wrote (41703)	12/26/2001 5:14:54 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

CH, is your country worth fighting for? In a just war, absolutely. In an unjust war, no. Is mantaining the way of life we enjoy worth fighting for? With reservations, yes. There are some aspects of the life we enjoy which are NOT worth fighting for -- for example, the right to ship our deadly tobacco products to countries which want to keep them out. But as I think you intended the question, yes. Is the US way of life equal to or better than the Cuban way of life? I prefer life here. But some Cubans prefer life there. It's not my job to say which is "better." That's an abstract question. The only question I can answer is which is better for me. From what I know of the Cuban way of life, which is almost entirely from US dominated reportage, since I don't read Spanish and so can't read the Cuban or Latin American press, I prefer mine. But that does NOT make mine universally better, or better for all people. Isn't it better to keep the lamp of liberty, democracy, capitalism, religious freedom, etc. burning brightly in this country as a continuing example to developing nations and those enslaved by despots like Castro, even if it means sometimes we "bully" others? No. Not as I use the term bully. Because IMO bullying is contrary to the principles of liberty. And I don't think we advance the cause of liberty by violating the principles of liberty. Of course, it depends in part on what nuances you put on the term bullying. I use it the way it is defined in the American Heritage dictionary, "A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people. " dictionary.com I don't use it in the context "bully pulpit," where it is used as an agent of persuasion without force or violence. The latter is less unacceptable to me. But the former, which IMO is what we're doing with the continued embargo of Cuba, is very much bullying and is something we should end now. And would, if the will of the majority of Americans was to be observed, I believe. But of course that would be following democratic principles,not republican ones, and we don't want to do that. <bg>