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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (14747)	12/20/2004 6:36:23 PM
From: cosmicforce	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

In poor chuck's defense, I have to say that such an approach is preferable to war, and such tactics are grossly misunderstood. First Sun Zhu thought that conflict was a last resort. When necessary it should be fought well, but the Art of War (one of my favorite boks on the human condition) emphasized that head-to-head conflict was really never desirable and that encouraging your enemy to be your ally was far more preferable to outright combat. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Had we used this approach in our national affairs, we'd be building hospitals and clean water supplies for the 3rd world and saying that there were no strings attached. What people could fault a country for their humanitarian, guilt-free donations while simultaneously not be led to admire these people and emulate them? People who hate you do so because they think you are their enemy. If you cure their sick child or sooth the aches of their grandmother, no culture in the world would vilify the purveyor of such aid. By being magnanimous, you may be able to live in peace and avoid war. Machiavelli's Prince was written to describe the behaviors for an absolute monarch (the Prince) and in the forward Machiavelli makes it clear that his advice is not a prescription for republican governments. His choice of the prince simplifies the optimization (but really doesn't affect the gross economic and political aspects) of the relationship between the governor and the governed. It is a simplified case study and is useful in looking at cumulative behavior. SO, while chuck's crass presentation needs some attention, the principle behind subversion of one's enemy as being preferred to their outright death should be considered one of the most important forms of political calculus in the armory of a powerful nation-state. And one of the more morally persuasive.

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (14747)	12/21/2004 6:45:02 AM
From: Chas.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20773

it is us or them....our tribe or their tribe..... it is imperative that we prevail ...... we must do whatever is necessary to protect our "standard of living", "our freedoms", "our way of life"..... for ourselves....for our children...for our grandchildren and for future generations..... that is the part you dont understand Ray...... you think these gifts are automatics, that we get them for just being here and smiling with our hands out stretched..... wrong........ regards from Chucky