i am not inclined to get into discussions that concern themselves with
religion or politics. but, i have been following these threads on this list
since the 11th, and, sadly, i feel like i can't shaddup any longer. so tune
me out if you wish. because here's what i think.
let me start by saying that it's a dangerous and alarming state of affairs in
this country when dissent becomes seen as unpatriotic. dissent, and the
right to one's opinion is as american as the constitution, where it is
guaranteed, written in the blood of thousands of men and women who died to
make it so. i'm hearing voices from every corner, including some on this
list, urging us to war. people are grinding their teeth at the prospect of
bin laden's head on a platter and daring to challenge the patriotism of those
who might argue a different course. perhaps they have information i don't
have, but before i am going to endorse the slaughter of more lives in
exchange for the lives we lost in these heinous acts, i want to see some
evidence.
it was my understanding that mr. bush was going to lay out this nation's case
against bin laden. was i distracted and missed it? the taliban maintains
they want proof of his guilt before they'll turn him over? so, show it to
them. show it to us all!
i agree with vince, completely. if chile was demanding henry kissinger's
immediate arraignment for his crimminal participation in a coup to bring down
their legally elected president, would we hand him over to them without
proof? of course we wouldn't! (personally, i doubt very much if we would
hand him over if they produced video of him directing the coup from the oval
office.) i don't think we'd turn over a prisoner from death row just because
someone told us they wanted him. so why should we expect any different from
the taliban? its just more american arrogance, one of the MANY reasons they
have to hate us with such passion. george w. bush and the shadows who tell
him what to say and when to say it, are counting on the enflamed and wounded
american people to overlook this glaring omission and fall into lockstep
behind them as they move once and for all to get these rouges out of our way.
we are told that these terrorists hate us for our way of life? they hate us
for our freedom? oh shaddup. they have a few more reasons than that!
these "radicals", with the tunnel vision of most radicals, see us as immoral,
with our porno shops on the corners of every city, our r and x-rated movies,
(shall i bore you with example after example after example?) they see us as
utterly corrupted by our materialism, our wanton pursuit of pleasure, and our
rape of the resources of this planet to maintain that corrupt and immoral way
of life. they see us as having gained our tremendous wealth on the backs of
the rest of the world. AND, perhaps most significantly, they see us as an
enormous threat to THEIR way of life because of the seductive qualities of
our wealth and our possessions - a threat that is now infiltrating and
corrupting THEIR world. they see their own leaders riding around in bentleys
and mercedes, living in palaces made of gold, sporting 16 carat diamonds on
their chubby little pinkies...living in splendor with unimaginable riches,
gained from selling what these radicals see as their ONLY asset, to satisfy
the insatiable appetite of the west, while the vast majority of their people
live in unspeakable poverty. they hate us for our support of the state of
israel. and some of them hate us because they've been poisoned and corrupted
by religion, just like jerry falwell and pat robertson and the rest of those
monsters who parade around believing they have a pipeline to the ear of some
fictitious god.
if bin laden did this, and the taliban support and provide him sanctuary,
then fine, go "gittem" as mr. bush so eloquently put it. but before i join
the flag waving, jingo spouting, bloodthirsty masses, some of whom are
showing up on this very list, i want to see some evidence.
the death and destruction in new york and washington and the fields of
pennsylvania was an act of unspeakable evil, to which a response must be
made. no question. but IF it was bin laden, and what we hear about him is
true, starting a war is precisely what he wants to happen. he wants a jihad
(a "holy" war...now there's an oxymoron if there ever was one) between the
corrupt western powers, primarily the u.s., and islam. and we seem to have
an administration who are just too happy to give it to him. this frightens
me, because then, i think, the cycle will just repeat itself. perhaps next
time in the playground of an elementary school in iowa, or some quiet
suburban street in anytown usa.
think people. this is not a time to lick our lips for sweet revenge. this
is a time to be smart. this is a time for great care and intelligence.
maybe you feel comfortable with that inarticulate, c student, ostensibly
behind the wheel, but i most certainly do not.
that's what i think. i'm not calling for pacifism. i'm not suggesting we
turn the other cheek. i'm saying i want proof. and until i see it, i am not
going to sit from my cozy apartment with a view, sipping my martini and
calling for others to go out to die and kill people every bit as innocent as
the ones who have died already, so i can feel vindicated and avenged. when i
see that proof, then we can talk.
peace, ric
