Post by parsimony on Sept 11, 2004 14:53:57 GMT -5
Here we are, three years after the horrific events of 9/11/01, and we as a nation have yet to deal appropriately with it.
Osama bin Laden killed nearly 3,000 people on that fateful day, but no matter how many buildings he might attack or people he might kill, he could never destroy our fundamental values and freedoms. Only Americans, through poor choices of leadership, can destroy American freedoms and liberties by allowing them to be chipped away through such travesties as the 'Patriot' Act and its various planned upgrades. In that light the present Bush administration seems to be well on its way toward finishing the job of destroying America that bin Laden could only dream of, and I for one do not consider that an appropriate response to terrorism.
As a nation we ought to have been able by now to view terrorism in a larger perspective. For example, we routinely accept death rates from tobacco that are at least a hundred times greater (300,000+) than the worst Osama bin Laden can do, each and every year. We tolerate with barely a whimper such callous corporate greed that does far worse damage than bin Laden, with no suggestion of giving up our precious freedoms and liberties to solve the greater problem. Our priorities are completely backward and wrong.
George Bush Junior was probably right when he recently said that terrorism would never be eliminated (although he quickly flip-flopped on that issue for obvious political reasons and reversed himself by maintaining that he would indeed win the war on terrorism). Europe has dealt rationally with terrorism for years without sacrificing fundamental liberties and freedoms, and so could America if we chose to. But moving in the direction of a police state is not a rational response, it is a fearful response, a response to fear that appears to have been carefully stage-managed for political purposes to allow for the concentration of power in the hands of the Executive branch. Trust us and America will be safer, they say! I say the current administration will destroy the very heart and soul of our great land if we allow them to continue as they have, since America appears to be headed full speed toward a police state.
Finally it has not seemed to reach the American consciousness yet that the root cause of Islamic terrorism, religious fanaticism, is nearly as bad in our own country. We have mirror-image counterpart extremists who believe that God is on our side and supports the killing of Muslims in foreign lands. We have a religious nut President who proclaims his belief that God chose him for the job. We have no shortage of religious extremists who want to use government to impose their twisted views on everyone, and many with such extreme motivations hold positions of power in Washington. One would think that after such a demonstration of evil on 9/11/01 in the name of religion, that Americans would rightly react as the Founders intended by expunging every last vestige of religious influence that has crept into our own government. But that has not happened, and the War on Terrorism has become a kind of Holy War in some quarters, such as among the evangelicals who have swarmed to Iraq to make converts there. We ought to have learned from the events of 9/11/01 that this great country's founders had the right vision for America, and we should react appropriately to terrorism by reaffirming our root values and making them even stronger instead of responding inappropriately to fear and consequently eroding American values and freedoms. Instead we as a country have sunk to the low moral level of the terrorists themselves by invading Iraq under false pretenses, and by allowing fear and religion to justify hateful actions and erode fundamental American freedoms we as a nation have corrupted ourselves and become our own worst enemy. Osama bin Laden is a trivial threat to America in comparison to the wrong direction our country's leaders have been taking us lately. We should be engaging in a national dialogue about how to make ourselves better and stronger as a country with the values and principles that are our birthright, and never allow those values and principles to be compromised through fear tactics. But it's been three years now, and irrational fear still dominates. America deserves better.
Regards,
Karl S.
Osama bin Laden killed nearly 3,000 people on that fateful day, but no matter how many buildings he might attack or people he might kill, he could never destroy our fundamental values and freedoms. Only Americans, through poor choices of leadership, can destroy American freedoms and liberties by allowing them to be chipped away through such travesties as the 'Patriot' Act and its various planned upgrades. In that light the present Bush administration seems to be well on its way toward finishing the job of destroying America that bin Laden could only dream of, and I for one do not consider that an appropriate response to terrorism.
As a nation we ought to have been able by now to view terrorism in a larger perspective. For example, we routinely accept death rates from tobacco that are at least a hundred times greater (300,000+) than the worst Osama bin Laden can do, each and every year. We tolerate with barely a whimper such callous corporate greed that does far worse damage than bin Laden, with no suggestion of giving up our precious freedoms and liberties to solve the greater problem. Our priorities are completely backward and wrong.
George Bush Junior was probably right when he recently said that terrorism would never be eliminated (although he quickly flip-flopped on that issue for obvious political reasons and reversed himself by maintaining that he would indeed win the war on terrorism). Europe has dealt rationally with terrorism for years without sacrificing fundamental liberties and freedoms, and so could America if we chose to. But moving in the direction of a police state is not a rational response, it is a fearful response, a response to fear that appears to have been carefully stage-managed for political purposes to allow for the concentration of power in the hands of the Executive branch. Trust us and America will be safer, they say! I say the current administration will destroy the very heart and soul of our great land if we allow them to continue as they have, since America appears to be headed full speed toward a police state.
Finally it has not seemed to reach the American consciousness yet that the root cause of Islamic terrorism, religious fanaticism, is nearly as bad in our own country. We have mirror-image counterpart extremists who believe that God is on our side and supports the killing of Muslims in foreign lands. We have a religious nut President who proclaims his belief that God chose him for the job. We have no shortage of religious extremists who want to use government to impose their twisted views on everyone, and many with such extreme motivations hold positions of power in Washington. One would think that after such a demonstration of evil on 9/11/01 in the name of religion, that Americans would rightly react as the Founders intended by expunging every last vestige of religious influence that has crept into our own government. But that has not happened, and the War on Terrorism has become a kind of Holy War in some quarters, such as among the evangelicals who have swarmed to Iraq to make converts there. We ought to have learned from the events of 9/11/01 that this great country's founders had the right vision for America, and we should react appropriately to terrorism by reaffirming our root values and making them even stronger instead of responding inappropriately to fear and consequently eroding American values and freedoms. Instead we as a country have sunk to the low moral level of the terrorists themselves by invading Iraq under false pretenses, and by allowing fear and religion to justify hateful actions and erode fundamental American freedoms we as a nation have corrupted ourselves and become our own worst enemy. Osama bin Laden is a trivial threat to America in comparison to the wrong direction our country's leaders have been taking us lately. We should be engaging in a national dialogue about how to make ourselves better and stronger as a country with the values and principles that are our birthright, and never allow those values and principles to be compromised through fear tactics. But it's been three years now, and irrational fear still dominates. America deserves better.
Regards,
Karl S.
When you don't even have a clue how much worse it could be. Try considering how bad things would be, if people with your appeasment mindset (Like John Kerry) were in charge of the country. What would be your great plan? Blame Bush 41? Negotiate? Wet your pants?