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For example, why don't Israelis and Palestinians unite in a single secular state, with freedom of religion for all? It would solve a lot of their current problems. Take the settlements, for example...Jews would then have as much right as Muslims to live there. The "destruction" of Israel...as a theocracy...would be accomplished...satisfying a long term goal of the Palestinians. Most importantly, it would be in the interest of EVERY citizen to curb terrorism. Why does the United States, the paramount example of a free secular state, back such horrible "solutions" in the Middle East as "separate but equal" theocracies? Why do we back Israel at all, now that the Cold War is over...our excuse in previous decades...when they act so much like the Nazis and other anti-Semites that drove them to the Middle East in the first place?
Why are suicide bombers "terrorists" but Israeli troops who fire rockets, artillery and withering small arms fire into civilian areas not? Indeed, why are WE not terrorists for dropping bombs...smart and dumb...on so many innocent civilians all over the world? Both Pooblioobs and Demidupes have agreed that they will stick to the story that the difference is about "intentions." We and the Israelis...the story goes...don't INTEND to kill civilians, so if "accidents" happen and a few children are blown to bits, it is simply "collateral damage"...a truly disgusting euphemism. The truth is it is not entirely clear that Israeli and our intentions do not include DELIBERATE killing and maiming of civilians. That we CLAIM otherwise is continually belied by the results. Indeed, is not the purpose of ALL armed warfare to terrorize...to bully the other side into submission? Certainly that was the intention of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the fire bombings of Tokyo and Dresden, which killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.
In any case, it is hard to regard suicide bombers as cowards, demons or maniacs just because they believe that they will be rewarded in the afterlife for carrying out what they consider justifiable acts of war. Do not Christians believe much the same thing? The question really is, why are so very many, very young people so willing to shorten their lives by such horrific acts? But then, ALL soldiers strike us as very young to be risking their lives the way they do. Perhaps it is because we...the presumedly older and wiser...continue to fail to ask these very disturbing questions or to rein in our baser instincts.
After all, we have allowed the incarceration of millions of young people in this country for defying the government's insane War on Drugs. Nobody but a complete idiot...like William Bennett, for example...could ever believe that this futile effort to regulate how people choose to pleasure themselves has had any success whatsoever. While the media bombard us with the horrors of drug "abuse," medical doctors prescribe TONS of equally mind altering substances under the guise of medical necessity. But, when was the last time you heard a reporter on TV ask the likes of Bennett or McCaffery when they are going to call it quits? When are they going to stop their "crusade" against the people and admit that they have failed? When are they going to start acting like civilized human beings rather than medieval inquisitors?
In Colombia, the Drug War and their war against insurgent guerilla forces have been conflated into a single effort, with the U.S. providing money, weapons and "advisors"...YIKES...shades of Viet Nam! So far, all that has happened is that both the production of drugs and the rise of insurgency is spreading to neighboring countries like an out-of-control grassfire. In the U.S. itself, we were told by the notorious ad first aired during the Superbowl that buying illegal drugs is supporting terrorism. It seems that the forces of evil now in charge of our country...pardon the use of the term so overused by our current Prom King in Charge...are determined to turn the United States of America into a genuine police state, meanwhile overwhelming all foes with the wonderfulness of our weaponry and trained "police" forces. By the way, last month the national Libertarian Party...bless its newly revived soul...published a parody of that ad, noting that the government, through the War on Drugs, is the real supporter of terrorist thugs, by making illicit drug sales far more profitable than they would otherwise be.
What's wrong with this picture? What's wrong is that although we may be the most powerful nation state that ever ruled the Earth, we are fast losing any claim we may ever have had to being a moral, just and benevolent state. Instead of aid to build roads, develop industry and provide universal education, we instead spend our trillions on devices meant to kill and control. History is filled with stories of empires that disintegrated whenever they elevated policies of control over persuasion, force over reason. We may be "winning" both the War on Terrorism and the War on Drugs in the sense that we continue to amass statistics of tons of drugs seized, numbers of terrorists killed, numbers of our citizens incarcerated, amounts of OUR money our "leaders" are willing to waste on munitions and police...but we are obviously and quickly losing all claims we may have ever had to being the land of the free and the home of the brave. Remember, we won EVERY battle in Viet Nam...at least according to traditional military standards...but still lost the war.
All over the world, citizens of other countries are protesting our arrogant behavior. Most recently English citizens have begun to express doubts about their government's support for the Bush Baby's expanded War on Terrorism. Their initial sympathy and solidarity with our War on Terrorism after 9/11 has already begun to turn to rage. Our enlightened neighbors to the north in Canada are on the verge of legalizing medical marijuana and may soon thereafter drop all other prohibitions as well. In Holland, notorious for its de-facto legalization of this drug, there are movements to FREE America, to LIBERATE Americans! Ain't THAT a hoot? But, then, we aren't suppose to (allowed to?) talk about things like this. In this time of peril, it just isn't patriotic (or politically correct). Just ask Dubya, Ashcroft and their minions.
Talk to you later...
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