tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404752.post653177410957868471..comments2023-06-05T09:58:46.187-03:00Comments on The Straight Hype: The Folly of Youth and the Simple TruthJoe Legerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221705875636935596noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404752.post-41537412169243555552009-07-09T01:39:30.215-03:002009-07-09T01:39:30.215-03:00Thank you for your thoughtful response, Kat. You a...Thank you for your thoughtful response, Kat. You are a dear friend of this blog, and I think the world of you.<br /><br />Fear. So you're saying maybe if I leave the Goliath alone, he won't eat me. <br /><br />Perhaps we should stop incarcerating rapists lest we begin living in "fear of future attacks on women". Maybe I should leave my door unlocked at night because I am living in fear of being robbed. <br /><br />Do you remember the famous line "Peace in our time?" The decendents of 6 millions Jews do.<br /><br />You are coming dangerously close to becoming an apologist for terrorists. Your whimsical world view would suggest you think that America must have done something to deserve what happened on Sept 11th, and by insisting on dialogue, you further suggest that the terrorists had some legitimate grievance that should be addressed. They did not. They are fanatics. <br /><br />No one likes war, but some folks just can't accept the uncomfortable truth that sometimes war is justified and necessary.<br /><br />Golda Meir once said a very wise axiom which I think sums up how people who are forced to make the hard decision to go to war feel;<br /><br />"We can forgive you for killing our sons. But we will never forgive you for making us kill yours."<br /><br />Cordially<br /><br />JoeJoe Legerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11221705875636935596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404752.post-18856387027444199412009-07-08T21:38:42.479-03:002009-07-08T21:38:42.479-03:00Violence breeds violence. Hatred breeds hatred. In...Violence breeds violence. Hatred breeds hatred. Intolerance breeds intolerance. Suppression breeds rebellion. Fundamentalism breeds ignorance. Ignorance breeds ignorance. <br /><br />"President Obama thought that maybe peace, good will, and open dialogue were the key to a healthy, safer world."<br /><br />What a novel idea! Perhaps if all of the groups you mentioned could somehow follow his example there would be a lot less killing in the world.<br /><br />Maybe I have misinterpreted the news media, and this is entirely possible as I dont make it a practice to watch often as I find it impossible to turn it off without feeling depressed, but I was under the impression that the invasion of Afghanistan was justified as a response to terrorist threat. A war in the name of security and protection, and therefore, a war based on fear of future threats. <br /><br />I think you said it best, so I hope you dont mind my application of your words. The Bush administrations war, justified or not, are demonstratively 'hard to put out once started, and leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.'<br /><br />Yours in cheerful opposition, <br /><br />KatAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404752.post-4566750419918385882009-07-08T19:22:11.406-03:002009-07-08T19:22:11.406-03:00Well said Kat, and thank you for your comment. No ...Well said Kat, and thank you for your comment. No I don't think there is any connection or similarities between ancient honour cultures and the strange notion that governments are keeping people in a "state of fear" to sustain support for an unpopular but just war.<br /><br />There has not been a single terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. Few countries can make the same claim. Changes to section 6E of the criminal code or roving wire taps may get everyone in a flutter, but even from the beginning of this whole sorted affair, I remember the government continuing to encourage people NOT to live in fear and carry on with their lives.<br /><br />You know what is scary? When 3000 people get butchered one beautiful September morning for the audacious crime of showing up for work.<br /> <br />President Obama thought that maybe peace, good will, and open dialogue were the key to a healthy, safer world. When he made gracious comments about Iran a couple of months ago, he was met with ridicule by Iran's leaders as they whipped a crowd of 2000 people into a heart warming chorus of "Death to America - Death to the Jews".<br /> <br />I don't live in fear, but I am not blind either. When 300 self professed "moderate" Muslims are holding up signs on the streets of Vancouver with pictures of the ovens of Auschwitz I get a little concerned. I also get a little leery when another self professed "moderate" Muslim gives a statement to the press that once a theocracy is elected in BC, Christians and Jews will have to wear patches. "Nice G-7 country you got here...pity if anything should happen to it." <br /><br />I know these nuts are a minority. I love the Muslim religion and the Muslim people - but why is the peaceful majority so darned quiet?<br /><br />Cordially<br /><br />JoeJoe Legerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11221705875636935596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404752.post-29571344057610153482009-07-08T18:21:30.102-03:002009-07-08T18:21:30.102-03:00I believe the barbaric honour code you mention is ...I believe the barbaric honour code you mention is comparable to the one perpetrated by any government which governs through the culture of fear. Is it not the same mentality of fear that causes radicals to commit jihad as the mentality of a government who creates and sustains wars in the name of self protection? Only on a much grander scale. 124 Canadians have died in Afghanistan since 2002, thousands of Americans in Iraq, to say nothing of civilian deaths. If an attack to N.American soil or citizens is an act of terrorism, can we then not classify open warfare in foreign lands as the same? Are we fighting for freedom or out of fear? Is it the same thing?<br /><br />I enjoyed your article, Joseph. Though I have to respectfully disagree that the "folly of youth" has anything to do with how one forms an opinion. Especially if one is educated, intelligent, and well spoken. That's more than can be said for many people of any age, and thats a reality. As they say, age is just a number, and I don't think it is a magic number either. <br /><br />xo KatAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404752.post-3014947258525546052009-07-07T10:07:11.204-03:002009-07-07T10:07:11.204-03:00There's a felow I know who lives an a state of...There's a felow I know who lives an a state of constant agitation over how; "everyone has got to open their eyes over what really happened on 9/11". It's like being friends with Rosie O'Donnell.<br /><br />Cordially<br /><br />JoeJoe Legerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11221705875636935596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404752.post-23208747856267564962009-07-07T09:57:07.206-03:002009-07-07T09:57:07.206-03:00You haven't lived until you spend significant ...You haven't lived until you spend significant hours working with a true conspiracy nut.<br /><br />This was in the mid-90s before 9/11, but I still heard endless hours about the Illuminati, Trilateral Commission, Rothchilds, and the New World Order.<br /><br />It was quite breathtaking.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940671352379515454noreply@blogger.com