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Gettin' Political...
Feb. 20th, 2003 08:33 amLike the title says, I'm going to (briefly) get political here. I am pissed.
Yesterday, in the Register Guard, President Bush was quoted as saying, "Sometimes leadership means bucking public opinion." This was how he brushed off the war protests that have been happening worldwide. What the heck?!?! Our country was BUILT on public opinion! The Constitution begins with "We the people," for Heaven's sake! Was the President elected to REPRESENT us, or am I highly mistaken?
I realize that there are probably people out there who support the war. If we had to go to war, I would probably support it too. But note I said HAD TO go to war. At this point, I don't see why we do. There are many other ways to go about disarming Iraq, if this is what needs to be done. Thus far, as I understand it, the inspectors have turned up no nuclear or chemical weapons in Iraq. What about containment? I don't hear anybody talking about that, and yet, it's a valid option. Whatever happened to Osama bin Laden? Have we given up looking for the man who's heading up the terrorist activity that we are so violently against?
I would like to point out that I hate terrorism and I think that people are ridiculously silly for thinking that terrorizing a country like the U.S.A. would do anything other than band us together against a common threat.
I also notice that Germany and France are very hesitant about going to war. I was chatting with Alex about this, and he pointed something out that I thought was very important: Both Germany and France had at least one World War fought on their soil. They know what war is like. We had the Civil War, but that was so long ago that no one alive now remembers, really, what it was like. Germany and France remember. I think if we had a horrific war on our soil, we wouldn't want to go to war, either.
Also, attacking Iraq without the support of the U.N. seems silly to me. We need them on our side.
War is a terrible, terrible thing. It costs thousands of innocent lives, no matter what. It causes destruction of property and economies. It causes pain to people who don't deserve it.
Here's something else that made me very, very angry. Someone wrote to the Register Guard's Editor's Mailbag about the February 15 Anti-War Rally. This person said that "the actions we are taking in the Middle East have given them the right to protest."
I disagree. The Revolutionary War and the Civil War are what gave people in the United States the right to protest. World War I and World War II went on to continue to protect that right. The actions we are taking in the Middle East are aimed toward pushing Saddam Hussein into cooperating with inspectors, as far as I can tell. I don't know what that has to do with our freedom of speech over here.
Another comment this writer made was "Thankfully, the majority of Americans supports this country's methods of trying to intervene and preserve our freedoms. Instead of wasting everyone's time protesting and acting like lemmings, they should try and help those who are trying to help them."
Again, I'm confused. The majority of Americans...how does this person know? Many of us, who aren't necessarily participating in the protests and marches, still don't agree with going to war. Also, protests are not a waste of time. Protests are an expression of solidarity toward a common goal. As long as they are conducted in an orderly, non-violent fashion, they are a good thing that has helped our country become what it is. Where would the Civil Rights movement have been without protests? How about the Women's Rights movement? The Anti-War movement is also important. I agree that some people go overboard, but the fact that these protests are happening all over the world should be a clue that there are people who understand that war should be avoided unless it is the absolute last resort.
Also, protesters act like lemmings in the same way that blind patriots act like lemmings. I'm not saying this to be offensive; I'm saying this to show that we're all in this together. We are all American people, and it's time for ALL of us to stop being lemmings and show how we really feel. If you're for war, say so because you believe it, not because someone else says you should be. If you're against the war, don't be afraid to say that, either.
And I still don't understand how war will help anybody.
One last quote from this person's letter: "I am sure the Eugene police had much more constructive things to do last weekend than baby-sit a bunch of people with no direction in their lives."
Okay, that's just offensive. Lots of people took time out from their jobs, their hobbies, their off-time, or whatever they were doing to attend rallies and protests. This does not mean that they don't have any direction in their lives. On the contrary, the simple fact that they were all organized and attended these rallies and protests goes to show that they do have a direction, and that direction is to show that they are against attacking Iraq.
I am still against attacking Iraq unless there is proof that they are hiding weapons of mass destruction, etc. If they're breaking treaties, if they're attacking people, then it makes more sense to go in there and defend those people. But only with U.N. approval, and only in the line of defense. I don't get the whole pre-emptive strike thing. Under the idea of pre-emptive strike ("They might get us, so we'd better get them first), anyone could be a target.
I just don't understand this whole thing. If someone wants to explain a different point of view on this, or if someone has information that I don't have, I'd be pleased to read up on it. No flaming, please. I just want to understand what's going on, and I'm perfectly willing to listen to what anyone has to say. These are, in any case, my opinions, based on the information at hand.
I would also like to state that I still think the United States of America is one of the best nations out there. We have rights and freedoms that many other nations do not have. We are not, however, without flaws. I think that's all I have to say about that.
Yesterday, in the Register Guard, President Bush was quoted as saying, "Sometimes leadership means bucking public opinion." This was how he brushed off the war protests that have been happening worldwide. What the heck?!?! Our country was BUILT on public opinion! The Constitution begins with "We the people," for Heaven's sake! Was the President elected to REPRESENT us, or am I highly mistaken?
I realize that there are probably people out there who support the war. If we had to go to war, I would probably support it too. But note I said HAD TO go to war. At this point, I don't see why we do. There are many other ways to go about disarming Iraq, if this is what needs to be done. Thus far, as I understand it, the inspectors have turned up no nuclear or chemical weapons in Iraq. What about containment? I don't hear anybody talking about that, and yet, it's a valid option. Whatever happened to Osama bin Laden? Have we given up looking for the man who's heading up the terrorist activity that we are so violently against?
I would like to point out that I hate terrorism and I think that people are ridiculously silly for thinking that terrorizing a country like the U.S.A. would do anything other than band us together against a common threat.
I also notice that Germany and France are very hesitant about going to war. I was chatting with Alex about this, and he pointed something out that I thought was very important: Both Germany and France had at least one World War fought on their soil. They know what war is like. We had the Civil War, but that was so long ago that no one alive now remembers, really, what it was like. Germany and France remember. I think if we had a horrific war on our soil, we wouldn't want to go to war, either.
Also, attacking Iraq without the support of the U.N. seems silly to me. We need them on our side.
War is a terrible, terrible thing. It costs thousands of innocent lives, no matter what. It causes destruction of property and economies. It causes pain to people who don't deserve it.
Here's something else that made me very, very angry. Someone wrote to the Register Guard's Editor's Mailbag about the February 15 Anti-War Rally. This person said that "the actions we are taking in the Middle East have given them the right to protest."
I disagree. The Revolutionary War and the Civil War are what gave people in the United States the right to protest. World War I and World War II went on to continue to protect that right. The actions we are taking in the Middle East are aimed toward pushing Saddam Hussein into cooperating with inspectors, as far as I can tell. I don't know what that has to do with our freedom of speech over here.
Another comment this writer made was "Thankfully, the majority of Americans supports this country's methods of trying to intervene and preserve our freedoms. Instead of wasting everyone's time protesting and acting like lemmings, they should try and help those who are trying to help them."
Again, I'm confused. The majority of Americans...how does this person know? Many of us, who aren't necessarily participating in the protests and marches, still don't agree with going to war. Also, protests are not a waste of time. Protests are an expression of solidarity toward a common goal. As long as they are conducted in an orderly, non-violent fashion, they are a good thing that has helped our country become what it is. Where would the Civil Rights movement have been without protests? How about the Women's Rights movement? The Anti-War movement is also important. I agree that some people go overboard, but the fact that these protests are happening all over the world should be a clue that there are people who understand that war should be avoided unless it is the absolute last resort.
Also, protesters act like lemmings in the same way that blind patriots act like lemmings. I'm not saying this to be offensive; I'm saying this to show that we're all in this together. We are all American people, and it's time for ALL of us to stop being lemmings and show how we really feel. If you're for war, say so because you believe it, not because someone else says you should be. If you're against the war, don't be afraid to say that, either.
And I still don't understand how war will help anybody.
One last quote from this person's letter: "I am sure the Eugene police had much more constructive things to do last weekend than baby-sit a bunch of people with no direction in their lives."
Okay, that's just offensive. Lots of people took time out from their jobs, their hobbies, their off-time, or whatever they were doing to attend rallies and protests. This does not mean that they don't have any direction in their lives. On the contrary, the simple fact that they were all organized and attended these rallies and protests goes to show that they do have a direction, and that direction is to show that they are against attacking Iraq.
I am still against attacking Iraq unless there is proof that they are hiding weapons of mass destruction, etc. If they're breaking treaties, if they're attacking people, then it makes more sense to go in there and defend those people. But only with U.N. approval, and only in the line of defense. I don't get the whole pre-emptive strike thing. Under the idea of pre-emptive strike ("They might get us, so we'd better get them first), anyone could be a target.
I just don't understand this whole thing. If someone wants to explain a different point of view on this, or if someone has information that I don't have, I'd be pleased to read up on it. No flaming, please. I just want to understand what's going on, and I'm perfectly willing to listen to what anyone has to say. These are, in any case, my opinions, based on the information at hand.
I would also like to state that I still think the United States of America is one of the best nations out there. We have rights and freedoms that many other nations do not have. We are not, however, without flaws. I think that's all I have to say about that.
