> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On > Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] [snip] > Me? You think I should feel ashamed? At this moment in our history, when > thousands of our fellow citizens lie murdered and you choose to talk about > _our_ responsibility for what happened, you say _I_ should be > ashamed? You should be ashamed that you have a college education, clearly can read, yet cannot see the words before your eyes. Below, I repeat what I wrote, which you continue to misquote, misunderstand and misuse. This time, try to *see* what I said we have responsibility for, which is not the terrorist attacks: That's the sort of self-righteousness that will perpetuate hate and violence, in my opinion. We should not be afraid to look at ourselves, to take some responsibility for the relationship we have with those who did this terrible thing. Not that we should not hold them accountable; however, taking the attitude that "we have done nothing wrong" is poison to any relationship, personal or global. We have done nothing to deserve or justify this, without doubt, but let's not be afraid to take *some* responsibility for the international relations in which this occurred. If you refuse to see the difference between taking responsibility for the relationship and taking responsibility for the action, then you will still be behaving shamefully. Perhaps someone else on the list can explain this better? John Donne said it pretty well -- "No man is an island... ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." No nation is an island, either. Nick Since I've been accused of misquoting, I won't snip anything. We are not responsible for the hostility in the relationship. We are what we are. If someone else has a problem with it - that's their problem. We have no moral responsibility for their offense. We have no responsibility for what happened. We have no responsibility for the international relations in which this occurred. We have made mistakes. They do not make us responsible. The climate in which this occurred is meaningless. The people who did this had free will. They chose to murder. You have free will. You chose to spend your time the day after the bombings writing about _our_ responsibility for the "international relations in which this occurred." I don't think most Americans would judge that _my_ behavior is the shameful one. The only responsibility involved is that of the terrorists. If they object to our media - as you claim - the solution is not to censor our media. It is for them to change. Speaking about the international climate or anything else like that is nothing more than diffusing responsibility from those upon whom it should focus while bodies are still being pulled from the wreckage. The "relationship" had nothing to do with what happened. The terrorists were responsible for what happened. Gautam
