On Thu, Sep 20, 2001 at 01:24:17PM -0500, Jim Conner wrote:
> Please note that the following is my opinion.
> I've heard plenty of people complain about the loss of certain 'liberties and
> freedoms' recently. Whether this is concerning the tightened security at
> airports, AOL and Earthlink cooperating with the federal investigation, or
> other related matters. Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war(whether you like
> it or not). The enemy still has troops at large on American soil. Where
> they could strike next is anybody's guess. This war is like no other war
> that Americans have ever fought.
That is why some of us suggest that we not call it a "war". If I
say, "Here is a horse. This horse is like no other horse you have
ever seen." You might ask, "If it is not like a horse, why call it
a horse?
This is and should be a police action. Perhaps it is a very large
police action. But, wars are between nations. Wars are fought
over territory. There is no other nation here, unless you want to
bomb a few helpless Afganies (sp?), and make them even more
miserable than they already are. And there is no territory. God
help us if we want Afganistan.
Our political leaders are calling it a war for the same reason you
are calling it a war. They believe that they can stir up more
emotions and support by doing so.
If I was George W or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or
the head of the FBI, I would, too. Trying to promote a war
would certainly be more pleasant than admitting that I had failed
miserably to protect the security of our nation at the cost of
thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
>We are used to wars being on other people's
> soil and the loss of lives being from our military. Americans have been
> spoiled lately by the unprecedented liberties and freedoms that we have
> enjoyed in recent years. This will be a time for us as Americans to
> sacrifice some of these freedoms and liberties in the name of security.
> Freedom doesn't come without a price. America is a unique country in that
> these freedoms and liberties can and will be reinstated once the enemy is
> defeated.
The War on Drugs is also like no other war we have ever known.
They have taken away some of my freedoms to fight that war. I
don't notice that they have given those freedoms back. Could you
tell me when I might expect the return of those freedoms? Perhaps
when people stop taking drugs?
There will not be an end to end to people's desire to take drugs.
And, there will not be an end to terrorism. So I think you should
be a bit more honest here and admit that you are proposing the loss
of these freedoms for an indefinitely long period of time.
>I took an oath to 'protect and defend the US' and served in the US
> Air Force for four years. I gave up some of my liberties and freedoms so
> that my fellow Americans can enjoy being secure. Once again, I'm called upon
> as an American citizen to make some sacrifices to ensure the security of my
> fellow Americans. I'll gladly make these sacrifices to make sure that you
> are secure in your work place, your home, on your streets, in your skies, and
> in your favorite restaurant. This will not be a permanant loss of freedoms
> and liberties, but only until the enemy is defeated and we as American
> citizens can feel secure once again. The alternative is almost frightening.
> I don't want America to become a battleground where the enemy can strike at
> anytime, anywhere and without warning. For the freedoms that we will enjoy
> in the future, I'm willing to pay the price needed and make those sacrifices
> now.
We certainly need to change the way we do airport security. We
certainly need to pursue and punish those who did this horrible
act. And, we should be trying to organize and encourage the
co-operation of other nations in preventing terrorism.
We do not need to attack a foreign sovereign nation. (That's what
a war is.) And we do not need to bomb Afganistan back to the
stone-age. (They are already there in too many respects.)
This _will_ require sacrifices. But, let's use more intelligence
and less emotion in deciding what to sacrifice and what to do, so
that we do some good and so that we are effective.
I say, let's put some muscle and brains where they will do some
good.
- Dave
>
> Jim
>
> On Thursday September 20, 2001 7:35 am, DOUGLAS HUNLEY wrote:
> > CNN (http://www.cnn.com) is currently running a poll on their front page
> > concerning whether you'd be willing to let the government control more of
> > your life in exchange for a sense of security... Everyone please go
> > register your opinion so the lawmakers can know your true feelings about
> > having your privacy and crypto and civil liberties taken away
> >
> > --
> > Douglas J. Hunley
> > Unix/Linux Admin
> > http://linux.nf
>
>
> --
>
> 12:42pm up 20 days, 19:42, 2 users, load average: 0.02, 0.13, 0.10
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Running Caldera eD2.4 - Linux - because life is too short for reboots...
>
> _________________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://linux.nf -- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Archives, Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, Etc
>->http://linux.nf/mailman/listinfo/linux-users
--
Dave Kuhlman
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________
http://linux.nf -- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archives, Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, Etc
->http://linux.nf/mailman/listinfo/linux-users
