On Thursday 13 September 2001 12:39 am, Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote: > Mr Buckner, > > This is exactly what I was after -- a _constructive_ rebuttal based on > fact, not hearsay, emotion or "experience". As I have tried to make clear, > there is never _one_ view of things, particularly in the social sciences > (such as this). You obviously believe differently to myself, and you have > been able to articulate your views clearly. For that I applaud you. In > contrast to what some may think, it was never my intention to force my view > upon others, but rather to convince people to be more open-minded about > such matters. I have reread the portions of my posts which you have quoted, > and I have taken note of some of your observations so that I may learn from > them. While you make some very valid points (supported by some good > evidence), I cannot agree with most of your argument. Nevertheless, I > respect your view, for it is clear that you have carefully thought it over. > > > Regards, > > Sridhar. > Sridhar (if I may call you that, and I would like to in light of your response), Thank you for your response. In my view, and, from your post I believe in your view as well, there is no "right" answer on the issues we have discussed. I am very glad that you are willing to consider the points I have tried to make, and have no problem at all if you decide to reject them after consideration. What I really wanted, and want, is to open a dialogue with each of us considering the other's point of view, recognizing that reasonable minds may differ. I hope that, as events go forward, you will keep in mind the points I have tried to make and continue to evaluate and re-evaluate their merits. Just to provide you with some context, I was actually shocked at the depth of feeling that recent events and your posts have evoked in me since I have spent most of my life complaining about my government's policies. I was one of the hippies in the streets in the late 1960's protesting my government's stance in Viet Nam. I was one of the happiest people alive when Nixon was impeached. In short, I am a very unlikely person to post to a newsgroup a defense of my country's policies and actions. Watching the film of the attack on 9/11, and reading your posts, however, have caused me to think very hard on the US and how I feel about my country. Doing so reminded me that I truly do love my country. I doubt that any country, other than perhaps the USSR, has ever lived under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation, something I have not thought about for a very long time. When I was six, seven, and eight years old (the late 1950s and very early 1960s), we used to have drills in school about what to do in the event of a nuclear attack (obviously from Russia since, at the time, no one else had nuclear weapons). During those drills, we were to get under our desks at school. Today, we all know that the idea that we would survive a nuclear attack if we got under our school desks, but we would not if we failed to do so, is ridiculous. In fact, the whole idea is so silly that it led to parody charts setting out all the steps we followed during our drills and adding one more step: in the event of nuclear attack, we should follow the steps we practiced in school and, after doing so, we should bend over real far and "kiss our a$$s goodbye." That thought -- that we could be annihilated by the USSR -- always colored US policy before the end of the Cold War. It also, undeniably, led to some bad choices about who to support in certain other countries. I still do not believe those choices were made in bad faith or out of unreasonable selfishness. I think those choices were made out of fear and self-preservation. In any event, I am delighted by your post. From a different post, I see that you are young. Being young is the best thing so long as you keep an open mind, evaluate new facts as you receive them, and constantly reevaluate your views based on information as you receive it. Please don't formulate opinions now and believe that you must defend them as a matter of personal honor. You are obviously an intelligent person; use that intelligence to constantly acquire new facts, to evaluate those facts objectively, and to modifiy your views, if appropriate, based on new information. Please understand that the people of the United States. like the people of every country I have visited, are, individually, well-meaning. That is why indiscriminate terrorist attacks are so bad. I am glad we had this dialog. I truly would be interested in citations to reading material that you believe supports the viewpoints you have expressed as I think consideration of other viewpoints, even if you regard them as wrong, is always a useful intellectual exercise. To be honest, if I disagree with those materials, I would enjoy the exercise of reviewing them and deciding in my own mind why they are wrong. Please feel free to provide me with such references by e-mail off the list. Regards, Rich
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