Edmund Storms wrote:
OK, what do you think causes terrorism? Why would an educated
person give up their life to blow up an airplane? These people are
not insane or without love of life, and the 72 virgins reason is
pure propaganda.
I believe the pattern of history is clear on this. The French reign
of terror, the Russian Revolution, the Nazis, the Japanese militarist
of the 1930s and many other terrorist regimes came about when society
began to backslide, because of war or depression or some other
widespread, severe social problem. Such movements are usually led by
educated lower- and middle-class young man felt left out, without
hope, or betrayed. Once the movement starts up, poor people may fill
its ranks, but people like Lenin, Mao, Stalin and the Japanese
officer corps that overthrew democracy in the 1930s were educated.
Ambition and skill that is not channeled into socially beneficial
work goes into destruction instead.
Perhaps it makes things even worse when the fanatics believe in some
sort of violent religion, such as the Japanese emperor worship, or
communism (which was really a religion in 1917), or today's Muslim extremism.
I do not think those 72 virgins are propaganda. I am quite sure most
of the Japanese fanatics actually did worship the Emperor. A number
of the survivors and right wing grandsons still do worship him. It is
creepy and it seems unbelievable to those of us outside the movement,
but it is real. The North Koreans also worship Kim Jong Il.
Of course, starving and ignorant people will not and can not cause
much damage, unless as a mob.
With poor people it is always local.
If a person is smart and educated, they could normally get a good
job and live a happy life.
Not when society is collapsing all around them, and access to
advancement and wealth are cut off by the ruling class. I have read
books describing modern-day Saudi society and the level of corruption
and power grabbing makes Japan in the 1930s look civilized.
Everything which is not nailed down is stolen by the ~20,000 princes
in the Royal family. If you start a company, or open a restaurant in
a shopping mall, and you begin to make a profit, some prince soon
strolls in off the street, gives you a wad of cash amounting to ten
cents on the dollar for your assets, and either you hand over all of
your wealth or you are dead. This is what happens when you
concentrate vast power and wealth in the hands of despots.
What makes these people so angry they would give this up and want to kill us?
Actually, we have little to do with it. It is a fight within these
countries, which is spilling over to us. Our administrations going
back to FDR have contributed by helping these governments crush
opposition, and of course we are the ones who hand over billions of
dollars, and make SUVs to drive up the cost of oil.
I don't believe they hate our freedom and our good life as we are
encouraged to believe.
They say they do! Have you read bin Laden speeches? You can see what
he has to say in books such as, "Imperial Hubris." He is the most
popular man in the Muslim world and millions of people have named
their sons after him and, so I think many people agree with him. I
think they are misguided. Millions of Japanese people agreed with the
militarists too. No doubt the majority of the country did, even
though it was pretty obvious after 1938 that they were dragging the
nation into Hell.
Of course it could. If the US had launched a massive World War II
style effort to fix the problem starting in 2001, oil would be
worth practically nothing today.
Yes, and if the government gave everyone 1 million dollars, we would
all be rich. But like this silly example, such things will not be
done and if they were, other worse consequences would result.
Such things were done in the past when the nation was in crisis. If
FDR or Lincoln were in charge, this and much more would be done now.
I mean immediately, within a week. They would impose a five dollar
emergency wartime gasoline tax, draft a million men & women to fight
the war in Afghanistan (which we are losing), and ban the use of
SUVs. If this is really a war, as the leaders claim, it is their
responsibility to do such things. Wars are never won by
half-measures. The nation would follow I am sure. As Lincoln put it:
"Will not the good people respond to a united, and earnest appeal
from us? Can we, can they, by any other means, so certainly, or so
speedily, assure these vital objects? We can succeed only by concert.
It is not 'can any of us imagine better?' but, 'can we all do
better?' The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy
present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise
-- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and
act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and
this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No
personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of
us. . . . We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know
how to save it. We -- even we here -- hold the power, and bear the
responsibility. . . ."
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/congress.htm
All of that applies as much to the energy/terror crisis today as it
did to the crisis of slavery in December 1862. Then and now, we know
what must be done. We need only summon up the will to *do* it.
And we may yet take action. Don't bet against it! You should never
sell the United States or its people short. The Japanese did in 1941
and look where it got them. Probably more than any other people on
earth, we are capable of doing extraordinary deeds in a short time.
As Edward Grey put it, the United States is like "a gigantic boiler.
Once the fire is lighted under it there is no limit to the power it
can generate."
The only thing we lack are leaders with guts & vision. Leaders who
are not afraid to demand sacrifices from everyone, not just army
volunteers. In the past, such people have often stepped forth when
they were needed. But it has always been a close call. Lincoln nearly
lost the election and FDR had great difficulty securing the
nomination. The people next in line who would have won if they had
lost would have led the nation into oblivion.
- Jed
