This is a touching and, ironically, a from-the-heart answer. But where are the counter-arguments from the head?
Gary Smith wrote: > This is the problem with many liberal writers-they make statements from > the heart, regardless of whether they back up their statements with > facts, or if those facts are correct. > First off, the president has shown himself not to be a "mental > lightweight." Second, where is the evidence that Cheney is an "evil > power", especially when no actual misdeeds have been shown at Haliburton > Oil? Third, Rumsfeld never was a senator, perhaps the author should try > looking up in the dictionary the difference between Secretary of Defense > and Attorney General???? > So, if anyone is a "lightweight" here, it is the author of the article. > I know we USAmericans do have an enormous patriotism (at times), but we > also have a lot of suspicion. Isn't it interesting that discussions on > whether we should go to war with Iraq are right or not are going on in > this country? A blind patriot wouldn't have such discussions going on. As > for "evil", I'll bet this guy still supports Clinton as a great > president. And how about those Democratic senators involved in Enron and > Global Crossing? Are they "evil" also? If you're going to call one person > evil, then you at least need to be consistent. Finally, show you've at > least done some homework (who was this guy's copy editor, to let such > slop slip through?), and get the facts straight. > > I'm a historian (among other trades), and I've not only seen Ken Burns' > Civil War, but I've read several studies on it. yes, it was a tragedy. > But massive deaths on both sides only shows the tragedy of war, not its > justification. The North fought for union and to defeat slavery, while > the South fought for states' rights and to keep their slaves. All very > key issues for anyone calling himself an American. But a Canadian may not > fully understand that, as Canada has never had to struggle with slavery, > states' rights, or a major fight to maintain its unity. It's kind of like > an American today not understanding poverty or slavery, because we just > don't have it as drastic as other nations, unless they travel and live in > another place for some time and learn to appreciate it. I like what > ex-Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver said when he returned from Russia, > "there is more freedom in an American jail than on the streets of > Moscow." > > Should cost only be counted in body bags? What is the total value of > freedom from terror, or to maintain our sovereignty? Ten body bags? > Twenty? One hundred? Or should we just curl up in a corner and accept the > idea that no amount of body bags are worth the cost of freedom. > > Americans do not honor war. Americans honor freedom and those who defend > that great treasure, which only a minority of homo sapiens enjoy in this > world. Flags fly, because unlike the flags of other nations (including > Canada's), ours represent our freedom and vision. It is a vision that has > endured since Thomas Jefferson inked those sacred words on a piece of > parchment: "We hold these truths to be self-evident...life, liberty, and > the pursuit of happiness." > > Few nations have made a love of freedom so innate with the human spirit > as have Americans. This inspires some, and infuriates many who do not > have the same vision. The French, who seek equality and brotherhood, > cannot understand what real freedom is. This is why their revolution > failed. Most nations do not have a Jefferson or a Thomas Paine. Few have > men who are anything but "summer soldiers" that sneak home when the > winter chill is in the air. Few have a group of men willing to sign their > death warrants on such a parchment as the Declaration of Independence, or > to truly seek that freedom for all men; allowing that freedom to expand > to other groups not originally included, such as blacks and women. Today, > there are many nations that still have slaves, and that still treat women > like dogs. We stand as symbol which those nations hate. Should we be > ashamed of the truth and light we've brought to the world? "A city on a > hill cannot be hid, neither does one light a candle and place it under a > bushel." > > Perhaps what irritates me most is liberal duplicity and using the Iraq > war as an extension of their (and in this case, Canadian) vanity. > > K'aya K'ama, > Gerald/gary Smith gszion1 @juno.com http://www > .geocities.com/rameumptom/index.html > "No one is as hopelessly enslaved as the person who thinks he's free." - > Johann Wolfgang von Goethe > > Marc quoting article: > On the other hand, we have the axis of Bush-Chaney-Rumsfeld. What a > triumvirate. The President is a mental lightweight. The Vice President > is the evil power behind the throne, the man who walked away from his > insider misdeeds at Halliburton Oil. (Remember too that two of the three > of the sacred triumvirate are oilmen.) Then there is Rummy. He has > visions of some kind of military sugarplums dancing in his head. He is > and was a devout right-wing fundamentalist who lost his senate seat to a > dead man's wife....Perhaps what irritates me most is that the Iraq war is > an extension of > American vanity. > > ________________________________________________________________ > > Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today > > Only $9.95 per month! > > Visit www.juno.com > > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// > /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland “We do not think that there is an incompatibility between words and deeds; the worst thing is to rush into action before the consequences have been properly debated…To think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one’s unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action.” – Pericles about his fellow-Athenians, as quoted by Thucydides in “The Peloponessian Wars” Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
