America the Terrorist

[Revoltingest]

I do tend to wonder why people are given to making inane comments like this. If the limp argument revolved around government defense contractors, I think the dog just might hunt, however, blaming wars on Exxon and Wal-Mart is about as ludicrous as arguments can get.

I fear it's a more insidious & harder to cure cause than corporate greed...
...tis an attempt by government to do 'good'. And such is the result.

 

[YmirGF]

I fear it's a more insidious & harder to cure cause than corporate greed...
...tis an attempt by government to do 'good'. And such is the result.

That is why I said "might", in that pointing at the defense contractors would, in theory, get more mileage out of the argument. It eventually would still fail, but, one could get a bit further with it than placing the blame on the Imperialistic tendencies of McDonald's, Target and Wal-Mart.

 

[Kathryn]

Right, and the "haves" sit on their gold guarding it with lots of guns.

 

[Revoltingest]

Right, and the "haves" sit on their gold guarding it with lots of guns.

Nah....I'm down to only 3:
- Colt Mustang Pocketlite 380 ACP
- Glock #22 40S&W
- Springfield M1A Supermatch 7.62 NATO
(Yeah...I like accurate auto loaders.)

 

[Keeper of the Secrets]

If OBL is dead, and Taliban has been more or less defeated, what do you think is still reason why US is in ME, still fighting? What is the end game?

The point is that we should never have been there in the first place. Our presence there, our misguided attempt at retribution for the 9/11 attacks, has brought a far greater civillian death toll than the original terrorist attacks. The end will be the same as every other war we have fought, the low and middle class fighting and dying to make a profit for those who never see the battle ground. Pawns being sacrificed to protect the queen.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

The point is that we should never have been there in the first place. Our presence there, our misguided attempt at retribution for the 9/11 attacks, has brought a far greater civillian death toll than the original terrorist attacks. The end will be the same as every other war we have fought, the low and middle class fighting and dying to make a profit for those who never see the battle ground.

I do agree with this. Whatever the reason for the war, it has been a terrible waste.

 

[Acim]

The point is that we should never have been there in the first place.

Again, goes two ways. Whoever attacked on 9/11, shouldn't have done that in the first place.

 

[YmirGF]

I do agree with this. Whatever the reason for the war, it has been a terrible waste.

Especially when one considers that as soon as the Americans pull out, the Taliban will slowly (perhaps quickly) inch their way back into power. That will make the whole horrendously expensive exercise moot. "Yeah, America sure showed them, eh? Whoa."

 

[Riverwolf]

It's true. Real Americans never think, we just......buy stuff.

Indeed. It's why I've pretty much lost what little faith I ever had in America, both right and left sides. By no means do I consider America the worst, or even among the worst, countries in the world; but it's most certainly nowhere near the best. It DEFINITELY has no right to be the world power as it is right now.

I do love that both the right and left sides of the spectrum pronounce that THEY truly believe in American freedom, and that the other side is almost as bad as the Nazis. lol Heck, come to think of it, the relationship between the two can make for great comedy! But that's the real American speaking in me: detachment from the real world in favor of what I find "entertaining" and arbitrarily agreeing with whatever angry host I happen to be listening to at the moment (though, for me, that's usually in regards to whether or not a movie or video game is good).

 

[Otherright]

Make restitution to all innocent people killed in drone strikes

How do you propose we pull this off, and do you think they'd personally care now?

 

[Revoltingest]

By no means do I consider America the worst, or even among the worst, countries in the world; but it's most certainly nowhere near the best. It DEFINITELY has no right to be the world power as it is right now.

It isn't a right. Preeminent world power is simply seized by the country which is willing & able.
As poorly as we handle it, America seems better than the other leading candidates. Woe unto
a world run by Russia or China.

 

[Riverwolf]

It isn't a right. Preeminent world power is simply seized by the country which is willing & able.
As poorly as we handle it, America seems better than the other leading candidates. Woe unto
a world run by Russia or China.

Oh, I'm not saying either of them would be any better. (I don't think they'd ultimately be worse, though.) I'd imagine Chinese or Russian people would agree that their respective countries are the best to run the world, so an American saying America is better than those two isn't really saying much, I'm afraid. After all, woe unto the world as it is right now.

Personally, I think the idea of the world run by any one country is bad(like a country run most eminently by one person); ideally, there'd either be a unity of countries with equal power and influence over each other, or countries wholly independent of the power and influence of other countries. (Though the latter would be better, I think.)

 

[wayward_teen]

How are these for starters?

1. 
   [*]Cut our military budget in half and spend that money on curing disease, famine, hunger and homelessness around the world
   [*]Pull all military aid and forces from every foreign country
   [*]End using third world countries as sweat shops for our goods
   [*]Make restitution to all innocent people killed in drone strikes
   

"Three years before the terrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Robert Bowman, who had flown 101 combat missions in Vietnam... commented on the terrorist bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania:
We are not hated because we practice democracy, value freedom, or uphold human rights. We are hated because our government denies these things to people in Third World countries whose resources are coveted by our multinational corporations... Instead of sending our sons and daughters around the world to kill Arabs so we can have the oil under their sand, we should send them to rebuild their infrastructure, supply clean water, and feed starving children... In short, we should do good instead of evil. Who would try to stop us? Who would hate us? Who would want to bomb us? That is the truth the American people need to hear."

In a year, I will be able to vote, and let me tell you--I would vote for every measure of this plan.

I'm a hardcore pacifist. Now that Bin Laden is out of the picture, I don't see the U.S. as actively threatened and therefore see little reason to spend so much on a military budget.

 

[YmirGF]

How are these for starters

Noble, but the sentiments of ideologues of little consequence.

Cut our military budget in half and spend that money on curing disease, famine, hunger and homelessness around the world

Nice ideas, but a bit impractical. Tell me, are other countries going to cut their military budget's in half? Are you meaning the military budget aside from that sucked dry by the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya?

Pull all military aid and forces from every foreign country

Would this include counties that would like to see Americans bases remain in their country? Why not just cut ALL foreign aid. You're broke. Perhaps countries should be sending foreign aid to the USA. More importantly, who will step in to fill America's shoes?

End using third world countries as sweat shops for our goods

Well, if you manage to convince China to change their labor ethics, that would be a bonus. So, let me get this straight. You want Americans to pay FAR more for all the little things they have become accustom to? You produce virtually nothing anymore. Are you going to slap imports with massive surtaxes or are you going to tell counties how to run their own affairs which, no doubt, will endear Americans to other countries even more......... especially when you are no longer buying their trinkets.

Make restitution to all innocent people killed in drone strikes

This is certainly one of the dumbest ideas I have heard in a long time. How, pray tell, are you going to define "innocent"? You are broke. You don't have wads of cash to give away. It's all an illusion. Think about this. America is borrowing money so that it can give money away. Did you know America is currently giving China foreign aid in 2011. China? You can imagine the disbelief on the face of Chinese officials.

That said, you forgot to mention introducing Green Legislation. Are you a fan of "Cap and Trade". There's a freaking brilliant idea. If you don't know about Cap and Trade, read up on it.

Three years before the terrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Robert Bowman, who had flown 101 combat missions in Vietnam... commented on the terrorist bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

A 9/11 Truther... I'm sorry that just disqualifies his thinking, imo. Yes, believe it or not, there are some highly placed wing nuts out there.

In short, we should do good instead of evil. Who would try to stop us? Who would hate us? Who would want to bomb us? That is the truth the American people need to hear.

The things is, you would still be meddling in the affairs of others. THAT is why people hate America. The rest is posturing. America has to realize a rather lot of people are fed up with hearing what her less than brilliant leaders think... about... pretty much... anything...

 

[Sunstone]

America is exceptional. Other nations will bomb you for their own good. We'll bomb you for your own good. And if you didn't hate us for our freedoms, you'd understand it was for your own good.

 

[sandandfoam]

America is exceptional. Other nations will bomb you for their own good. We'll bomb you for your own good. And if you didn't hate us for our freedoms, you'd understand it was for your own good.

Where are my frubals when I need them.

 

[sandandfoam]

America is exceptional. Other nations will bomb you for their own good. We'll bomb you for your own good. And if you didn't hate us for our freedoms, you'd understand it was for your own good.

I think America is teetering on the edge of a USSR style collapse. I think in another few years China will be the international bogeyman and the US will just be broken.
The EU is going first. Soon.

 

[Kathryn]

Indeed. It's why I've pretty much lost what little faith I ever had in America, both right and left sides. By no means do I consider America the worst, or even among the worst, countries in the world; but it's most certainly nowhere near the best. It DEFINITELY has no right to be the world power as it is right now.

I do love that both the right and left sides of the spectrum pronounce that THEY truly believe in American freedom, and that the other side is almost as bad as the Nazis. lol Heck, come to think of it, the relationship between the two can make for great comedy! But that's the real American speaking in me: detachment from the real world in favor of what I find "entertaining" and arbitrarily agreeing with whatever angry host I happen to be listening to at the moment (though, for me, that's usually in regards to whether or not a movie or video game is good).

Who buys your movies and video games?

 

[Riverwolf]

America is exceptional. Other nations will bomb you for their own good. We'll bomb you for your own good. And if you didn't hate us for our freedoms, you'd understand it was for your own good.

Yup. That's the American attitude in a nutshell. :yes:

 

[Riverwolf]

Who buys your movies and video games?

Uh, I haven't made any movies or video games.