vowe dot net :: Exercise in democracy

Exercise in democracy

by Volker Weber

2003-03-05 :: email :: bookmark :: digg

Comments

Here Here!! - but my govenrment still pushing ahead - maybe a rename to not so united nations!

steve

Steve Castledine, 2003-03-05 19:33

Attention anonymous poster from Israel:

Trying to sneak Javascript into my site is considered hostile behaviour. I am afraid, I have to block you from trying this again. Please take your dirty tricks somewhere else. However, if you want to converse in a civilized manner I will accept your apologies by email and unblock you.

Volker Weber, 2003-03-05 21:15

Volker,
Please do understand that there are many of us in the USA who are opposed to war in Iraq (or war in North Korea, or war in Phillipines). These are sad times for many here. I'm not yet convinced that it's even a majority of Americans who support Mr Bush -- just as I'm not convinced that a majority of Brits are in favor of Mr Blair's support of an Iraq war.

Over here (Pacific Northwest of USA) I see many letters to the local press and see reports of many anti-war demonstrations. I am not aware of anyone at my office favoring a war. I hope Mr Blix is successful convincing Bush, et al to allow more time.
OK, enough from me. Just don't want my colleagues around the world to think that all in the US are war-mongers. Quite the opposite.
Peace.

Joe, 2003-03-06 21:10

Joe,

polls in the UK clearly indicate that a majority of the Brits oppose war. As do most (all?) of my American friends. There is also a disturbing trend in the (US-)media telling that Europeans oppose American citizens. That is far from the truth. They basically oppose killing people, and organizations who propose that. That is true in respect to war as well as barbarian acts like the death penalty.

It is quite obvious that those who oppose killing of people can neither be very good friends with some governments (on both sides of this conflict). Only the simplistic logic that if you are not with someone you must be against someone leads to the strange distortions of perception.

To every complicated problem there is a simple answer which is always wrong. Those who offer those simple answers are either stupid or liars.

But there are simple questions: How could the US contain a superpower like the Soviet Union for 50 years but cannot do the same with a third world country like Iraq?

Volker Weber, 2003-03-06 22:15

Volker,
Good points. I've wondered as well what's going on. This article in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0,1300,583869,00.html) from Oct 2001 makes me wonder about profit motive. I *hope* that's not it. And I *hope* that a possible Iraq war is not a case of 'finishing up' Bush Sr's agenda.

Yes, the media can be misleading. Gosh, I reference an article from the Guardian, but anyone can write anything. Personally, I believe what I've read in the Guardian and elsewhere about the Carlyle Group. And I know that the media can certainly state things that differ from my own experience.

As for the media stating that Europeans oppose America citizens, I know this is false. I've been to France, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece and found the people in every city I visited to be absolutely wonderful. This includes Paris, which is often portrayed in the American media as being full of rude Frenchmen. Personally, I can't wait for the opportunity to go back! Granted, this was over a year ago, and much has happened since then. There are, of course, unpleasant individuals in any locale, just as there are fantastic, friendly, and honest people in any locale.

And there are many, many Americans who cheer efforts to promote peace, understanding, and the reduction of brutality worldwide. Many of us applauded the former Governor of Illinois (George Ryan) who recently commuted the death sentence of 167 inmates just before leaving office. This was a realization and an acknowledgement of how flawed the system can be, and how brutal the sentence. Killing is killing, and that is wrong.

Joe, 2003-03-06 23:26

Joe,

if you are ready for some serious reading, then consider this.

Volker Weber, 2003-03-06 23:39

"Serious reading". Understatement. I had a few pieces of the puzzle, but that article really lays it out. A number of years ago, I studied political economy, and it was rather disturbing when one analyzed the reasons for various wars. This is another very disturbing analysis. I worked at Enron and saw the collapse of an 'empire' when the base assumptions on which the empire was greedily built....crumbled. Those of us in the trenches were so ignorant. Hmmmm....

Thank you for providing the link to the article...very illuminating, although it definitely did *not* brighten my day.

God bless blogs.

Joe, 2003-03-07 00:26