Posted on 02/15/2007 5:03:23 AM PST by Jedi Master Pikachu
To heck with Iraq. I'm a lot more worried about Y3K.
President Bush has said twice in the last two days that he welcomes a free and lively debate. His he lying?
I look at our freedoms as a strength and I believe the only answer to free speech is more free speech. On the other hand, I don't believe that those who disagree with me are any less of an American than I am.
As for Ho Chi Minh or Bin Laden using our system against us, we know that's a factor when we go to war. Unless curbs on our First Amendment rights are declared, we all have to live within the Constitution.
"Free and lively debate"
I think that would be great. President Bush is right again.
The US has won the war in Iraq.
The US is winning the war in Iraq.
Bush has lead an effective war.
Where are these claims defended publicly?
They are not.
94% of all media coverage of Iraq is negative. We are forced to accept the premise that the war is a failure.
There is no debate happening in this country on Iraq. Consequently, we feel comfortable describing our leadership as "delusional." This is facially ridiculous and I have no problem hassling people who want to offer this as 'reasoned debate.'
You will notice that as I have unnecessarily impugned the character of anti-war advocates, they have reacted strongly.
You are completely correct in your post, disagreement is what makes this nation strong. That is not what we are being treated to on Iraq. The media has three V's by which it represents the totality of the Iraq war.
Vietnam, victim, villain. Our troops can be located anywhere in these three categories but nowhere else. Our troops have done NOTHING satisfactory. They have accomplished nothing in Iraq. They are not represented as heroic.
This is a debate?
No-- it is not.
I doubt anyone on this thread or in the entire internet is unaware of this absurd skewage of representation going on with Iraq.
If this is such an awesome discursive system, I am curious to test it against war critics. In every intance I have tested, the war critics have complained that it is unfair.
So what do we do? Sadly the debate has become ridiculously skewed and I feel no resort but to call into question the framing of this alleged debate.
When I see more honest dialogue about this war, I will relent. But for now, all critics of the war get a dose of the current framework medicine.
Its a tough pill to swallow but debate is valuable-- as you have effectively noted.
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