I never believe anyone who feels compelled to state this, especially on an internet forum. Just say what you have to say. As long as you don't come up with some mindless caterwauling about "Ron Paul is not a conservative" and base it on some cerebrally vacant jabber about "fighting terror" to justify that stupid stupid lie, then you won't find me challenging your IQ. We might disagree, but that is what the internet is for.
The world did not start on 9/11, and I truly doubt any conservatives think that. But it did change,
No, it did not. The only thing that really happened was that many Americans looked at a map of the ME for the first time, and maybe googled "islam" We have been dealing with murderous islamofascists since 622 AD, and Islam has always been hegemonistic, totalitarian and repressive. Charles Martel, Charlemagne, St. Bernard, John Quincy Adams, Gen Pershing and a whole stream of other historical luminaries could have told us everything that supposedly "changed the world." 9/11 was a tragedy, and woke us up to the fact that islamofascism is potent, sinister and deadly. That awareness has as much to do with our present "war on terror" as goose farts on the riverbank in July have to do with the price of foi gras.
I find no fault with the idea of a “war on drugs” or a "war on crime" and least of all a "war on terrorism", I find fault in their execution.
Statists never do. It is never the idea that centralized power is doomed to fail from its mistakened premises. It is always "we just don't have the right people in there." This is the same crap we have been getting from the great society statists for 40 years. "Conservatives" have just chimed in on the second and third verses.
Did you know that the DEFINITION of a fascist is a patriotic statist?
We are a global economy, for better or worse. We have to play the foreign affairs game,
We have been in a global economy since at least 1880 (when the first US bank scares caused economic disruption in Europe), and no we do NOT have to play the foreign affairs game. I have traded international currencies for the better part of 20 years now, and for a living for the last 12. I would wager that I know as much (or as little!) about the vagaries of foreign economic interrelationships as almost anyone. I have to. I go broke if I don't (and sometimes when I do!). I for one am really sick of hearing that chorus, as though it invalidated the most basic premise of foreign affiars..... mind your own damn business until someone MAKES their business your business. Then kill em, kill em all and make Ibrahim turn to Uzbellah in the smoking cinders AS WE LEAVE! and say "by Allah, we will NOT try that sh*t again with these people." Strength, power, resolve, and self defense does NOT require that we engage in some halfassed attempt to install "democracy" in an islamofascist society. ...... Especially when it involves propping up known DAWA party terrorists in the "democratic" Iraqi government. Yeah, we are "fighting terrorism" by supporting the scum who helped FORM hisbollah in Lebanon and helped mastermind the murder of our marines in Lebanon. Wrap yourself in the flag and listen to another round of Toby Keith if you want to. I prefer to face the reality of murderous Islamofascism whose goal is world domination through something besides the prattle of a clearly bankrupt policy.
Which leads me to another point. I will never imply that Ron Paul’s stance is not conservative, indeed the only real issue I have with him is that he strikes me as being a tad to isolationist for my tastes and I don’t follow his stance on the “WOT”. There are a few other nits I may have but they escape me right now.
up.
And Indeed for many Americans the world did change after 9/11, and in the way and for the reasons you state. The perception of what was important shifted, and perception is reality for many. The learned there is a ME and they don’t really like us. I concur with you list of luminaries ( I am especially fond of Blackjack’s approach, the real one, not the pig’s blood crap.) But you know as well as I do that the average American is a visual person, and even at that, 6 years later they forget. I shudder to think what it will take to “lock in” what you an I know from history.
I stand by my statement about the “war on” trilogy, but understand my point before you label me a statist. The idea of not being robbed by a “crack head” (which has happened to me) is a good one. We must have some form of control because people are, well people. I think that any government creation should allow for and augment my pursuit of happiness. If I am doing what I am supposed to, leave me the hell alone. However I need help to protect myself from those who wish to rob me of said pursuit, mainly due to being out numbered. I have a gun and am not bad with it, but if 1000 crack heads were breaking into my house, well I ain’t that good. We have a government that was formed to support the Constitution and defend our rights. Here is were the problems lies. if the “War on drug” was a slogan for really getting in and busting up the drug cartels, clearing the streets, serious prison and rehab etc. then it would have been dandy and very possibly the crack head would not have stolen my Suburban a few years ago and I could pursue a large amount of happiness due to the cargo space. So in the end I agree with you on the out come, but as an idea, it made sense. Of course once anything seems to hit today’s politicians sense seems to be in short supply.
Same thing I see with the WOT. Execution, well it sucks. I agree with you that building democracies over there is a waste, Islam has no frame of reference for that ideology. I can’t figure what Bush is up to. I did like the noble idea of it all, and it seemed that there was a move a foot 2-3 years ago for real democratic reform sweeping across the region from Lebanon to the gulf. But they still are not ready to “change the spots” in the ME.
The problem I have is that for ill or naught we have become involved in these regions, mainly due to the fact that they have at least one major resource we need until someone in DC gets us drilling here again, and THEY chose to attack us. Hell we have been making them money in the ME. If it was not for our oil need, it would still be a desert with several tents propped. Of course to guys living in cave, not a big deal.
So we differ on approach and perhaps to our interpretation of what conservatism is. All is good.
Oh, except I like Toby Keith. Just sayin’.