Pacifism and War-Thomas Sowell

townhall.com ^ | Sept.24, 2001 | Thomas Sowell

[Kevin Curry]

Discourse between nations . . .

. . . depends on the charateristics of the nations involved. For some, the "talking cure" is a waste of air, merely a means of buying time until they can triumph using blood and terror.

Well-intentioned fools in the US are determined to doom our citizens to suffer greater numbers of deaths and destruction by assuming that bin Laden et al are "just like us, ony they dress different."

[JMJ333]

At a Labor Party rally where Britain was being urged to disarm "as an example to others,..."

"The fact that slaughter [battle] is a horrifying spectacle must make us take war more seriously, but [it does] not provide an excuse for gradually blunting our swords in the name of humanity. Sooner or later someone will come along with a sharp sword and hack off our arms."-- Carl von Clausewitz

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Possibly, but trust between leaders, a respect for the sovereignty of nations and a mutual goal between nations to root out the truly reprehensible militant terrorists is repairing a decade of platitudes, pushiness (of Madeline Albright), mistrust of our Panderer-in-Chief and our nation. It is an immensely complicated task, but I guarantee that Pres. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Condi Rice understand our international neighbors and the Constitution of the US.

[Faraday]

Sowell's analysis is insightful as always. Nevertheless, I would argue that there are very few "true" pacifists. The Quakers come to mind. While their ideas are wrong-headed, they consistently apply a religious maxim as they see it. The fact is most of those who preach appeasement and "non-violence" in the face of demonstrated aggression and evil, have agendas other than abiding religious admonitions. Some view war as an inconvenience to their exploitation of the their "own" nation, i.e. to redistribute social power and wealth in the name of equality. Others view the capitalist system as the main enemy of the "world's" people. And the enemy of their enemy is their friend, i.e. they are traitors who wish to see our country's institutions collapse to be replaced by their dictatorship. These are variants of socialist ideology and have little in common with pacifists, except in that the pacifists are "useful idiots."

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

The American Catholics have been pretty torn apart by the Pope's early proclamations of turning the other cheek. The faithful are required to accept the Pope's word on an issue as gospel, and I have no doubt that millions of Catholics around the world would have reluctantly followed his will, but the Pope seems to have relented some today. He is stating that the US has a right to defend itself, so Catholics, at least, can breath easier today. (^:

[Faraday]

As I posted on a thread regarding the Vatican's "clarifying" remarks: I'm very happy the pope doesn't think we have to let fanatics slaughter our people. I'm glad Catholics on these boards "care" what the pope says. But it is disturbing that the clearest moral guidance on the issues involved comes not from popes, priests, prelates, ministers, imams, rabbis, or gurus, but from the President of the United States. "The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them."

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

I find the President's moral clarity inspiring. The man is for real. The world has been under assault from the left for decades. Perhaps the church will now find the courage to speak out, to hold with time-honored teachings and not feel intimidated by the ACLU and the ever changing cultural whims and temptations.

[Faraday]

Amen.

[magellan]

By far "The City on the Edge of Forever" was the best Trek episode ever, and perhaps the best science fiction short story ever.

It also was one of the few Star Trek TOS episodes with a less than happy ending.

[Frohickey]

The Republican isolationists in Congress could have accomplished the same thing as the pacifist in the Star Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever." It was largely because of them that we were woefully unprepared for the war.

What do you mean by 'isolationists'? Is it isolationist to let other countries decide for themselves what to do with their industrial output? Is it isolationist to let other countries decide for themselves if they want to subject their citizens to the jurisdiction of a world court that none of them voted for? Is it isolationist to let other countries decide for themselves if they want to join a coalition of countries that ban the tools of self defense to their citizens?

If anything, republicans are pro-business, and when you are trading with others, you are not isolationist. You enter markets, you talk to customers and get their input to make your product much better than your competition.

As far as being unprepared for war. True enough, the defense budget cuts were begun during Pres. George Herbert Walker Bush's term, but the cuts kept on being made all throughout the Clinton administration, when they were people yelling and screaming that the cuts should stop. And Clinton was the one that deployed multiple missions to foreign countries with no stop date or exit strategy in place.

[Countyline]

"What a shame our schools and college neglect history, which could save us from continuing to repeat the idiocies of the past, which are even more dangerous now in a nuclear age."

Parents have a responsibility to educate their children in the important issues in life. If it is re-enforced by the schools, then that's gravy.

[The Southern Right Winger]

Why is Colin Powell Sec. of State instead of Dr. Sowell?

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

I'm beginning to understand that only someone like Colin Powell could have the patience (I'm being kind) to deal with the vast international population of crackpots, barbarians, spoiled children and zealots that have made a habit of exploiting our nation with the help of their leftist American friends and are now having a difficult time being weaned from the dependency and power forged by the appeasement, involvement of the UN (and other "relief agencies") and pandering of the Clinton administration. The Mideast is a tinderbox, post Rodney King spread over an area bigger than our nation, with rioters equipped with massive weapons, and a will to die for Allah. As long as Colin quits contradicting the administration, he may be the very best man for this job (I can't believe I'm saying this (^:)>