Posted on 11/02/2001 11:59:31 AM PST by Starmaker
This question will be construed by many to be unpatriotic, un-American, and simply uncalled for. Many will scoff at the idea that such a question should even be addressed, but I believe it is one that we should ponder. Why? Because we are currently attacking another nation for carrying out acts of mass destruction that pale in comparison to what we ourselves have done.
Before I'm tarred, feathered, and ridden out of town on a rail, let me just say that I support the idea of a legitimate, just, and, yes, even moral war. I believe such a war can and should be declared when the security of the citizens of the United States is directly at risk. After all, the primary job of the federal government, contrary to the modern teachings of liberal and neo-conservative collectivists, is to provide for the common defense of the nation. If the security, liberty, and lives of its citizens are threatened, the government has a sworn duty to eliminate that threat.
Unfortunately, most of the conflicts we have seen in the last century were the result of the federal government ignoring its obligation to the immediate defense of our own nation in order to pursue more global concerns. Can anyone make the case that the conflicts we saw in places like Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, and Bosnia had anything to do with protecting the freedom of American citizens?
Now, the same people who were so quick to send soldiers off to kill and die for democracy overseas while ignoring the government's assaults on our liberty here at home are calling for unity in battling yet another foreign enemy. Perhaps our current predicament calls for some serious self-examination.
In our nationalistic frenzy we have been so intent on rooting out evil overseas that we have failed to notice the sins of our own nation. Again, I ask, what separates the U.S. from the terrorist nations of the world?
Many would say that we have a much greater respect for life and would never consider unleashing the kinds of atrocities we saw on September 11. Attacking innocent civilians with such cold-blooded calculation is beyond our comprehension. This kind of thinking lends credence to the old adage "ignorance is bliss."
During the last "just" war, World War II, the U.S. made it standard military procedure to specifically target civilians. German cities like Hamburg and Dresden were subjected to some of the most intense bombing raids in history. Even Japanese non-combatants in Tokyo could not escape the relentless firebombing. This policy of attacking civilian targets culminated in President Truman's order to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The result of these kinds of attacks throughout the war was a civilian death toll that climbed into the hundreds of thousands. Our government deliberately utilized this kind of warfare in order to strike terror in the hearts of foreign civilians. Sound familiar?
Needless to say, we do not have to look outside our borders for examples of the very evil we claim to loathe. Case in point, abortion. Since the unconstitutional Roe v. Wade decision was handed down by the Supreme Court in 1973, we have witnessed the government-sanctioned murder of over 40 million innocent children. This is an accomplishment that even the worst terrorist nations cannot claim. Why have we failed to unite against this particular evil?
It is understandable that Americans continue to feel outraged by the attacks of September 11. The media guaranteed that all of us had a front row seat to the grim scenes of death and destruction. We could not escape the gruesome images of commercial airliners slamming into skyscrapers, people hurling themselves out of windows to avoid being burned alive, or a million tons of steel and concrete raining down upon victims and rescuers.
Think of the collective outrage that would ensue if we were granted the same kind access to the carnage inside an abortion clinic. Imagine if we were to catch a glimpse of the bloody, twisted heaps of mangled limbs, see babies survive an abortion long enough to be tossed out alive with the rest of the medical waste, or hear the screams of mothers realizing, too late, the devastating consequences of their actions.
Are all these innocent lives worth it? Should we applaud the deliberate killing of over 200,000 Japanese civilians by our atomic bombs because it ended World War II a few weeks ahead of schedule? Are we to just accept the murder of 1.5 million children every year because of our distorted view of individual liberty and personal choice? Do we continue to tolerate the actions of a government that believes it has more important things to do than protect the rights of the innocent?
Foreign civilians, unborn children, national integrity— evidently, these are the sacrifices with which we are willing to live. Such a thing is to be expected when a society adopts an "end justifies the means" philosophy. In doing so, we have only succeeded in demonstrating that we are just as capable as any terrorist nation of committing acts of senseless violence with little or no regard for the sanctity of human life.
So, just what exactly is it that separates the United States from the terrorist nations of the world? Maybe the answer is more elusive than we care to admit.
Doc
You can mentally masturbate on your own.
I apologize to all residents of Texas that you have "tex" as part of your moniker.
You're more Taliban than Texan.
Have to get up pretty early to fool you, I see. No sirree, can't slip one by you. The CIA could use more sharp tacks like you.
"You don't have the guts to post it yourself?"
I take back the "sharp tack" comment. If you had paid the slightest bit of attention you'd have noticed that Starmaker usually takes the initiative in posting the articles from ToogoodReports.com.
"It's drivel, and your continued attempt at moral equivalence (in this article, you say we're WORSE than the terrorists) between America and radical Islamists is disgusting."
Hmmmm. I don't recall saying America was worse than the terrorists, but consider this: Death toll in America due to terrorism in 2001: 6,000. Death toll in America due to abortion in 2001: 1.5 million. Oh, yeah. We're as pure as the wind-driven snow.
When the forecast calls for spotty drivel, you can be sure sinkspur will be there smack dab in the middle of it. I was merely posing a question; a question you avoided addressing. (Big surprise!) Just be glad I didn't include the examples of how Abe Lincoln targeted civilians in the South during the War of Northern Aggression. Do you honestly believe that comparing terrorist attacks to what we've done to innocent civilians abroad and what we continue to do to our own children is wrong? Unlike you, I expect a little more from a government that claims to be the protector of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
"You're not with us, Lee. You're with the terrorists."
Now who's attempting to impose moral equivalence? To say that I'm not with you is a compliment, sir. You and your group of nationalistic, collectivist, government lackeys do not appeal to me. To say that I'm "with the terrorists" is so utterly absurd that I don't even know where to begin. Whenever war is waged there will be civilian deaths. It's a fact of life. But purposely targeting and killing civilians is immoral no matter how you try to justify it.
Thanks for the clarification on who wrote this 8th grade term paper.
Oh, no. Never. Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia......
Who's targeting "innocent civilians", jerkweed?
There ARE no "innocent civilians" in Afghanistan. The Taliban hide among the civilians; the civilians thus become targets.
Cry for these monkeys if you want. 90% of Americans don't, won't, and are united in making an example of those who harbor terrorists.
Do you honestly believe that comparing terrorist attacks to what we've done to innocent civilians abroad and what we continue to do to our own children is wrong?
I do. And, there you go again, trying to draw moral equivalence.
Despicable, Shelton. Absolutely despicable.
Could you please reciprocate and clarify who read it to you?
War. W-A-R. Killing the enemy is the objective.
The only problem, in all of those engagements, is that we didn't kill enough of them.
My 3 year old grandson, he gave you an F.
This is very true. I have seen about 3 threads from this clown and never is there a response. You wanna know why? cause Starmaker is trying to rally up trouble here at FR. i say we all make a pact not to respond to ANTI AMERICA threads from now on. If no one responds hopefully these people will go away.
Despicable....absolutely despicable applies to your pathetic comment here, Sinkspur..... Using your twisted logic, undoubtedly OBL and his terrorist thugs could declare they weren't after anybody in the towers other than fedgov employees and properties; that the Pentagon is a military target; and that the heros on Flight 93 stopped the thugs from hitting that military target again.....it's just that 'those dang fedgov people were hiding among civilians"!!! Take that along with the fact that children have NO CHOICE, your argument becomes not only despicable, but stupid and illogical to boot.
..." Cry for these monkeys if you want. 90% of Americans don't, won't, and are united in making an example of those who harbor terrorists"...
Makes sense that 90% of Amerikans don't or won't cry for 'these monkeys' as you call the Afghani innocents.....why should we---we're too damned busy killing our own babies cause their own mothers don't want to 'harbor' them! Even if your statistic of 90% is accurate, it doesn't mean diddly squat--the majority of Amerikans, as I recall, wanted the Pervert to stay in office....and the majority voted the Pervert in office twice!! Sometimes theres no excusing the opinions of Amerikan sheeple!
What's got your shorts all in a wad on comparing anything to anything....according to you, Sinkspur, there are NO innocents. How arrogant. Do you ever wonder if Mohammed says something about "there being no innocents"?
...."Come on, spinky. Show me the money."....
Somehow or other, I get the feeling he'd rather discuss masturbating!!! :)
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