h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Re Post 17

Alec, it was in Post 9 when I posted, "I assume you mean counselling"

"and these people are at universties" ??????? Where do you get that assumption from? I'm not & never have.

Besides, spelling and grammer are only important in entires for the Guide. I'm sure some of the other researchers who posted in that thread before me noticed the spelling error, just too polite to say so, guess that makes me impolite eh.

Fishy

RE: Nationalism vs. Patriotism.... I think it's pretty hard for the U.S. populace to tell the difference, when, since the early 1800s, the mindset of many was to live and die for "my country, right or wrong". That sort of appeal/ideal blurs the line between nationalism and patriotism and.... other scary scary -isms!!!!

Where I come from patriotism is a word used by rightwing extremist organisations, neonazis for example. So for me it is totally weird that being a patriot could be any thing good. To me it is a way of telling others that "we think we are better than you"
Let us be one people, on our only planet -regardless of borders and citizenships!
I´m not american, I hope that I one day can say that I´m proud to be a humanbeing...

no im not im sick of are slow slow here we go to war

if i had the power i wood had blown afganastan in to the sea 30 mins after 9/11

I'm proud that my country's leader (Bush, who I did not vote for) has shown the courage to remind the international community of its obligations.

I'm proud that a majority of Americans support his recent efforts.

The U.N. adopted resolutions in the interest of global peace, and did not back them up with any credible threat of force.

Bush has given the U.N. a chance to reclaim its credibility, and the thanks he gets is being called a war-monger.

If the U.N. isn't prepared to back up its word, it should remain silent. Actions, not words, will keep the peace.

"if i had the power i wood had blown afganastan in to the sea 30 mins after 9/11"

Afghanistan's landlocked.

Obviously I'm not proud of many pro-Bush Americans who lack basic knowledge about the world, but you must admit that most peace protesters are just as ignorant. And I doubt the situation is different in Europe.

lake Afghanistan

the pont was that we do things to slow

Hermmm... like being involved in WWII!!??

The Butcher, I think you are wrong.
I believe that most people marching for peace on my side of the Atlantic either think that the world has seen enough of war and suffering and/or they are just fed up with the arrogance of American foreign politics; Cuba, Vietnam, Chile, Nicaragua, Kyoto treaty, participation or not in the international court for warcrimes etc, etc

yes that was to slow a one shot war is the best war like the one shot that mars pulled on us when thay sent L.H.O to kill J.F.K

I am not about to defend all the errors we've made in foriegn policy. However, I think it's quite worthwhile to note that in cases where we saved territory from communist rule (S. Korea, S. Vietnam), the people there are much happier and prosperous than their cousins under communist rule.

But no, we don't always get it right. Cuba is a good example. Latin America is also a mess.

But that's not relevant to Iraq today.

In this case, the world decided, through the U.N., that Saddam should disarm. Yet except for a few good allies (notably Britain), none of them are offering anything to back up their word.

If the U.N. is willing to be taken seriously, they must learn to back up their word. If they aren't, I say they should step aside and stop pretending to be important. But I won't be ashamed that the USA is showing the strength of character to enforce the moral authority of the world court, and I'm upset that the talkers (France, Germany) are criticizing the USA for following through on something they started.

When things get rough, you find out who your friends are. I'm proud of Tony Blair, just as much as my own president.

And if what you're concerned about is war and suffering, then imagine a world in which we wimp out and let Saddam sell chemical and biological weapons to terrorists, or just uses them on the Shi'a muslims and Kurds in his own country.

Sometimes you must take part in a distasteful act to prevent worse things from happening in the future. Remember the problems with Hitler in WWII? Remember when we tried to play nice w/ North Korea?

N. Korea is a good example of why we have to prevent madmen like Hussein from running amok. We let Kim Jong-Il develop nukes, and now we have a *major* problem on our hands. Would you like to be facing another Kim Jong Il? I think not.

It's tough to take a stand sometimes, but it's better in the long run.

I agree that we MUST do something, but I am not convinced that war is the best answer.

I fear it may be too easy for you, Researcher 220347, to feel passionately about America taking action, because-- and I may be overly assuming-- you have never had to be a refuge from your own country. I assume you live in the States, and I have to ask: How ould you like it if a great superpower started attacking your home, and you were forced out of this country that you love and regard so highly?

Why do you think the U.S. is so jusitifed in attacked Afghanistan as well as Iraq? Is everyone there a terrorist? And how do you know?

*refugee

Nothing else worked with the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Nothing else has worked Saddam Hussien. He's ingored and tapdanced around mulitple UN resolutions and more importantly the terms he agreed to when he surrenedered.

If there are refugees from Iraq, the only way they're ever going to go back is to invade Iraq. Once the country is stabliaized, then Iraqi refugees may be willing to return. They're not going to want to go back now. They're running from the current government. I remember having to chase some of them away from our column when we were leaving Iraq.

Obviously not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan is a terrorists. Most of the population is innocent, but that's irrelevant. What is relevant is the nation's leaders do (or in the case of Afghanistan did) support terrorism. I hate it for them, just as I would have hated it for the Germans in WWII. They didn't want all this mess, but their government can't be toppled any other way.

Yes, US citizen a darn well proud of it.

Voted for Bush and think hes' doing a fine job.

Just wanted to get that out of the way.....aim personal attacks to my "Home"!

First off, the US IS NOT a democracy, we're a republic. Theres' a good bit of difference there.

The above stated points about why we are backing up the UN's inabilaty to enforce its'own rulings I agree with.

We are a "Catch 22" nation. If we don't do anything, we don't care...if we do, we are warmongers......would someone PLEASE make up your minds!?

NM

I have to take issue with 220347's as well. There's not much basis there of a real argument.

Once again, though, I think we could look at Vietnam and Korea as examples. Even Japan, in some respects, is the economic power it is today because of the reconstruction and re-alignment of principles US policy put in place post WWII.

That doesn't mean much to those who lost lives or family in the war, though.

Think about this:

In harsh regimes, the populace is generally lied to about conditions outside. Most arab nations have a press that essentially blames the US for all the economic problems resulting from poor leadership.

Do those people understand that democracy and freedom is good for them? Who knows. Their view of western-style freedom and democracy is completely warped by nationally sponsored propaganda painting the west as devils out for blood.

What we'd like to see is a world of free, economically robust countries. We want Iraqis to be free to go about their business, unafraid of being taken by the police and tortured and imprisoned.

The problem is that Iraqis, largely because outside news is forbidden (satellite dishes are illegal), only know what the government-sponsored propaganda machine will tell them. So of course they think the USA wants to steal their money, kill their children, and rape their women. But we really just want them to live free, elect reasonable leaders, and cooperate in a global, peaceful community of nations.

Given that they have bad information, they can't really be expected to know this. Of course they hate us.

"However, I think it's quite worthwhile to note that in cases where we saved territory from communist rule (S. Korea, S. Vietnam), the people there are much happier and prosperous than their cousins under communist rule."

I'd be curious to hear the opinions of people in Ho Chi Minh city, or from the Korean survivors of the massacre at No Gun Ri.