Harvey:
Your concerns are right on the money. Over the long haul, we have to _export_
the Bill of Rights, not clamp down on them. Anything less and we won't win the
hearts and minds--anything less and we will deserve to have generations of enemies.
This is the task before us, the citizenry--by which I mean every one _not_
subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, each and every one--to maintain
our freedoms *and* shoulder our responsibilities. To set an example for the world.
Those in the military? Well, they get to gripe, and follow lawful orders.
I am prepared to be very vocal now that the die has been cast; but no secession talk,
no brooding about jackbooted thugs. Noisy honesty is the best policy, along
with ruthless self-examination--"Is this argument necessary?" If it is, I will
not shirk my duty to argue, and speak out, and (in extremis) disobey civilly.
I will not tolerate the corruption of all I hold dear.
MMB
PS: I knew all that Boy Scout upbringing would be good for something someday. :) Fuckin' A.
PPS/tangent:
In the spirit of noisy honesty: It is possible to be cuir and still be "morally straight".
The BSA policy on gays is wrong, but so is using the courts to "fix" it. Both sides should grow up.
Harvey Newstrom wrote:
>
> Greg Burch wrote,
> > <> Consider the confused but dangerous yammering of the "anti-globalists."
> > Where do they stand? Their program of cultural balkanaziation
> > provides the
> > perfect breeding ground for bin Laden's vermin. They are without doubt an
> > unwitting fifth column for his brand of international "cultural
> > terrorists,"
> > because in the deeply divided world they seek to create, Islamic
> > fundamentalism will thrive as a powerful and motivated universalist
> > ideology. Bush defined at least the beginnings of an internationalist
> > mentality that can be premised on values strong enough to
> > withstand both the
> > calls of the critics to step back from progress and the jihad of the armed
> > mullahs. Again, if Bush has begun the process of recasting the West's
> > identity in terms of vigorous self-confidence, then we have indeed seen a
> > "pivotal moment in history".
>
> This is the most important thing. I am proud of the way Bush handled this.
> His speech and planning is the best I have seen from a U.S. president in a
> long time.
>
> However... My fear is that his support is based on the immediate emotional
> reaction to recent events. There are many fundamentalist factions within
> our own country and around the world that don't want to be part of the
> global community. There are religious leaders in this country that do not
> want to protect what they consider to be false religions. There are
> isolationists who do not want to mingle or cooperate with other people. I
> fear that much of the fervor is being driven not just by patriots and those
> fighting for good, but also by those who want to use this as an excuse to
> become more isolationist.
>
> As the years pass, and our targets become more and more diverse, I expect to
> see support waning. After the WTC and Pentagon attackers are dealt with,
> how many people want to risk American lives to stop terrorism in the Middle
> East? How many people want the U.S. to be part of a global task force
> instead of a single military leader? How many people want to increase
> international cooperation, commerce, immigration and trade? There is a lot
> of support now due to selfish U.S. interests. I commend Bush for taking the
> larger and more long-term view of this crisis. However when the immediate
> threat is gone, and it comes time to risk American lives to protect foreign
> cultures from foreign terrorism, I am not sure how strong the American
> resolve will be maintained.
>
> Although this crisis has united Americans and all civilized countries in the
> short term, I am predicting that we will see more desperate retaliation from
> racists, isolationists, nationalist, religionists, and luddites from within
> our own ranks. The attack of religionists against gays, liberals and the
> ACL has already occurred. The battle over privacy and encryption has
> already begun. Battles over due process, search and seizure, and homeland
> security restrictions will be next. This crisis has strengthened the
> resolve various subcultures, but it has also intensified the contrast
> between differing agendas.
>
> --
> Harvey Newstrom <www.HarveyNewstrom.com>
> Principal Security Consultant, Newstaff Inc. <www.Newstaff.com>
> Board of Directors, Extropy Institute <www.Extropy.org>
> Early Supporter, Pro-Act <www.ProgressAction.org>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:54 MDT