From: Brett Paatsch (paatschb@optusnet.com.au)
Date: Sun May 04 2003 - 01:37:37 MDT
Ron writes:
> In a message dated 5/3/2003 8:51:44 PM Central
> Standard Time, paatschb@optusnet.com.au writes: In my opinion
> the distrust is not anti-American. It is the distrust of the
> disenfranchised and the disempowered. It is the same sort of
> sentiment that caused an earlier generation of Americans to go to
> war to assert their rights not to be taxed (governed) without being
> represented.
>
> Brett,
> You have to understand that many serious and sincere
> Americans read statements like that and in fact as your entire set
> of comments as being largely an attempt to sell America a big piece
> of phony baloney.
I'm struggling a bit trying to conceptualise the big piece of phoney
baloney :-) but I think I get your drift.
> You have to also understand that many serious and sincere
> Americans saw a threat out of Sadaam and out of the Al Qaida.
> We do not intend to live under that threat.
I understand that.
> I am truly sorry to find myself on the opposite side of this
> question from you but if you wish me to join you then you will
> have to offer me more than either to stand nobly silent while my
> throat is cut or to wring my hands and exclaim "woe is me, I am
> so bad" while you and others mouth a propaganda campaign
> against my country.
I am not trying to "mouth a propaganda campaign against" your
country Ron. But I do think you hit on a home truth that others
have hit on before as well. Ultimately if there is to be international
law that means anything someone has to be able to convince
ordinary voting Americans that that is something *they* should care
about. They are empowered to hold their elected representatives
to whatever standard they set, the US government does not
represent the rest of us. That is no sledge. For the most part the
US government does not even claim to represent the interests
of the rest of the planet. Nor is it obvious to me why they should
unless it is in the interests of their citizens.
If the UN is a defunct farce and an impediment to real international
law emerging then perhaps the sooner it is ditched the better.
Brett
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sun May 04 2003 - 01:48:13 MDT