Rift ? or Ripple ? over the Great Pond ? 6/7/2004 2:38:26 PM
The following is a copy of an E-mail which I sent to Stanford University, as a result of reading a Forwarded "link" from our own illustrious Elizabeth Lucas-Taylor. The Article was entitled: "Neo-conservatives and the American Mainstream" and was written by Zachary Selden.
See link which follows to read article:
http://www.policyreview.org/apr04/selden.html
What are YOUR feelings? Dear Tod, et al:
First, let me say that this article was very well done. Oft-times, it is most difficult, to say the least, to present such controversial issues with factual evidence, and yet be non-offensive to either side of the "proverbial coin." Mr. Selden has done an excellent job in achieving this end. As only one miniscule American citizen, with only "one man's opinion" I should like to express my feelings on this so-called "rift" in the Great Pond, viz:
1. Someone wiser than I once wrote: "The definition of insanity is to commit the same mistakes, over and over again." So let us consider some of that HISTORY - Obviously, Europe learned nothing the first time around, with Kaiser Wilhelm, and World War I.
Then came WWII, supposedly, the "War to End All Wars!" Adolph Hitler was a vile, evil, murdering madman. Maybe America did wait too long to get involved - BUT - were it not for American intervention there would be NO Europe as we know it today! American money, supplies, equipment, determination, perseverance, and BLOOD - saved the "arses" of England, France, and ultimately, Germany itself, not to mention other smaller, but just as important sovereign countries!
2. Although mistakes were definitely made by the "Allied Forces" in many of the dealings with Joseph Stalin and the Communist Party ( he was no "picnic" either ) and the Soviet Bloc and the Berlin Wall were allowed to continue suppressing ANY form of liberty, social, individual, or otherwise, for many years, and was referred to as: "The Cold War" - ultimately, said wall did come down, and said party became a Russian "Nightmare" that finally ended also. Again, with the intervention and HELP of American resources! No small task either!
3. The FAILURE of President George Bush Senior, as well as Congress, and our so-called "Allies" at the time, to SEARCH and DESTROY until they found Sadam Hussein, to bring him to justice during or following "Desert Storm" was a mistake which only postponed the INEVITABLE! He was, is, and ever shall be just as heinous as "Der Fuhrer" ever was !!! The sooner he is tried, convicted, and EXECUTED - the better the world will be!
No matter what reasons, confabulations, hidden agendas, or excuses are made, ad infinitum - I personally thank GOD that the son, Junior, FINISHED THE JOB, albeit a decade LATE!
4. WHY can not the so-called "intelligentsia" of this Great Blue Marble FATHOM the sheer, basic tenets of HUMANITY? HUMAN RIGHTS? If the world were a playground loaded with little innocent children, and BULLIES were beating them up, or taking their lunches, or stealing their money, or even worse - maiming, abusing, and murdering them - there would be a UNIVERSAL OUTCRY - loud enough to be heard in Heaven! BUT - Countries, and Political parties, and so-called "experts" would rather "turn the other cheek" OR "play ostrich" OR waste time having meetings to discuss the merits or demerits of prompt intervention to do what is R-I- G-H-T --- SAVE HUMAN LIVES !
To this end I can offer only a CHALLENGE - WHAT IF - it was YOUR WIFE/HUSBAND , or YOUR CHILDREN, or YOUR PARENTS, or YOUR FAMILY - would you really "Dilly- Dally?" I THINK NOT!
5. Finally, the so-called "Mid-East Crisis" - what an act of sheer STUPIDITY - just like the more recent American "Hill-Billy" feuds between the Hatfields and McCoys, BOTH the Israeli's and the Palestinians ultimately came from the LOINS OF THE SAME FATHER - and here they are, MILLENIUMS later, still fighting over the same Birthright! DUMB ? Remember what I said earlier about INSANITY?
In closing, I would like to take the "liberty" of posing one more "What If" scenario - How about we just "NUKE" ALL the OIL FIELDS in ALL FOREIGN COUNTRIES ? Then all the avarice- ridden: American corporations, Arabs, Iranians, Iraqis, Jordanians, whatever could stop RAPING the rest of the world, while a handful of Despots and CEOS could count their money, AS IT GLOWED IN THE DARK !!!
GEE, maybe even Scientists, and Engineers, and "Big Brother" and all those other so-called "experts" could put their heads together and actually produce SAFE and EFFICIENT alternative energy sources, like: SOLAR ENERGY, ELECTRIC POWERED CARS, WINDMILLS - rather than "playing ostrich" and pretending that they DON'T KNOW how the petroleum and automobile industries - BUY OUT and then BURY patents that could change the world for the better! WOW - what a Novel idea, huh? DUH !!!
In short, Abe Lincoln stated the case very well: "You can fool some of the people some of the time, and all of the people some of the time - but, you can't fool all of the people all of the time!" Stereo-typing, labelling, name-calling, whatever - will always be around because of human nature - but this "rift" between America and Europe will ultimately be "soft as silk" again someday.
WHY? Because eventually the rest of the world will wake up and realize another irrevocable fact about American History - about Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight Years Ago, our Forefathers said to King George: "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !!!" Amazingly, we haven't had a despot, or a monarch SINCE !!! Yeah, we have "The good, the bad, and the ugly" - but there ain't enough tea in china to make me want to live anywhere else on god's green Earth!
