Posted by Jeff from bgp01107368bgs.wbrmfd01.mi.comcast.net (68.42.59.180) on Friday, August 02, 2002 at 11:23PM :
In Reply to: Between Two Kurds And A Hard Place posted by pancho from ? (64.94.93.158) on Friday, August 02, 2002 at 6:32PM :
...that I met today. He's young, not like me, maybe in his early thirties or late twenties. He was reading the paper and started raising his voice... "300 BILLION DOLLARS FOR THE PENTAGON???"
After which I corrected him, not only did they get 300 billion, but another 30 billion in simple "emergency funds". What does that mean??
Then, I noticed a large poster on their fridge which had a picture of the WTC in flames and in big bold letters something to the effect of "Your own leaders are killing you". Below it, it explained not only that US foreign policy has for years supported the worst dictatorships around the world, but also about how the US trained Bin Laden, sent Iraq weapons, etc, etc. It went on and on, and it was all correct. I'm not knocking America per se, it's important to point these things out.
So, I made a comment to him about the poster and we began to speak in depth about the Bush/Shrub election grab, the military industrial complex, Bush and Cheyney the oil men, corporate greed, etc. etc. He said something which reminded me of what you always say...what you just said in this very post that I am responding to. He said that he blames Christianity for our (not "Assyrians", but humans in general) poor, miserable condition on this earth, specifically referring to the environment.
He noted that the Earth is being polluted by those same corporations, those same weapons manufacturers, and the Christians just say "Well, it's ok if we die because of all of this pollution because then we can be reunited with grandpa and uncle Bill who died so long ago" and he held his hands out and looked to the sky.
He said that he reads the "regular" paper, which he refused to call journalism for the majority of these papers are owned either by the corporate interests, or worse, and said that he compares these papers with underground (I assume that means ultra left wing) newspapers and decides for himself what to believe. Everybody does have an agenda.
I just think it's amazing that you and he, generations apart, can be patriotic in this way, by exercising the very freedom that some wish to curtail, criticism... because only by helping other Americans realize this horrible situation, by educating them, will they realize just what is going on and help to reverse the trend.
-- Jeff
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