A poem by me

"Hater"

You're the hater, so why should I care?
You crush them all with your wealth and power
But when it happens to you, you're all so scared
You don't know what it is to cower

So you unite, and pretend it's okay
That thousands more will die by your hand
If the enemy fights back and destroys us all
It's because of your own demands

I wish you were right
Then it would be much easier
To pin the blaim
But no one is right
It's just in our nature
Our demons will never be tamed

I hate what we all have become
Because I know it will only end
When there is no more world to destroy
No more bombs to send

No more life, only death
But then, that's what we wanted...

Isn't it?

Still nope....

Sorry Lynchy...you keep saying it over and over again, but I still think there ARE certain things that are worth fighting for, and this meets all the criteria. If YOU want to keep getting punched in the nose, I can probably find some sadists who can accomodate your desire, as that personality type is quite prevalent. Myself and most others tend to react when pushed, and although you see an endless cycle of violence because of it, I see the beginning of a new phase of world interaction. If NO ONE tolerates this type of activity, then it will eventually become less popular, and may actually die out. Only way to find out is to address the issue, not hope they won't "do it again" because it was so wrong and horrible. There WILL be casualties on many sides, but in the long run, these actions may save millions of unborn lives....your way merely rewards them and encourages more groups to poke whoever offends them and what they believe is the right way for the world to exist. Nope and nope again...you have to stand your ground at this point and actually DO something that isn't polite or pleasant. Q

Hear, hear, Qjakal...John Lennon's "Imagine" is being played a lot these days, and I put it to everyone: ironically, while war is being undertaken in the Middle East, we as a world actually stand closer to John Lennon's dream than we ever have before, for the very reason that so MANY of the world's people are on the same side in saying that the sort of terrorism seen in New York and Washington is wrong, and will always be wrong, no matter what cause it serves. This isn't just one side condemning a particular act; this is pretty near everyone. I'll concede that maybe it had to happen in America to wake us Americans up, but I'm gratified to see how people who will either condone it or -- by their passivity -- allow it to happen are very much in the minority.

This was not an easy decision for political leaders. Sending young men and women to potentially die in a foreign war is the toughest decision any rational political leader is called upon to make (especially in a democracy). The easy decision would have been to "negotiate" with the Taliban and bin Laden and let them have all that they desire, in the hopes that maybe the mean people would go away and leave us alone. In that instance, no matter how well-intentioned we were, we would earn only their contempt, and we would then, rest assured, NEVER know peace -- nor would we deserve it.

Philosophy Lesson

What to do when you encounter a peacenik in full cry:

1) Approach individual talking about "peace" and saying that there should be "no retaliation."
2) Engage in brief conversation, and ask if he feels military force is ever appropriate.
3) When he says "No", ask "Why not?"
4) Wait until he says something to the effect of, "Because that would just cause more innocent deaths, which would be awful and morally wrong."
5) When he's in mid-sentence, punch him in the face and knock him down.
6) When he gets back up to punch you, point out that it would be a mistake and contrary to his values to retaliate, because it would "just continue the cycle of violence."
7) Wait until he agrees that he has pledged not to commit additional violence.
8) Punch him in the face again, harder this time.
9) Repeat Steps 5 through 8 until he understands that sometimes it IS necessary to strike back.

Strelnikov