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re: rural america
1 apr 1999
tgb wrote:
> as to my proposition that america is therefore not "greedy" ....
>
>> au contraire. americans have been very greedy, and very ugly.
>> it's time to become respectful world neighbors and recognize
>> the sovereignty of other nations.
>
> well, as to respecting neighbors and etc., okay, maybe. i'm sure
>everyone agrees that we have not always been...
the rural equivalent of our international behavior might be to go shoot
the head of the household and replace him/her with someone else if we
don't like the neighboring family's behavior. or poison their well,
dynamite their house, or pray for a localized tornado.
or admire their garden, walk over, knock on the door, point the shotgun
right in their noses, and say "would you like to sell us some of those
nice tomatoes for 10 cents a pound?"
they say george bush would not have invaded iraq if they'd only grown
broccoli there. we dress up our invasions with righteous window dressing,
but a lot of them seem based on greed or power or american self-interests,
like invading our central american neighbors because we are unable to stop
drugs at our borders. people are constantly killing people en masse all over
the world, but we only choose to interfere when we've got something to gain.
that's hypocritical.
another problem is that armies like to practice to verify that their
equipment and systems and soldiers work well, and protect their funding,
and act macho, i guess. on a tour of the carrier saratoga, a junior officer
told me "i'm going to have to see combat in order to get promoted again."
and he seemed sure that he would. when did nato change from being an
organization designed to protect its own members from invasion to one
that invades non-members? who elected them the european police?
> and in response to my asking where the world would be without america's
>role in wwii, the marshall plan, and etc., nick then said ...
>
>>quite possibly happier. being the world police is arrogant and expensive.
>
> well, it has been accompanied by some arrogance, and lots of expense.
>and in fact i think that this expense does further show that america has
>not in the main acted out of "greed" in such things.
the road to hell can be expensive, too.
> but the bigger answer is this: how the hell can you be so flip about
>suggesting that it would have been okay to have let the axis win wwii,
>and that the world would be "[q]uite possibly happier." do you have
>*any* sense of what you are saying by this?...
well, maybe wwii wasn't a great example. saving the jews was nice.
>do you have *any* sense of just how much this seems to make your
>thinking frivolous? why would you do that to yourself after otherwise
>arguing so interestingly, articulately and well?
hey thanks for the kudo.
one problem is that people don't all agree on what is good and bad or
desirable and undesirable. hitler's troops were full of righteousness.
nazi soldiers wore belt buckles that said "gott mit uns" (god with us.")
he was with us too. arabs and jews and asians and irish people on both
sides think he's with them too. people have very different beliefs and
standards and values around the world. so what do we do?
who is to judge, for the entire world? jerry falwell?
i'd say let people resolve these problems more locally.
nick
the wise man then, when he must govern, knows how to do nothing.
letting things alone, he rests in his original nature. he who will
govern will respect the governed no more than he respects himself.
if he loves his own person enough to let it rest in its original truth,
he will govern others without hurting them. let him keep the deep drives
in his own guts from going into action. let him keep still, not looking,
not hearing. let him sit like a corpse, with the dragon power alive
all around him. in complete silence, his voice will be like thunder.
his movements will be invisible, like those of a spirit, but the powers
of heaven will go with them. unconcerned, doing nothing, he will see
all things grow ripe around him. where will he find time to govern?
--thomas merton
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