Two quick questions for thought tonight: first, regarding Independence Day. Does anyone out there intentionally not go to fireworks displays and keep their kids away from them (at least while they can) because fireworks are in effect a celebration of war (or at least a commemoration of it)? How many people stop to ponder that fact?
Second question about war, this one a bit more rhetorical: Is it possible that the American public are snoozing through a real geopolitical threat from Iran, avoiding all thoughts of military preparedness for Iranian aggression, because former Vice President Chaney “cried wolf” in Iraq back in 2003?
Sidenote: I heard on the radio that our current Veep, Joe Biden, made a statement today on one of the political talk shows to the effect that the USA would not try to stop the Israelis from attempting to take out Iran’s nuclear processing facilities. Even though the public may not want to look directly at Iran, it seems that the Obama administration, of all people, are possibly ‘getting real’. Iran has suffered a military takeover, and the military command there seems intent on restoring Persian hegemony throughout the Middle East. They are quite candid regarding their plan – bring Israel to its knees by threatening it with nuclear extinction, and then do the same to the Arab nations over time (claiming Shia Islam as the true light of Allah and the true vanquisher of the imperial western infidels). They hope that the Obama administration and its Democratic base are truly as isolationist and pacifist as they often appears to be.
Perhaps VP Biden was sending out a signal today. I.e., don’ t think that the USA will lose its nerve if Iran or its clients were to threaten Israel’s existence.
War. I once thought that if we in America stopped using it and stopped thinking about it, the rest of the world would do the same. Unfortunately, it looks as if I was wrong. Too many people in the world still like fireworks – the real, deadly kind of fireworks.
Jim,
Good point: What does one think about when one sees the 4th of July celebration? I know what I think about: I find myself wondering just what the Native American Indians think of the celebration. Do they think, And you celebrate taking our lands away from us? So I always feel uncomfortable watching the 4th of July celebration.
And I noticed that the celebration from Boston in it's opening number included actual canons as part of the music (which is how the music was written–to include the guns going off).
As one thinks about it, no wonder the NRA has such a hold on the nation. But I still wonder about the Native Americans and their tho'ts…….
And when it comes to "side issue" thinking: I often wonder about what I call the "meditations on violence": the various "games" so many people play on their computers, the more violent the better; and then there are all the violent movies, which get more and more graphic and violent as time goes on. We wonder how it is that people accept violence as a given in life. How about the tho't that meditation on violence will only result in ACTUAL violence played out in real life?
And as to Obama and his tolerance for being "pacifist": Never underestimate a person who seems to "tolerate" a lot of "stuff" from others. At some point the person WILL draw the line beyond which he/she will not go. Then it can be surprising how such a person can "crack down", so to speak.
MCS
Comment by MCS — July 7, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
Jim,
Good point: What does one think about when one sees the 4th of July celebration? I know what I think about: I find myself wondering just what the Native American Indians think of the celebration. Do they think, And you celebrate taking our lands away from us? So I always feel uncomfortable watching the 4th of July celebration.
And I noticed that the celebration from Boston in it's opening number included actual canons as part of the music (which is how the music was written–to include the guns going off).
As one thinks about it, no wonder the NRA has such a hold on the nation. But I still wonder about the Native Americans and their tho'ts…….
And when it comes to "side issue" thinking: I often wonder about what I call the "meditations on violence": the various "games" so many people play on their computers, the more violent the better; and then there are all the violent movies, which get more and more graphic and violent as time goes on. We wonder how it is that people accept violence as a given in life. How about the tho't that meditation on violence will only result in ACTUAL violence played out in real life?
And as to Obama and his tolerance for being "pacifist": Never underestimate a person who seems to "tolerate" a lot of "stuff" from others. At some point the person WILL draw the line beyond which he/she will not go. Then it can be surprising how such a person can "crack down", so to speak.
MCS
Comment by MCS — July 7, 2009 @ 12:09 pm