dterrick 0 #1 October 31, 2002 Anyone else feel like re-awakening their 'expensive' University education for the edification of the forum in general? I do... skreamer's spoke of oil and the reason that "you Americans" will soon be at war (my synposis). As a 'polite' Canadian I/we are inexorably linked to the actions of the US of A - even when we don't want to be . Quite frankly you could or should call most of us "Swiss". Our benign nature (hey, we're still the French fighting the British when it really comes down to it ... but at least we generally keep the fighting at home ) has lead us, as a nation, to pay MUCH greater attention to world events from a world perspective. In my Humble Opinion (well, maybe not so humble) about 99% of Americans could not give a shiite (pun intended) about anything more than their own backyard and how to keep the money coming in to better their neighbor trying to do the same. Of course this leaves a dangerous minority who KNOW the truth of the matter (and who likely have the contest won already). Your 2.5 million (or so) 'informed' people happen to be i) those who run your export-based businesses (very important to the increaing wealth of America in general) ii) those whom you elect to public office. I put it to this forum that 99% of elected officials have come from 'the system' that has earned its' great wealth at the expense of the Rest of the World. Therefore you can assume that a very VERY small minority of powerful 'business interests' run your country... and mine quite frankly (like we count at 2% of the World GDP) Now, before you go McCarthying a polite Canadian for Communistic treason, think about foreign policy and what that really means. When one considers that the world has ALWAYS relied on international trade to balance the Wealth of Nations (go ahead, I dare ya, read Adam Smith - it's written in Olde Englishe ) some things should become clear. 1. 'Money' as we know it is simply a convenient means of exchange of goods. It is the goods themselves that really represent what we call wealth. (Perhaps this is the origin of the misguided notion that 'wealth= things'. Me, I personally think wealth= diverse Life Experiences... like skydiving and world travel). 2. The value of a 'good' like oil, is entirely dependent on a supply/demand curve. That demand can be local or it can be international. 3. When you become reliant on a good which you must import you become subservient to those who actually possess the good. 4. Greed is universal. 5. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. *** Look at your 'elected ones' of the past three terms for some guidance. I bet you'd find that the Democrats had 'business' ties to companies that provided 'social services'. Bloody Bleeding Heart Liberals want to make everything 'free' but guess what...? SOMEONE, or somebody's business, must still provide the 'Good'. Frickin warmonger gun toting Republicans likely have their ties to the Military Industrial Complex and everything that makes it run (hmmmm... never heard of a solar powered tank or S.A.M.) *** Now consider the world view for a moment. If the 'beauty' of the Free World is that we 'elect' our representatives, but if all elected representatives represent only their own interests AND if collectively they only represent (essentially) TWO interest groups then really we have only 'TWO' dictators. Only one, of course, can be in power at a time. Most of 'them' who the USA universally oppose are only 'one' dictator. But, Mssrs. Husseain and Bin Laden were BOTH aided or installed by the "one" American 'Dict...', um, President of the time. I suspect that was not to the liking of about half the population at the time, and neither is liked by ANYONE right now. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". The American people have been preoccupied by Clinton and the Mystery of the Stained Dress (say it... Scooby Doo where are you?) and then by Mr. Condit and the Missing Intern while 'dictators' have been committing genocide elsewhere. WTF? More WTF? Floridians, apparently, do not posess the cranial power to mark a ballot. Considering a Dubbya relative runs (maybe ran?) that state is there any wonder that GWB is in today? Is there any wonder that he is pursuing his daddy's agenda (...again...?) Is there any wonder that the Rest Of The World has looked at the American people as "weak and misguided" and "ripe for a lesson in terror". Please please PLEASE.... do not take ANY of this as a justification for September 11, 2001. There can be, and will never be, justification for such atrocities. I merely wish to air an 'outsiders' view of how inwardly focused the American people at large have become to world events and how ignorance of the International perspective has given rise to those dictators of other countries where the phrase 'life and liberty' does not mean what it does to "you". *** Damn it's a good thing that Gravity is Law of Nature and not just a political or religious idea. I took up skydiving just ten days prior to the Horror of 9/11/01. I had no idea what 'freedom' really meant until I started skydiving - and I'm not talking about politics. I only hope that there are enough sensible people around the globe, in whatever country, who ascribe to a universal like the dopamine rush of freefall to keep us in one piece for many generations to come. After all, religion hasn't done it, political idealogy hasn't done it... the Dave PS: No doubt some Liberal Arts majors will point to other 'Great' civilizations who eventually fell. Hey, The Roman Empire can only give us expenisve supercars and Z1 helmets now... the Brits (who 'owned' the colonies and invented many modern technologies now give us warm beer as a msajor export ) and the Japanese taught 'us' how to build our beloved automobiles. The question to ask going foreward might be... "Did the American Empire end with 9/11 or did it just begin. And, if it's is just beginning, at what cost and what form will it take in today's much smaller Globe?" (phwew, my brain hurts... time for a beverage) Tune in next week when we discuss Jung's Collective Unconscious and the Meaning of Life Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
