Originally Posted by dacia

I am not sure who “promised” you that land, but you did not “fight” and “win”, "slaughter" and "exterminate" would be the better choice of words.
Now would among those “bottom feeders”, “failures in their cesspool" included your ancestors as well, or just the people who came after you were born?
Or perhaps I completely misunderstood the meaning of that statement?
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
I read this a couple of years ago, on some island, on a statue given by that pesky, cheese munching, wine sucking, beret wearing, tricolor waiving Gallic Rooster, is it not there anymore?

Alex

Originally Posted by dacia

I don’t have to, my contention was that as a member of a society as imperfect as the US is, you shouldn’t disparage another whose negative contribution to world peace could never even touch the enormity of the suffering caused by and continue to be caused by your country’s foreign policy.

. Of course it was influenced by ideas from that morally corrupt and uppity Europe, but it turned out to be a good piece of work nonetheless.

Originally Posted by cmac2012

I doubt you can back that up. You calling me a coward, you mass murder and chemical warfare apologist, you?

Uno mas, read "The Nation," July 1, 1961, "Nicargaua: Another Cuba?" and splain to me why were right to prop up Somoza for decades and seek to utterly destroy the group that finally deposed him.

Originally Posted by suginami

You seem to assert some moral authority that Europe has over the U.S., and complain about the "enormity of the suffering caused by and continue to be caused by your country's foreign policy".

So, are you making the argument that the Saudi's did insomuch that disagreements with the foreign policy of the U.S. is justification to murder over 3,000 innocent people by flying two planes into the World Trade Center buildings, one plane into the Pentagon, and the third plane that crashed into the field in Pennsylvania (that was ostensibly going to crash into the White House or The Capitol Building) ?

If you are, then you are morally corrupt.

And what of world opinion?

The history of "world opinion" regarding the greatest mass murders and cruelties on the planet is one of relentless apathy.

Ask the 1.5 million Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Turks;

or the 6 million Ukrainians slaughtered by Stalin;

or the tens of millions of other Soviet citizens killed by Stalin's Soviet Union;

or the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their helpers throughout Europe;

or the 60 million Chinese butchered by Mao;

or the 2 million Cambodians murdered by Pol Pot;

or the millions killed and enslaved in Sudan;

or the Tutsis murdered in Rwanda's genocide;

or the millions starved to death and enslaved in North Korea;

or the million Tibetans killed by the Chinese;

or the million-plus Afghans put to death by Brezhnev's Soviet Union;

or the tens of thousands of Kurds gassed by Saddam Hussein;

Ask any of these poor souls, or the hundreds of millions of others slaughtered, tortured, raped and enslaved in the last 100 years, if "world opinion" did anything for them.

On the other hand, we learn that "world opinion" is quite exercised over Israel's unintentional killing of a few hundred Lebanese civilians behind whom hides Hezbollah -- a terror group that intentionally sends missiles at Israeli cities and whose announced goals are the annihilation of Israel and the Islamicization of Lebanon. And, of course, "world opinion" was just livid at American abuses of some Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. In fact, "world opinion" is constantly upset with America and Israel, two of the most decent countries on earth, yet silent about the world's cruelest countries.

Why is this?

Here are four reasons:

First, television news.

It is difficult to overstate the damage done to the world by television news. Even when not driven by political bias -- an exceedingly rare occurrence globally -- television news presents a thoroughly distorted picture of the world. Because it is almost entirely dependent upon pictures, TV news is only capable of showing human suffering in, or caused by, free countries. So even if the BBC or CNN were interested in showing the suffering of millions of Sudanese blacks or North Koreans -- and they are not interested in so doing -- they cannot do it because reporters cannot visit Sudan or North Korea and video freely. Likewise, China's decimation and annexation of Tibet, one of the world's oldest ongoing civilizations, never made it to television.

Second, "world opinion" is shaped by the same lack of courage that shapes most individual human beings' behavior. This is another aspect of the problem of the distorted way news is presented. It takes courage to report the evil of evil regimes; it takes no courage to report on the flaws of decent societies. Reporters who went into Afghanistan without the Soviet Union's permission were killed. Reporters would risk their lives to get critical stories out of Tibet, North Korea and other areas where vicious regimes rule. But to report on America's bad deeds in Iraq (not to mention at home) or Israel's is relatively effortless, and you surely won't get killed. Indeed, you may well win a Pulitzer Prize.

Third, "world opinion" bends toward power. To cite the Israel example, "world opinion" far more fears alienating the largest producers of oil and 1 billion Muslims than it fears alienating tiny Israel and the world's 13 million Jews. And not only because of oil and numbers. When you offend Muslims, you risk getting a fatwa, having your editorial offices burned down or receiving death threats. Jews don't burn down their critics' offices, issue fatwas or send death threats, let alone act on such threats.

Fourth, those who don't fight evil condemn those who do. "World opinion" doesn't confront real evils, but it has a particular animus toward those who do -- most notably today America and Israel.

The moment one recognizes "world opinion" for what it is -- a statement of moral cowardice, one is longer enthralled by the term. That "world opinion" at this moment allegedly loathes America and Israel is a badge of honor to be worn proudly by those countries. It is when "world opinion" and its news media start liking you that you should wonder if you've lost your way.

Originally Posted by LaRondo

...You forgot to list the number of 'Native American Indians' annihilated during the course of fighting and winning "The promised Land" ... among others ...

Originally Posted by Botnst

Okay, I'll accept that. Now how about the numbers of honkie men, women, and children tortured murdered by our peaceful, vegan, Earth-loving red brethren?

B

Originally Posted by LaRondo

...wasn't it their desire to "fight and win the 'Promised Land' ..."?

Originally Posted by MedMech

What are they sick of? Our immigration policy?

Originally Posted by LaRondo

...You forgot to list the number of 'Native American Indians' annihilated during the course of fighting and winning "The promised Land" ... among others ...

Originally Posted by MedMech

First off I am Native American and if you want to see a riot go to a European "football game".

You people come here looking for prosperity because you failed in your homeland..admit it.

Originally Posted by LaRondo

...the spectrum of Nativity is not limited to being incidently born and handed a passport ...

... On what reservation were you born or do you reside ...?