Another article... on Elect a peaceful president on 43 Things

Lisa is novocaine.

Elect a peaceful president (read all 6 entries…)

Another article... 3 years ago

It describes the US government”s newfound lack of prestige in the rest of the world.

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=19374

Jul 21, 2005, 07:52PM PDT | 4 cheers

Comments:

ake

interesting article

thanks for posting the link lisa :)

i thought it was all pretty spot on. the only thing i found shocking was the stat that 40% of Americans feel safer after the actions taken in Iraq. i’m just plain dumbfounded at that

i really cant wish you enough luck in this goal!!!

Jul 21, 2005, 08:48PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

Lisa is novocaine.

I like this quote from the article:

Even Machiavelli warns against the dangers of going to the full extent of one’s power because you can never go there again.

Hopefully the internet will open the doors that the schools and the media are closing, and that 40% will wise up.

Jul 21, 2005, 09:21PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

ake

that's so true!

i learnt it myself playing risk :)

yeah i hope you’re right. frustration at the media and educational bodies was my first reaction to that statement. but i’m also concerned that people wont learn what they refuse to read…

even if the information fed to the public becomes a more factual and accurate account of events and situations. a change within the individual, and the way they process information, is still required. its a cultural change – a transition from fear, intolerance and retribution to understanding, diplomacy and peace…

a lot of the opinions on UK reactions to the recent bombings has really highlighted that to me – some people are totally confused with their passive resilience to what has happened, others are just beginning to see the light…

Jul 22, 2005, 10:47AM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

Lisa is novocaine.

I heard a lot of people in Chicago talk about being afraid it would happen here...

But I know that London has historically dealt with a lot of external and internal attacks, and so they’ve developed a way to deal with it.

In America, hardly anything happens to that extent. 9-11 was a total shocker. But even still, the majority of people from NYC were against the war. The blue states were the ones that were mostly likely to be a terrorist target, and the red states were the ones where not much happens, so people are bored and looking for some excitement. My hometown, Detroit, is the city with the largest Middle Eastern population in North America, and still the majority there voted for Kerry and are against the war. Ironic, isn’t it?

And even though there is fear of attacks here in Chicago, the majority are against the war, as well.

I think it’s a war of the minds—between people who believe that “those people are just bad and want to do bad things” and those that believe that “people are people everywhere, and desperate people do desperate things”.

Jul 22, 2005, 09:54PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

Chicago Outfit

I would cheer this comment...

if that were yet allowed.

Jul 22, 2005, 11:10PM PDT | Respond to this

ake

yeah so would i...

a smile will have to compensate :)

i really like your last quote “people are people everywhere, and desperate people do desperate things”

it reiterates that we are all the same species (and not physiologically predisposed “goodies” and “baddies”). it also brings the focus onto the individual and their circumstances. it begs the question of these desperate people, why have they taken this action? what life experiences has influenced them to do this?

wanting to take down the “baddies” is an emotionally charged reaction (i’m sure we’ve all felt it at some point, i have). it is anger masking fear. and to just be afraid for oneself, and seek to punish everyone who endangers your own security is not an enlightened solution. hard as it is, we must move beyond this fear for a commitment to peace. that is the courage the people in london have shown the world.

and the people in chicago you mention too – unfamiliar with this new danger, afraid of it, but yet they stand firm in their opposition to the iraq war. they’ve overcome the battle in their own minds and sought a temperence that is remarkable and commendable. perhaps this is a sign that people in the US are begining to learn what some in Britain have over the previous decades? (i would say all, but it seems there are still a few in support of the iraq war – well, the PM at least!)

anyway, i have a lot of admiration for people with this kind of courage. i wish everyone would aspire for the same. imagine if everyone emulated the compassion of mother teresa!!

Jul 24, 2005, 01:05PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

Untitled - Lisa

Untitled - ake

p.s. - Lisa

noted - ake