Replies to post #1731 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[goodluck]

Syl,
Whatever our other disagreements, we certainly agree on that, except for the notion "these people have no idea what it is". I think many DO know "what it is", they just don't have a clue how to get from "here" to "there". Or maybe better, their leaders don't have the WILL or DESIRE to actually get "there". Anymore than many in this country do. Just look at the discrepancies in school funding between wealthy counties/school districts and poor ones. In many states throughout the country, the discrepancies are pretty stark-- they range from $5,000/pupil to $15,000/pupil, the differences coming because school funding primarily comes from local property taxes rather than state-wide income taxes or sales taxes. If we aren't willing to fund our own schools properly, why should anyone think that we will fund other countries' schools?

Of course, the Republicans constantly maintain that throwing money at the problem won't work.

RE: "So why not give some of it back to the people that have very little. Not by just giving them money. But by building them schools, and hospitals and infrastructure that we so much take for granted but most of these people have no idea what it is. I think that greed is a virus that have inflicted not just the top CEOs, politicians and elitists of our country but everyone else as well. We have all lost our compassion and have replaced it with the almighty dollar. Sad indeed... "

[sarai]

syl, You said:

.."So why not give some of it back to the people that have very little"..

What an altuistic idea! Why don't you start by writing a check? Simple enough, right? Then maybe sign up for the some humanitarian group like Amnesty International, or the Peace Corp? Tho there are some global whackos who now claim that AI is a "bad" group too. These days, it's very hard to know which humanitarian group is politically correct, and which group is not, according to the fundamentalist mentality. Look what happened to those poor US healthcare workers yesterday in Yemen. They were certainly "giving back"... But I suppose there are those who believe "cleansing ones religion" and "getting close to Allah" are noble causes. But do you actually believe that killing US missionary workers, providing desperately needed healthcare services in repressive third world countries, is "fair game" as retaliation for US foreign policy? Who will replace these workers providing vital, and urgently needed services?

You seem to be somehow excusing non-Israeli, extremist violence and hatred. Or you seem to insinuate we brought this on ourselves, when such violence is never justified. How long do you think you would last in most Arab countries? Do you think these people would hold you in high regard? What would be your fate if you put up a Christmas tree or lit a Menorah in one of those countries, for example? Do you think these are "nice" people, or their hatred of, and violence against, us is justified? Is "jihad" justified?

Now...the US - or we, Americans, can go to these countries and try to "save the world" or "right all wrongs", but isn't it our intrusive policies that are so despised? I agree, some of our policies have been atrocious, but what are WE supposed to do about all that ails the world? What are your suggestions? Impose our values, build our infrastructure, dictate a form of government? Say we're sorry?

You speak of the "evils" of the State of Israel, but you seem to ignore evil elsewhere. And you seem to ignore what underlies most of the inhumanity, religious fanaticism. How do you propose the US, or Israel, negotiate with individuals or groups who have fallen into some heavy religious psychosis? How does one "reason" with a psychotic person? You say that Israelis don't want peace. But those are the fanatic Israelis. Hardline Arabs don't want an Israel either. Now...it's wrong to assume that fanatics represent the majority, because they don't. Unfortunately, fanatics seems to dominate the geo-political landscape these days, and we wonder why there is so much chaos.....

[Bullwinkle]

Aahhh!, you speak of UTOPIA... I have heard of this place, but darned if I can find it. Maybe I should try Yahoo Maps (sorry, couldn't resist).