tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post9065895967039606319..comments2023-11-03T06:26:00.486-07:00Comments on Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show: I am not a pacifist but...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-21140311036022536092007-03-19T16:07:00.000-07:002007-03-19T16:07:00.000-07:00I do not think that we differ very much in our ass...I do not think that we differ very much in our assessment of the causes and effects of this war. If anything, you are more charitable than I would be about it, but that may be mainly a matter of how much or little you mentioned on this occasion. <BR/><BR/> On the other hand, I have rather mixed feelings about how much those opinions are part of church business. Jesus and Paul (or those who wrote in their names) encouraged submission to the Roman empire rather than suicidal rebellion against it. Nowadays we have the ballot box (ongoing efforts at subversion of democracy aside) as an alternative to a revolution every few years, and recently that has been effective. Given that, there is a difficult boundary between church business and the politics of human rights and wars of greed (because the major issue there is the misuse of government and armies to obtain profits from oil addiction, at least as much as the addiction itself). Somehow, however, the present world situation blurs those boundaries more than most have during my lifetime. <BR/><BR/>There are signs of hope, however, such as the progressive awakening of the evangelicals to the existence of wider and more pressing issues than those that have been manipulated to obtain their political support in the recent past. <BR/> LinguistFriendLinguistFriendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02695715246663202212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-26961369332758957192007-03-19T11:58:00.000-07:002007-03-19T11:58:00.000-07:00Traditional religion has not done the trick in fil...<I>Traditional religion has not done the trick in filling up that vacuum; instead, it seems to have increased the compulsion to feed the addiction with ever more power and greedy consumption. </I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, all those grasping hypocrites like Francis of Assisi and Fr. Damien of Molokai sure have made the world a grimmer place. :) Seriously, traditional religion has done a heap more good than harm, the occasional exception notwithstanding. I don't know what role any traditional religion except Islam has played in this scenario, but I do know that absent a Judeo-Christian tradition of defending the underdog, America wouldn't have the history it does of trying to protect the weak.<BR/><BR/>I'm not as convinced as I was at the time that the actual invasion of Iraq was a good idea, but I am certain that pulling out now would be the worst thing we could possibly do. We already walked away and abandoned the Kurds a decade ago, and the Vietnamese before that, tossing them to predatory enemies as a sacrifice to our domestic politics. If we do the same to the Iraqis now, we'll really deserve to be an object of mistrust in the world.<BR/><BR/>As for oil addiction, it's true that we're as hooked as the rest of the world. Siince, pragmiatically speaking, somebody's going to be in control of the oil economy, I'd rather it was a country with a tradition of generosity and fair dealing (even if it's not always been lived up to) than some of the other powers out there. <BR/><BR/>MHP, your Carter quote is a good one. Like it or not, I think this one has become a necessary evil.Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02238001380092215123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-69541077452119148662007-03-17T16:34:00.000-07:002007-03-17T16:34:00.000-07:00What an interesting way to describe the Iraq War, ...What an interesting way to describe the Iraq War, as an ourgrowth of addiction! It would certainly ring true that nothing good ever came out of a campaign based on addiction.<BR/><BR/>Jimmy Carter once said, "War is sometimes a necessary evil, but be advised that it is always evil."Mile High Pixiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03276750909800945131noreply@blogger.com