In 1914, when Europe went to war, the soldiers went off to war singing. The poet Rupert Brooke wrote rapturously of God matching Brooke's generation with His hour. The best and brightest went first - not waiting for anything like consciption, the leading young lights of 1914 eagerly volunteered to go fight.
Here in 2006, most people will look back on that and feel that they were being absurd - who in heck sings when he goes off to war? Who can be happy doing battle? I think this sort of attitude reflects, with precision, what we lost in the 20th century - a sense of love.
The title of this piece is, of course, taken from the John Lennon tune of the same name - in the 1960's, we were supposed to be surrounded by love; heck there was a whole "summer of love" for people to wallow in. Lennon had it right - all you need is love, but what was happening in the 60's - and, indeed, what had been happening for the previous 50 years - wasn't love. It wasn't anything close to it.
The First World War erroded a lot of our sense of love, though the errosion started before the war - in that welter of slaughter and cruelty, the feeling of love evaporated. But love did continue - and the example of love in the First World War was Winston Churchill, Britain's Minister of Munitions at the end of the war, advocating that the Allies send ships with provisions to the defeated Germans. Here was a man who had spent the previous months working out the ways and means of producing more and more terrible weapons for the destruction of Germans - and yet as soon as the Germans quit, his first thought was to bring succor to the exhausted and hungry German population. That, my friends, is love.
Churchill's flickering lamp, however, was not to be the norm for the 20th century. As the century progressed, the sense of love just became more and more muted. We hold up the Nazi and Communist regimes as the exemplars of anti-love in the 20th century, but the collapse of the sense of love was worldwide - and, in some cases, even more insidious in the free societies. Think about what decent Americans were doing through the 20th century - advocating eugenics; first treating black Americans as second class citizens, then hooking them up to an amoral, family-killing welfare State; we've aborted tens of millions of unborn children; our main thought when Hitler started WWII was how we could keep out of it...these are some of America's sins; but America wasn't alone, or even the worst sinner.
A few months after 9/11, when the so-called "anti-war" critics first started to have a loud voice, I lamented that those poor people were cutting themselves off from an outpouring of love not seen in this nation since the start of the Civil War. Some critics were flabbergasted that I could link a war with love - but there is no greater love than that of self-sacrifice for others. And in the time since 9/11, we have seen millions of people around the world risk their all in the cause of human freedom and decency. I think what we have here is a resurgence of a sense of love.
Those who are worst afflicted with the anti-love of the 20th century are easily identified - as just one for-instance, you'll find these people desperately worried that someone might have more than another, as opposed to wondering what they can personally do to help the less fortunate. While love is resurgent, I believe that most people in the world today are enthralled to anti-love - adhering to beliefs that are built on anger, hatred, envy and what have you; and these people most despise in this world those who love. The conflict between the sides is bitter - but only because those who don't love really can't muster anything other than bitterness to motivate themselves.
The tide, though, has turned - and all we need is love. Not some sort of mushy, flabby "I'm ok, you're ok" psuedo-love, but the real love that gives a person courage to do the right thing in the face of intense criticism. Real love is a thing which will give courage and strength - which will, like Rupert Brooke, glory in adversity because love conquers all, and those who love know it.
Posted by Mark Noonan at June 18, 2006 01:56 AM
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Comments
What a diatribe. You must have gotten into the sauce this weekend, talking about love when you are warmongering, dropping 50 000 bombs on civilian cities, killing tens to hundreds of thousands of people, slaughtering innocent men, women and children in their homes, torturing, rendering people to be tortured and murdered. Its that compassionate conservative at its best.
Posted by: axis at June 18, 2006 03:32 AM
Mark, my hippie friend,
You base your argument on a World War that very few would claim was unjust for the US to enter. But you choose not to speak for the goals or justifications of this current, particular war. No one here laments the loss of Saddam Hussein; the question is, is it loving to fight a war on false pretenses, and then to continue occupying a country where our presense is inflaming further violence?
How much is love your real motive, when you never urge the US to make a significant intervention in Darfur? Is it "love" to create violence in Iraq, but ignore it where it already exists - in a place we have the capacity to stop it?
Those of us against this war want it to succeed. We want peace. We are suspicious of our country's long term intentions in the Middle East. And in the absence of a well-stated goal and publicly stated plan, those thoughts are unfortunately reinforced.
And put aside the rhetoric - love, whatever - we are not safer than we were on 9/11. We have created a new generation of militants, and you know it.
Posted by:
winnowhead at June 18, 2006 03:55 AM
Mark, my hippie friend,
You base your argument on a World War that very few would claim was unjust for the US to enter. But you choose not to speak for the goals or justifications of this current, particular war. No one here laments the loss of Saddam Hussein; the question is, is it loving to fight a war on false pretenses, and then to continue occupying a country where our presense is inflaming further violence?
How much is love your real motive, when you never urge the US to make a significant intervention in Darfur? Is it "love" to create violence in Iraq, but ignore it where it already exists - in a place we have the capacity to stop it?
Those of us against this war want it to succeed. We want peace. We are suspicious of our country's long term intentions in the Middle East. And in the absence of a well-stated goal and publicly stated plan, those thoughts are unfortunately reinforced.
And put aside the rhetoric - love, whatever - we are not safer than we were on 9/11. We have created a new generation of militants, and you know it.
Posted by:
winnowhead at June 18, 2006 03:56 AM
That's right liberals, just keep pretending the world really has been at peace the last 50 years. Terrorists all became terrorists on 9/11. Saddam loved his people and justice, freedom, and peace reigned supreme under him. You all want peace as long as you don't have to hear about how people like the Iraqies pre-invasion, Iranians, Lebanese, and others have to live their lives. You're crybaby antics over things like abortion, someone wearing a cross to a football game, and the scariest thing of all, getting data on library book rentals pale in comparison to what some of those people have to face. Then again, how about down south in the rest of Africa? Oh let me guess, the UN has that whole area under control right? Freedom rings down there right? Gotta love peace! As long as you never have to fight for it...
Posted by: Jonathan at June 18, 2006 04:25 AM
Mark, my hippie friend,
You base your argument on a World War that very few would claim was unjust for the US to enter. But you choose not to speak for the goals or justifications of this current, particular war. No one here laments the loss of Saddam Hussein; the question is, is it loving to fight a war on false pretenses, and then to continue occupying a country where our presense is inflaming further violence?
How much is love your real motive, when you never urge the US to make a significant intervention in Darfur? Is it "love" to create violence in Iraq, but ignore it where it already exists - in a place we have the capacity to stop it?
Those of us against this war want it to succeed. We want peace. We are suspicious of our country's long term intentions in the Middle East. And in the absence of a well-stated goal and publicly stated plan (Cheney's "turning points" don't count), those thoughts are unfortunately reinforced.
And put aside the rhetoric - love, whatever - we are not safer than we were on 9/11. We have created a new generation of anti-American militants, and you know it.
(I hope 10 years from now we are not debating how to deal with the problems we caused today... as we're dealing with the problems we caused 20 years ago by propping up Hussein's regime in the 80's.)
Posted by:
winnowhead at June 18, 2006 04:34 AM
Mark
You have to stop comparing WWII with the invasion & occupation of Iraq. The only thing they have in common is that people are dying.
Posted by: Canadian Observer at June 18, 2006 07:32 AM
Sorry, meant to say WWI & WWII.
Posted by: Canadian Observer at June 18, 2006 07:34 AM
I think you're on to something here, Mark. Forget about mercy, compassion, acceptance, and all that other wishy-washy stuff. "I'm Ok, you're OK"? How about "I'm OK, you're going to burn in Beelzebub's Bonfire". What we need is the tough love, the kind the Lord & Savior's gonna show when He opens up His can of Heavenly whoop ass come Judgment Day.
Posted by:
The Right Reverend Rabbi Judah at June 18, 2006 09:59 AM
Hope all you fathers out there are enjoying your day!
Posted by: Canadian Observer at June 18, 2006 10:25 AM
you may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one....
Love does not come at the end of 50,000 bombs. Obedience through fear does.
Peace on fathers day.
Posted by: Ash at June 18, 2006 10:25 AM
Jeez, lighten up on Mark. He is trying to show that he almost has a heart.
Posted by: Canuckguy at June 18, 2006 10:46 AM
Mark, all these Canadians commenting here makes me sort of suspicious, especially since they all happen to be political Southpaws. I'm thinking they might be a Psy Ops platoon gone AWOL North of the Border trying to undermine your site.
Posted by:
The Right Reverend Rabbi Judah at June 18, 2006 10:51 AM
Mark,
One good man can make a difference. Right after 9/11, our world view was shattered. Now we realized that we are Israel. Any one of us could go to work in the morning and be killed. Thanks to President Bush's great leadership, our country has not suffered another attack in almost 5 years. President Bush has gotten no thanks for it and the pathetic dems and lib media have attacked every measure that has been used to keep us safe. President Bush knows his job and what has to be done and he is not in it for the thanks. I thank you President Bush for keeping my loved ones safe and making the tough decisions and I will always have your back. Does anyone remember the movie Independence Day, the movie with Will Smith and Jeff Goldbloom, about the aliens ships coming down to invade. Remember that one scene towards the beginning where all these flaky people went to the top of a high building and held up signs to welcome the aliens to Earth, only to be zapped by the ray shot down upon them from the ship. Those people on the top of the building are the modern democratic party. All americans can do is look at them in disbelief, shake your head and vote as many out of office as possible.
Posted by: james allegro at June 18, 2006 03:00 PM
James,
As our lefty comments here show, they just don't get it - to them, the only thing love can be is a welfare check from the government. Rather pathetic.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 18, 2006 04:08 PM
Winnow,
It is amazing that in your short comment you managed to assert eleven untrue things - and not at all comment on what the thread is about.
As an aside, I do advocate intervention in Darfur - but as we're busy, I think the French and Germans have the spare troops for it.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 18, 2006 04:12 PM
Judah,
Could be - also, their comments are rather early, so they must not be church-goers, and that might explain their lack of understanding.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 18, 2006 04:13 PM
Ash,
Ah, another Lennon song - but that was the most vapid song ever made. It is those who think there is no hell below us, and above us only sky, who create the most evil in this world.
Love doesn't consist of denigrating the self-sacrifice of others just because the guy in charge happens to be someone you hate for no good reason whatsoever.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 18, 2006 04:16 PM
As long as we're quoting songs, James Brown wrote one about you, Mark:
"Like a dull knife, you just ain't cuttin'
Just talkin' loud and saying nothin'"
Posted by: SeesThroughIt at June 18, 2006 04:42 PM
Mark, have you lost your conservative mind, and/or your perspicacity? ( a Simpsons reference)
More from that other Lennon song -
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too...
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man...
Which strikes me as a vision of communism. I'm sure this has been debated before.
Yes, "all we need is love." That would be wonderful, if only we could get that message through to the terrorists, Islamofascists, dictators, tyrants and warlords throughout the world. Promoting that message amongst ourselves only leaves us overly trusting and vulnerable to dhimmitude, or otherwise subject to the greedy intentions of an evil but trusted overlord.
Not for me.
And about singing, the Nazis would sing songs about murdering Jews as they marched off to battle. Oh, how they loved to hate the Jews.
Posted by: the paperboy at June 18, 2006 05:44 PM
Sees,
At least I have the guts to put my real name to my statements...
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 18, 2006 05:53 PM
America was safe for 8 years inbetween domestic attacks under Clinton. Did you thank him for his great leadership for keeping the country safe for so long James?
I might add that unlike the Clinton era attacks, Bush KNEW Osama was determined to strike in the U.S. and KNEW that it was going to involve commerical airliners. He KNEW that a month before the attack. His response? "Time for a 6 week vacation!!" This is NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
On the day of the attack, he knew about the first plane hitting the towers on his way to an elementry school, his reaction: "Never mind thta, lets continue this photo op is important"
In the school, Andy card comes forward to say to the president that a second plane has hit the towers and that America is under attack. His reaction: "Hmmm. Let me sit and think about this for 5 minutes while I continue to read along with these elementry school students." NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
Katrina, Bush KNEW it was coming, days in advance, KNEW it was going to be bad, KNEW that the levees would like not hold, knew that there were going to be many problems. His reaction: "This is stressing me out, I better stay on vaction until this is all over" NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
Iraq, KNEW that removing Saddam would leave a vaccuum and that it would be opening the gates of hell. His daddy, Bush Sr. told him this, so did the top military advisors and top generals. His reaction: "I am the decider, I know better than you experience military people" NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
One good man can make a difference. Right after 9/11, our world view was shattered. Now we realized that we are Israel. Any one of us could go to work in the morning and be killed. Thanks to President Bush's great leadership, our country has not suffered another attack in almost 5 years. President Bush has gotten no thanks for it and the pathetic dems and lib media have attacked every measure that has been used to keep us safe. President Bush knows his job and what has to be done and he is not in it for the thanks. I thank you President Bush for keeping my loved ones safe and making the tough decisions and I will always have your back. Does anyone remember the movie Independence Day, the movie with Will Smith and Jeff Goldbloom, about the aliens ships coming down to invade. Remember that one scene towards the beginning where all these flaky people went to the top of a high building and held up signs to welcome the aliens to Earth, only to be zapped by the ray shot down upon them from the ship. Those people on the top of the building are the modern democratic party. All americans can do is look at them in disbelief, shake your head and vote as many out of office as possible.
Posted by: axis at June 18, 2006 06:26 PM
Axis,
Yeah, safe except for the fact that al-Qaeda was attacking Americans constantly and, of course, plotting 9/11 entirely unhindered by the out-to-lunch Clinton Administration...
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 18, 2006 07:29 PM
Mark, I said before that Clintons foreign policy was poor and weak.
9/11 happened on Bush's watch, a good 9 months into it, plenty of time for him to have found out about it and stopped it, but it was his biggest failure.
Nice try at a spin to try and put Clinton on the hook of Bush's blunder.
Mark, are you saying that you believe that everything that could be done to prevent 9/11 was being done and that Bush taking the longest vacation in Presidential history (6 weeks) AFTER he found out about an imminent threat from Al Qaeda was a sign of good leadership and a strong protecter of the country?
Posted by: axis at June 18, 2006 09:24 PM
Posted by: grognard at June 19, 2006 12:09 AM
Axis,
Your theory falls flat on Bush knowing there was an attack like 9/11 planned...
It is amusing that you keep up so many leftwing lies and half-truths.
As for that one - I'll never forget when Rice was asked about that PDB...the look of consternation on her face was priceless...the look of an amazingly well informed genius dealing with leftwing dimwits. You could just tell she couldn't lower her mental faculties down to that leftwing level where a generalised statement about al-Qaeda intentions is presented by the left as a clear warning of imminent 9/11 style attack.
Must be strange living in your alternate universe.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 19, 2006 03:33 AM
"It is those who think there is no hell below us, and above us only sky, who create the most evil in this world."
Tell that to these guys:
"We--with God's help--call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson." Feb. 1998 - Bin Laden edict
"I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George go and end the tyranny in Iraq,' and I did."
Mark, war is evil. I've never been in it, but I'm willing to guess that you ask most vets and they will not have a very high opinion of it.
Sometimes it is necessary. But we have to make sure it is. The Iraq war not necessary and it has led to evil acts on this earth.
And people have the gall to invoke God when justifying it. God is absent in war. Even the most just wars are only man's way of righting his own wrong.
Posted by: Tom Shipley at June 19, 2006 10:44 AM
Tom Shipley,
Were the terrorist's who flew the planes into the world trade center with all those innocent American civilian's evil?
Were the hijacker's evil? Yes.
Were the people in the world trade center evil? No.
Did we (United States of America) do anything to cause the terrorist's to hurt us? No.
You see anyone who says that the war in Iraq is unnecessary, is in effect a terrorist themselves!
Anyone who talks about evil doesn't even have a clue, until they have experienced the Iraqi way of life first hand!
God told American's something on 9/11 and that was We bettered be getting ready, because He is coming soon!
If we want to see the end of our days we had bettered be fighting and fending off the terrorist's!
ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIER'S!!
With God on our side we don't need to worry about defeat, because God has already won the war, We just don't know when that time and place is you see.
I am sure that the christian's in Iraq are happy, they are very thankful for the United States, If it were'nt for the U.S. they would'nt be getting any freedom, all they would have to look forward to is another zarquawi at the back door.
So when you say "God is absent in the war" I say HOGWASH!!
God is Eye of the hurricane, The Center of the Storm.
He works in mysterious ways to work things out for the better of both countries!!
Jeremiah
Posted by: Jeremiah at June 19, 2006 11:24 AM
"You see anyone who says that the war in Iraq is unnecessary, is in effect a terrorist themselves!"
Thanks for playing Jerimiah. Shouldn't be up on a roof somewhere?
Posted by: Tom Shipley at June 19, 2006 11:42 AM
Tom
I say Jerimiah is in reality a liberal, non-conformist, atheist, peacenik who just wants to make all those God-fearing, born-again Christian warmonger neo-cons look bad
Posted by: Canadian Observer at June 19, 2006 02:29 PM
Could be. Just like CoC. Scary thing is, it's hard to tell.
Posted by: Tom Shipley at June 19, 2006 02:32 PM
I say Jerimiah is in reality a liberal, non-conformist, atheist, peacenik who just wants to make all those God-fearing, born-again Christian warmonger neo-cons look bad
__________________________________________________
canadian observer,
I can only describe a liberal in terms as follows:
As a dog returns to his vomit; so a fool repeats his folly.
you repeat the same lies over and over.
__________________________________________________
Proverbs 25:9
If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another mans confidence, or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation.
__________________________________________________
So what will you do? if you do not believe what I say, and your best friend hears it, and turns out to be your enemy!!!and no one will ever look up to you ever again!!! something you need to think about when spreading your lying kimchee around there mister CO.
You are another prime example of the liberal lying team!!
You may have the right to spew your hate, but I have I right to respond to that hate!!
Say as you wish, but the truth is already planted in my heart and it is there to stay, No liberal lyer such as yourself will ever touch it!!!
Best,
Jeremiah
Posted by: Jeremiah at June 19, 2006 03:00 PM
I wondered, given the level of delusion and general stupidity of axis' statements, if we would be able to tell when he finally reached his tipping point and went completely over the edge.
Not to worry. When it happened, it could not have been clearer.
Now, I know a lot of Liberals who spout the Ranty Rhodes Lie Chart verbatim---but I have never seen or even imagined a litany of looniness like axis post about all the things Bush knew about ahead of time, etc.
Can he back up even one single statement?
No.
Does he care?
No.
He just loves rambling on about his ludicrous bizarro takes on life.
Axis' posts remind me of that old saying:
"Every man likes the smell of his own farts."
And the mind farts of axis clearly delight him, while merely giving the rest of us a slightly uncomfortable look into the psyche of a seriously deranged person. Worse, of a person who revels in his derangement.
I'm wondering why they let him have a computer in that place his parents probably described to him as "being like a camp..." when they dropped him off.
Posted by: Almiranta at June 19, 2006 09:26 PM
Tom,
Ah, but it is those who think there is only sky above us who allowed for the bin Laden's of the world to grow and fester...
It is mush-minded thinking, as in that Lennon lyric, which makes the world such a mess these days - there have been so many chances this past 50 years for us to set things right, but we've been led, by and large, by people who don't acknowledge there is right and wrong.
Think back to the Eithiopian famine of the 1980's...to do the right thing would have been to send an expeditionary force, eject the Eithiopian goverment and set up a UN trusteeship for the nation, headed up by an American governor-general (because, honestly, only Americans, Brits, Canadians and Australians can be trusted on such matters) - and then a 50 year period of tutored development in preparation for Eithiopia to take its rightful place among the nations of the earth. Time and time again we were confronted with the absolute necessity of setting our faces against evil, and we punted.
9/11 brought home to us that we can't punt any more - that we have to do what we should have been doing for decades: insisting upon a modicum of decency. We are instructing the barbarians that we won't tolerate any more of their beastly behaviour - it is going to be a long, hard slog, but for the love of God and man, we simply cannot give it up - to give up means to consign some of our brothers and sisters to horrific lives, when we could have prevented it.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at June 21, 2006 02:42 AM
"but it is those who think there is only sky above us who allowed for the bin Laden's of the world to grow and fester..."
Oh really, who would that be?
Posted by: Tom Shipley at June 21, 2006 09:37 AM
Post a comment
What a diatribe. You must have gotten into the sauce this weekend, talking about love when you are warmongering, dropping 50 000 bombs on civilian cities, killing tens to hundreds of thousands of people, slaughtering innocent men, women and children in their homes, torturing, rendering people to be tortured and murdered. Its that compassionate conservative at its best.
Mark, my hippie friend,
You base your argument on a World War that very few would claim was unjust for the US to enter. But you choose not to speak for the goals or justifications of this current, particular war. No one here laments the loss of Saddam Hussein; the question is, is it loving to fight a war on false pretenses, and then to continue occupying a country where our presense is inflaming further violence?
How much is love your real motive, when you never urge the US to make a significant intervention in Darfur? Is it "love" to create violence in Iraq, but ignore it where it already exists - in a place we have the capacity to stop it?
Those of us against this war want it to succeed. We want peace. We are suspicious of our country's long term intentions in the Middle East. And in the absence of a well-stated goal and publicly stated plan, those thoughts are unfortunately reinforced.
And put aside the rhetoric - love, whatever - we are not safer than we were on 9/11. We have created a new generation of militants, and you know it.
Mark, my hippie friend,
You base your argument on a World War that very few would claim was unjust for the US to enter. But you choose not to speak for the goals or justifications of this current, particular war. No one here laments the loss of Saddam Hussein; the question is, is it loving to fight a war on false pretenses, and then to continue occupying a country where our presense is inflaming further violence?
How much is love your real motive, when you never urge the US to make a significant intervention in Darfur? Is it "love" to create violence in Iraq, but ignore it where it already exists - in a place we have the capacity to stop it?
Those of us against this war want it to succeed. We want peace. We are suspicious of our country's long term intentions in the Middle East. And in the absence of a well-stated goal and publicly stated plan, those thoughts are unfortunately reinforced.
And put aside the rhetoric - love, whatever - we are not safer than we were on 9/11. We have created a new generation of militants, and you know it.
That's right liberals, just keep pretending the world really has been at peace the last 50 years. Terrorists all became terrorists on 9/11. Saddam loved his people and justice, freedom, and peace reigned supreme under him. You all want peace as long as you don't have to hear about how people like the Iraqies pre-invasion, Iranians, Lebanese, and others have to live their lives. You're crybaby antics over things like abortion, someone wearing a cross to a football game, and the scariest thing of all, getting data on library book rentals pale in comparison to what some of those people have to face. Then again, how about down south in the rest of Africa? Oh let me guess, the UN has that whole area under control right? Freedom rings down there right? Gotta love peace! As long as you never have to fight for it...
Mark, my hippie friend,
You base your argument on a World War that very few would claim was unjust for the US to enter. But you choose not to speak for the goals or justifications of this current, particular war. No one here laments the loss of Saddam Hussein; the question is, is it loving to fight a war on false pretenses, and then to continue occupying a country where our presense is inflaming further violence?
How much is love your real motive, when you never urge the US to make a significant intervention in Darfur? Is it "love" to create violence in Iraq, but ignore it where it already exists - in a place we have the capacity to stop it?
Those of us against this war want it to succeed. We want peace. We are suspicious of our country's long term intentions in the Middle East. And in the absence of a well-stated goal and publicly stated plan (Cheney's "turning points" don't count), those thoughts are unfortunately reinforced.
And put aside the rhetoric - love, whatever - we are not safer than we were on 9/11. We have created a new generation of anti-American militants, and you know it.
(I hope 10 years from now we are not debating how to deal with the problems we caused today... as we're dealing with the problems we caused 20 years ago by propping up Hussein's regime in the 80's.)
Mark
You have to stop comparing WWII with the invasion & occupation of Iraq. The only thing they have in common is that people are dying.
Sorry, meant to say WWI & WWII.
I think you're on to something here, Mark. Forget about mercy, compassion, acceptance, and all that other wishy-washy stuff. "I'm Ok, you're OK"? How about "I'm OK, you're going to burn in Beelzebub's Bonfire". What we need is the tough love, the kind the Lord & Savior's gonna show when He opens up His can of Heavenly whoop ass come Judgment Day.
Hope all you fathers out there are enjoying your day!
you may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one....
Love does not come at the end of 50,000 bombs. Obedience through fear does.
Peace on fathers day.
Jeez, lighten up on Mark. He is trying to show that he almost has a heart.
Mark, all these Canadians commenting here makes me sort of suspicious, especially since they all happen to be political Southpaws. I'm thinking they might be a Psy Ops platoon gone AWOL North of the Border trying to undermine your site.
Mark,
One good man can make a difference. Right after 9/11, our world view was shattered. Now we realized that we are Israel. Any one of us could go to work in the morning and be killed. Thanks to President Bush's great leadership, our country has not suffered another attack in almost 5 years. President Bush has gotten no thanks for it and the pathetic dems and lib media have attacked every measure that has been used to keep us safe. President Bush knows his job and what has to be done and he is not in it for the thanks. I thank you President Bush for keeping my loved ones safe and making the tough decisions and I will always have your back. Does anyone remember the movie Independence Day, the movie with Will Smith and Jeff Goldbloom, about the aliens ships coming down to invade. Remember that one scene towards the beginning where all these flaky people went to the top of a high building and held up signs to welcome the aliens to Earth, only to be zapped by the ray shot down upon them from the ship. Those people on the top of the building are the modern democratic party. All americans can do is look at them in disbelief, shake your head and vote as many out of office as possible.
James,
As our lefty comments here show, they just don't get it - to them, the only thing love can be is a welfare check from the government. Rather pathetic.
Winnow,
It is amazing that in your short comment you managed to assert eleven untrue things - and not at all comment on what the thread is about.
As an aside, I do advocate intervention in Darfur - but as we're busy, I think the French and Germans have the spare troops for it.
Judah,
Could be - also, their comments are rather early, so they must not be church-goers, and that might explain their lack of understanding.
Ash,
Ah, another Lennon song - but that was the most vapid song ever made. It is those who think there is no hell below us, and above us only sky, who create the most evil in this world.
Love doesn't consist of denigrating the self-sacrifice of others just because the guy in charge happens to be someone you hate for no good reason whatsoever.
As long as we're quoting songs, James Brown wrote one about you, Mark:
"Like a dull knife, you just ain't cuttin'
Just talkin' loud and saying nothin'"
Mark, have you lost your conservative mind, and/or your perspicacity? ( a Simpsons reference)
More from that other Lennon song -
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too...
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man...
Which strikes me as a vision of communism. I'm sure this has been debated before.
Yes, "all we need is love." That would be wonderful, if only we could get that message through to the terrorists, Islamofascists, dictators, tyrants and warlords throughout the world. Promoting that message amongst ourselves only leaves us overly trusting and vulnerable to dhimmitude, or otherwise subject to the greedy intentions of an evil but trusted overlord.
Not for me.
And about singing, the Nazis would sing songs about murdering Jews as they marched off to battle. Oh, how they loved to hate the Jews.
Sees,
At least I have the guts to put my real name to my statements...
America was safe for 8 years inbetween domestic attacks under Clinton. Did you thank him for his great leadership for keeping the country safe for so long James?
I might add that unlike the Clinton era attacks, Bush KNEW Osama was determined to strike in the U.S. and KNEW that it was going to involve commerical airliners. He KNEW that a month before the attack. His response? "Time for a 6 week vacation!!" This is NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
On the day of the attack, he knew about the first plane hitting the towers on his way to an elementry school, his reaction: "Never mind thta, lets continue this photo op is important"
In the school, Andy card comes forward to say to the president that a second plane has hit the towers and that America is under attack. His reaction: "Hmmm. Let me sit and think about this for 5 minutes while I continue to read along with these elementry school students." NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
Katrina, Bush KNEW it was coming, days in advance, KNEW it was going to be bad, KNEW that the levees would like not hold, knew that there were going to be many problems. His reaction: "This is stressing me out, I better stay on vaction until this is all over" NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
Iraq, KNEW that removing Saddam would leave a vaccuum and that it would be opening the gates of hell. His daddy, Bush Sr. told him this, so did the top military advisors and top generals. His reaction: "I am the decider, I know better than you experience military people" NOT the hallmarks of a great leader.
One good man can make a difference. Right after 9/11, our world view was shattered. Now we realized that we are Israel. Any one of us could go to work in the morning and be killed. Thanks to President Bush's great leadership, our country has not suffered another attack in almost 5 years. President Bush has gotten no thanks for it and the pathetic dems and lib media have attacked every measure that has been used to keep us safe. President Bush knows his job and what has to be done and he is not in it for the thanks. I thank you President Bush for keeping my loved ones safe and making the tough decisions and I will always have your back. Does anyone remember the movie Independence Day, the movie with Will Smith and Jeff Goldbloom, about the aliens ships coming down to invade. Remember that one scene towards the beginning where all these flaky people went to the top of a high building and held up signs to welcome the aliens to Earth, only to be zapped by the ray shot down upon them from the ship. Those people on the top of the building are the modern democratic party. All americans can do is look at them in disbelief, shake your head and vote as many out of office as possible.
Axis,
Yeah, safe except for the fact that al-Qaeda was attacking Americans constantly and, of course, plotting 9/11 entirely unhindered by the out-to-lunch Clinton Administration...
Mark, I said before that Clintons foreign policy was poor and weak.
9/11 happened on Bush's watch, a good 9 months into it, plenty of time for him to have found out about it and stopped it, but it was his biggest failure.
Nice try at a spin to try and put Clinton on the hook of Bush's blunder.
Mark, are you saying that you believe that everything that could be done to prevent 9/11 was being done and that Bush taking the longest vacation in Presidential history (6 weeks) AFTER he found out about an imminent threat from Al Qaeda was a sign of good leadership and a strong protecter of the country?
"Gott Mit Uns"
Axis,
Your theory falls flat on Bush knowing there was an attack like 9/11 planned...
It is amusing that you keep up so many leftwing lies and half-truths.
As for that one - I'll never forget when Rice was asked about that PDB...the look of consternation on her face was priceless...the look of an amazingly well informed genius dealing with leftwing dimwits. You could just tell she couldn't lower her mental faculties down to that leftwing level where a generalised statement about al-Qaeda intentions is presented by the left as a clear warning of imminent 9/11 style attack.
Must be strange living in your alternate universe.
"It is those who think there is no hell below us, and above us only sky, who create the most evil in this world."
Tell that to these guys:
"We--with God's help--call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson." Feb. 1998 - Bin Laden edict
"I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George go and end the tyranny in Iraq,' and I did."
Mark, war is evil. I've never been in it, but I'm willing to guess that you ask most vets and they will not have a very high opinion of it.
Sometimes it is necessary. But we have to make sure it is. The Iraq war not necessary and it has led to evil acts on this earth.
And people have the gall to invoke God when justifying it. God is absent in war. Even the most just wars are only man's way of righting his own wrong.
Tom Shipley,
Were the terrorist's who flew the planes into the world trade center with all those innocent American civilian's evil?
Were the hijacker's evil? Yes.
Were the people in the world trade center evil? No.
Did we (United States of America) do anything to cause the terrorist's to hurt us? No.
You see anyone who says that the war in Iraq is unnecessary, is in effect a terrorist themselves!
Anyone who talks about evil doesn't even have a clue, until they have experienced the Iraqi way of life first hand!
God told American's something on 9/11 and that was We bettered be getting ready, because He is coming soon!
If we want to see the end of our days we had bettered be fighting and fending off the terrorist's!
ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIER'S!!
With God on our side we don't need to worry about defeat, because God has already won the war, We just don't know when that time and place is you see.
I am sure that the christian's in Iraq are happy, they are very thankful for the United States, If it were'nt for the U.S. they would'nt be getting any freedom, all they would have to look forward to is another zarquawi at the back door.
So when you say "God is absent in the war" I say HOGWASH!!
God is Eye of the hurricane, The Center of the Storm.
He works in mysterious ways to work things out for the better of both countries!!
Jeremiah
"You see anyone who says that the war in Iraq is unnecessary, is in effect a terrorist themselves!"
Thanks for playing Jerimiah. Shouldn't be up on a roof somewhere?
Tom
I say Jerimiah is in reality a liberal, non-conformist, atheist, peacenik who just wants to make all those God-fearing, born-again Christian warmonger neo-cons look bad
Could be. Just like CoC. Scary thing is, it's hard to tell.
I say Jerimiah is in reality a liberal, non-conformist, atheist, peacenik who just wants to make all those God-fearing, born-again Christian warmonger neo-cons look bad
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canadian observer,
I can only describe a liberal in terms as follows:
As a dog returns to his vomit; so a fool repeats his folly.
you repeat the same lies over and over.
__________________________________________________
Proverbs 25:9
If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another mans confidence, or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation.
__________________________________________________
So what will you do? if you do not believe what I say, and your best friend hears it, and turns out to be your enemy!!!and no one will ever look up to you ever again!!! something you need to think about when spreading your lying kimchee around there mister CO.
You are another prime example of the liberal lying team!!
You may have the right to spew your hate, but I have I right to respond to that hate!!
Say as you wish, but the truth is already planted in my heart and it is there to stay, No liberal lyer such as yourself will ever touch it!!!
Best,
Jeremiah
I wondered, given the level of delusion and general stupidity of axis' statements, if we would be able to tell when he finally reached his tipping point and went completely over the edge.
Not to worry. When it happened, it could not have been clearer.
Now, I know a lot of Liberals who spout the Ranty Rhodes Lie Chart verbatim---but I have never seen or even imagined a litany of looniness like axis post about all the things Bush knew about ahead of time, etc.
Can he back up even one single statement?
No.
Does he care?
No.
He just loves rambling on about his ludicrous bizarro takes on life.
Axis' posts remind me of that old saying:
"Every man likes the smell of his own farts."
And the mind farts of axis clearly delight him, while merely giving the rest of us a slightly uncomfortable look into the psyche of a seriously deranged person. Worse, of a person who revels in his derangement.
I'm wondering why they let him have a computer in that place his parents probably described to him as "being like a camp..." when they dropped him off.
Tom,
Ah, but it is those who think there is only sky above us who allowed for the bin Laden's of the world to grow and fester...
It is mush-minded thinking, as in that Lennon lyric, which makes the world such a mess these days - there have been so many chances this past 50 years for us to set things right, but we've been led, by and large, by people who don't acknowledge there is right and wrong.
Think back to the Eithiopian famine of the 1980's...to do the right thing would have been to send an expeditionary force, eject the Eithiopian goverment and set up a UN trusteeship for the nation, headed up by an American governor-general (because, honestly, only Americans, Brits, Canadians and Australians can be trusted on such matters) - and then a 50 year period of tutored development in preparation for Eithiopia to take its rightful place among the nations of the earth. Time and time again we were confronted with the absolute necessity of setting our faces against evil, and we punted.
9/11 brought home to us that we can't punt any more - that we have to do what we should have been doing for decades: insisting upon a modicum of decency. We are instructing the barbarians that we won't tolerate any more of their beastly behaviour - it is going to be a long, hard slog, but for the love of God and man, we simply cannot give it up - to give up means to consign some of our brothers and sisters to horrific lives, when we could have prevented it.
"but it is those who think there is only sky above us who allowed for the bin Laden's of the world to grow and fester..."
Oh really, who would that be?