Re: [metatuning] Line of fire, world's ills.Neil

In a message dated 11/30/01 8:18:17 PM Eastern Standard Time,
STICK@... writes:

> Yes, those folks WERE in the line
> of fire, and a mighty tragedy it was. And, how much of the world's ills
> are the result of US policy? Well, for sure the Native populations of
> this hemisphere owe much of the loss of their culture and way of life to
> the US govt;

Hey there, Neil. I guess I am reacting more to how the arguments are put
together, rather than disagreeing with the arguments themselves. Every
country today is guilty of beating up on native populations since the
sixteenth century and the present. Russia is a huge collection of beat up
peoples. China, too. Then there is Central and South Americas, and Canada.
Did you know the Winnipeg residents are under a crime wave carried out by
natives? Every country has the bad karma you are speaking of. As a Jew, I
can say we had a pretty good record regarding violence toward neighbors.
1948 changed everything with the Balfour Declaration. But hey, this land was
Turk, taken by force from the British, and inveighed against by the surviving
Jews of the world.

and I imagine, from what I have read and studied over the years, that we
have had our fingers in a lot of pies around the globe,
> especially Central America, a la United Fruit.

That is what distinguishes a superpower (though the French prefer hypopower
(sp.? Monz?) Our ethnic compositions is made up of the whole world, so the
whole world holds our interest. Does the mischief of past U.S. governments
(and the present Bush government) provide a cause for the massacres of 9/11?
I do not think so. And it certainly does not follow directly from the
evidence. There are elements of religion involved, elements of raw power
acquisition. Do Americans treat their soldiers too preciously? Maybe this
also distinguishes that our soldiers are held valuably by us, even more than
ideologists inviting friends along for a suicide.

I don't think it's any
> great shock or surprise to say this, is it? Of course, how about the
> Belgians in the Congo, Dutch in South Africa, French in Algeria, and the
> British just about everywhere? The Europeans, as a whole, seemed to
> think that they could take whatever they wanted, and those who dared to
> fight back paid a heavy price. This is not exactly anything new I'm
> saying; it's pretty well documented. But, unfortunately, it doesn't seem
>

It's fine to point this stuff out. I'm really glad there is a chance for us
to speak deeply on things that are important to us, in addition to music.

Neil, can you imagine how it feels to feel comfortable in the homes of people
in Germany that were once Jewish homes? Can you imagine marrying a Japanese,
or that this recent historic enemy would support so much the American
approach to terrorism? Or how about natives today (equal to the same
population as natives that met the first whites) supporting U.S. actions in
Afghanistan? This is the case. One can apologize and drop the baggage
produced by war. However, what has happened here is different. We are all
in danger of a next attack. Only by spending every effort at the earliest
will there be a chance to circumvent what could be the next disaster. The
fact that there has not been any international terrorism (read: non-Anthrax)
since 9/11 leads me to believe the right thing was done. Regarding the
innocent deaths, always a horror of war, it may be a good idea to follow the
lead of the newly liberated Afghans and their positive view of Americans. I
think staying positive helps keep things positive.

Sorry, if I misrepresented your view somehow. Best, Johnny

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