a couple of things to keep in mind this tuesday

[somedaybitch]

first, some interesting comments from The Opinion Journal.

But if John Kerry, who famously demanded that the U.S. "stop this blind commitment to a dictatorial regime" in Vietnam, imagines history repeating itself in Iraq, he really ought to visit the place. Having passed through eight time zones and one looking glass, what he will find is not the reactionary playground of his fantasies, but a country where thousands of idealistic young men and women go to work each day in the hope of creating a democratic society. One of them, Mustafa Al-Khadimiy, who risks his life cataloging the depredations Saddam Hussein inflicted, has this to say: "The terrorists want to destroy everything and we're dying every day. If we're going to have democracy, the Americans cannot leave." Alas, he won't be voting on Tuesday.

and second...a logical perspective really can be found in the ljsphere.

Either way, it is still America, and it is still the land we all love, right? The president may have a lot of power, but he's not a dictator. If you disagree with whoever gets elected, you can still write to your Congresspeople to make a difference. That's what's so great about America. I learned about this in my political science class, and it's all about Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. We have a lot of them, and no one person or entity has the power to be tyrannical, and misuse them.

thanks theamyrlin. glad to hear they still teach that in school. from all the 'ohmyGODiamsoTERRIFIEDatwhatthiscountrywillBECOMEifbushwins' memes going around, i was afraid that they'd stopped teaching American Civics after i graduated.




and a footnote...someone wrote, today i believe, that the average American doesn't care about the rest of the world. i don't know that that's necessarily true for the "average", but, for the ones that actually hold that posture, i say this....you bloody well better start caring you self-absorbed wanks, because you're part of that world and what happens in that world has a direct impact on your life whether you choose to believe that or not. why are we the only ones that have a right to a democratic lifestyle? oh but we're not, you say? other folks have a right to that too? great. do something about it. but the doing something is risky and dangerous, you counter? yes it is. and?

Comments

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

You might also be interested in this this link that leadensky linked to today. A very similar read that I'm sending to as many people as possible. Except perhaps the ones who would cover their eyes, stick their fingers in their ears and scream at the top of their lungs that it's brainwashed propagand. (example #1: a friend living down the hall from me)

[somedaybitch.livejournal.com]

while there are places in this country where walking down the street on a sunny day might get you robbed, shot or stabbed, the reasons would be social and not political.

there is no fear of speaking your mind about your government because you would immediately get arrested, sent to prison without a trial where you are then tortured to death, your body dumped on the front lawn of your family's house.

there is no fear for a woman to be sitting in a public park alone, wearing a tank top and shorts, hair down, reading a book because the government here isn't going to execute her for it.

there is no fear here for a female child to go to school, or a female adult to teach at a school, or a female adult to vote.

there is no fear that a female child will be left outdoors to die of exposure because it's only a female and therefore worth nothing.

there is no fear here that a woman recently widowed will be legally set on fire and burned alive by her husband's family.

walking down the street with a smile on your face, a bounce in your step, and a friendly "hello" on your lips is possible here....but it isn't everywhere.

people can talk draHma and smack all they want about this country being fascist or whateverthefuck bullshit -ist word the wingnuts are throwing out. the fact remains that this country is democratic and free. is it perfect? fuck no. but there are methods in place that allow for change. use them. the President doesn't run the country in a vacuum. that's what your local, state and federal elected representatives are for.

Kerry would like to leave Iraq "stable" but isn't concerned if it's fully democratic, as if one is a substitute for the other. which is interesting because i know of no truly democratic nation that has ever made war on another truly democratic nation....or committed genocide on its own people.

[thevaliumsofalj.livejournal.com]

Thank God for this country. Too many people take the freedoms here for granted and make me want to boot them over to Iran for a few months so that they finally understand what they have.

Hey Kerlin, what did it say over at windsofchange? He exceeded his bandwidth :D

and let me add a link to the following article, which I thought was very interesting - an op-ed from the Boston Globe's Jeff Jacoby

[thevaliumsofalj.livejournal.com]

wg - saw this today... I've never thought about the risk they're taking to become democracies until I saw this: http://nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/31403.htm

Tuesday's winner will not start from scratch but from where we are now, standing with the women of Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Back in Washington recently, Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said those women were warned that Taliban remnants would attack polling places during the Oct. 9 elections. So the women performed the ritual bathing and said the prayers of those facing death. Then, rising at 3 a.m., they trekked an hour to wait in line for the polls to open at 7 a.m. In the province of Kunar an explosion 100 meters from a long line of waiting voters did not cause anyone to leave the line.

[somedaybitch.livejournal.com]

we don't have the first clue about how lucky and utterly self-absorbed we are.