Have we yet to be infused with fear and blinded by patriotism?

**Do you guys think we've gotten to this point yet with Bush giving an underhanded message about either being with them or the terrorists?

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."

**Or do you think Bush is still trying to get us to this point?

Indeed patriotism is a double-edged sword.
Let's try and keep our minds open and our blood simmered.
The only thing that should be getting our blood boiling is the unamerican attitude this administration is showing towards us, it's insulting...

I think both points have been reached by different segments of our diverse society. Some people belong to the first group and others belong to the second group. Then there are other groups that are completely oblivious, don�t care, or are simply follow the pack.

As I stated in other threads, my personal opinion is that we are glimpsing something truly scary.

�The same gang [that killed Kennedy] was behind Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes and their slandering and dirty politics against Carter and Clinton.

The crooks must go but they are powerful enough to bring down US presidents. What we get glimpses of with the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations as well as the current administration is a glimpse of the raw power a certain group of people possess and their lack of qualms about using it. post

From another post:

�What I don�t agree with in this case is that the attacks are unprovoked because they are, on both sides, responses to previous provocations. The CIA calls this �blowback� for the last fifty years of dirty tricks and meddling that has gone on in the world since the end of the second world war.

Fifty years of dirty politics with dictators, warlords, proxy wars etc. finally came back to hit home. The US is not solely responsible; Canada, Europe, Australia and other western �civilized� countries are also culprit.

Think the forced creation of Israel, followed by the propping up of the Saudi Monarchy (and other Kingdoms) after the second world war. All this lead to wars, or proxy wars, with just about every country in the Middle East and North Africa. This back and forth sucker punching has been going on for a long time. The men of this Administration have been around the whole time in high public office (how do you think they got so rich and influential? It was propping up the Saudis) and they now occupy the current White House.

Is it any wonder there are people out to �get us� in the world?�

So yes beware the leader that bang the drums of war� I would also add these:

"The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas, values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do." - Samuel P. Huntington

and

"The victory of arms leaves the issues where they were, though the triumphalist cries of vindication should serve as a warning for those who care about the future."
Noam Chomsky - 2001

"It is only in folk tales, children's stories, and the journals of intellectual opinion that power is used wisely and well to destroy evil. The real world teaches very different lessons, and it takes willful and dedicated ignorance to fail to perceive them. " - Noam Chomsky