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Originally posted by 27jd
reply to post by ExCommando
Just trying to lighten things up a bit.
I don't think gemini is serious though, I think he/she's just one of those posters that try to get a rise out of people online. If hope so anyway.
In all seriousness, thank you for serving alongside our soldiers. Hopefully, once the dust settles, my fellow Americans will take some time to reflect on how they've behaved exactly how those we're fighting would behave. We've lost our way as a country, and allowed our desire for revenge to come before the values that are supposed to seperate us from them.
Originally posted by ExCommando
I think the western world has lost its way - and it's saddening.
Originally posted by NightShift
Food for thought:
Due to the complexities of international law, many of the world's navies have been opting to set Somali pirates adrift without fuel or navigational equipment after capture. This all but assures death for the pirates when caught deep in international waters.
Documented cases include the Russian, Dutch and Danish fleets. It is assumed that undocumented cases are prevalent, so it is not a giant leap to think the navies of most other countries have been acting in the same manner.
Keeping this in mind:
-do you really think your country would have handled the matter of OBL differently?
-what is the difference between piracy and terrorism? pirates have been summarily judged and executed since mankind figured out how to float across a pond on a log.
-did your grandparents celebrate the end of world war 2? when news of hitler's death spread? when the japanese surrendered after two cities were leveled by nuclear weapons?
-by what expedient do fundamentalist religious or political movements gain power? votes? appeals to humanity? violence? fear?
-does trial and imprisonment effectively dissuade terrorism?
i have lived in many different regions within the usa, the nyc and dc areas among them. even within the confines of this country, the emotional toll varies. in the nyc and dc areas, people were traumatized in a direct way that people in other areas were not. on each anniversary of september 11, the people of the affected areas go about their business enveloped in a heavy black cloud. tears are shed. in other parts of the country, people sometimes forget what day it even is until they turn on the news.
if you have ever experienced senseless tragedy, you can appreciate the vast emotional divide that can spring.up between you and others who have not shared your experience. if you are a soldier, i expect you know exactly what i am speaking about.
before anyone claims to be able to look down on anyone else regarding matters of death, loss, punishment and revenge, and how they are emotionally expressed, i advise them to take a moment to imagine being in the shoes of those they claim to judge.