American oppression

I keep seeing all over this board that the Bush administration is doing everything it can to reduce the right of its people and oppress us all. If you look at our history though, in this day in age we've got it great. Over the years since the United States has been around we have waged wars against countries we have locked people into concentration camps and we have done horrible and unspeakable acts against our people and others abroad.

With the information age and a view of individuals our country has gotten much better and understanding over the years. We have learned from out mistakes and we are constantly being checked from all angles to make sure we still keep our basic rights and protect the constitution. We are being much more concerned with trying to only hurt the people in the battles and reduce the amount of casualties that affect civilans. We try and bring assitance to areas in need. All around, we have done what we can to be a big brother instead of what is always labelled as us being a big bully.

No we are not perfect but neither is any other country in the world. History proves this and we just need to move on and learn from our mistakes.

I wish I can say you are right and that is suppose to be the purpose of this nation but unfortunately that is not what is going on in US and the rest of the world right now.

Iraq is a disaster and pictures work better than words.

US needs to back off from the power hungry corporations and be back to be for the people and by the people.

This nation has the capabilities to do greatness around the world but power in the wrong hands is always mismanage and abuse.

Poor leaders bring poor decisions and even good nations fall short on good leaders. Its not the US nation and his people at fault here but the leaders that are elected the wants that make the wrong decisions.

In some ways, the information age just allows better control of hearts and minds.

"You provide the pictures, I'll provide the war." This was sent from a publisher to one of his artists in Cuba during the Spanish-American war.

The US practice of warfare is tried, true, and sticks to the same formula ever since the Indian Wars. Go in with 'good intentions' and slowly degrade, smash, and crash until either the enemy's finished or the war becomes politically untenable.

This formula is strongly evident in foreign wars in the Philippines, was repeated in Vietnam, and is being replayed in Iraq.

Pacifists, or, just people with common sense who can't see the grand picture, that sometimes war is beneficial in its own right, always drudge up the mistakes of the past, which are always ignored by our leaders.

The media's role in this whole affair is to prop up the government by appearing patriotic until readership and advertising completely bottom out and the kickbacks die, too.

reply to post by build319



True, today we live in a less oppressive American society, but what about our oppressive foreign policies in places like Vietnam, Thailand, and many other regions that our government leaders, in their attempt to protect America's future assets, thought it was in the best interest to fill the power vacuums with their approved regimes or leaders. Skewing the "communist threat" by masking large people's movements in these areas as being the totalitarian communism that formed in Russian, China, and North Korea. Who knows what kind of collectivist, socialist system could have came about if the U.S. hadn't put the Dictator, Sarit, as the leader of Thailand instead of the people's choice, Pridi Phanomyong, who would have helped created a constitutional, pariliamentary system instead of a military dictatorship.

And hell, what about our own country today? The capitalist propaganda we have been barraged with since the day we were born has undoubtedly affected our culture, which seems to becoming more and more about watching "life" instead of living life. Don't we have the means to create a truly great society; collectively helping each other instead of pitting us against everyone in a system where wasteful over-production and over-consumption is the norm. Are we our being trained to accept that we have to work for the huge gains of others, the rich and privileged, when we should be putting our energy and efforts in the gain of our society as a whole. I know this country is the place that these kind of changes could happen, I just hope that our society and culture isn't lost in this mess of what we call "modern living."

Wilson N