Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, to the extent that they coincide, and they do, in their belief in the sanctity and dignity of human life and the importance of the family.

>At least this administration is >doing something they feel is >right. If you disagree, make it >constructive. What would you do >differently? And don’t speak in >euphemisms. “Pie-in-the-sky” >rhetoric can’t be acted upon.

This administration may be doing something they feel is right, but the problem is that large numbers of people around the world, including in the US, feel that it is wrong. They can see that the US is acting in its economic interests, and that those interests don’t coincide with theirs. Come to think of it, they don’t coincide with the interests of a lot of people in America, either.
What would I do differently? Stop telling the world that we’re the protectors of democracy or that we’re protecting our own people against terrorism. Admit that the reason we’re in the Middle East is because of oil, because oil is central to our economy. Period.
Then do something about the situation: Offer the world a future other than dependence on oil until there is no more oil. The technology for achieving energy independence in the US exists. Use it. Stop selfishly despoiling the planet. Use our smarts and our money to see that the rest of the world can have access to some of the comforts we enjoy at their expense, even if it means making a few sacrifices. Use our power to see to it that the world’s limited resources are shared equally. That people have access to clean water, to medical car, to learning, to food, to decent housing.
Pie in the sky? No it’s not. It’s the only real way to keep the powers on the other side from using the destructive forces we have developed and now want, in vain, to keep contained against us, threatening the planet with annihilation.

Joe

Thanks for your comments.

I seriously doubt we can win the hearts and minds of Radical Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorists unless we adopt the Koran as our Constitution and wipe Israel off the planet. I’m not talking about the everyday people just trying to live their life peacefully in the Middle East. I’m fairly sure they are enjoying their new freedom in Iraq and do not wish to return to the old regime which is trying to intimidate and kill them. I’m talking about the oppressive radical leadership of countries, religious groups, and terrorist organizations. These people are not reasonable and are not tolerant of “infidels”. Look at how Afhganistan was going to execute someone for converting to Christianity. I don’t really know how you can expect these people to be more enlightened than Westerners. What exactly is your plan to win the hearts and minds? I hope you agree that Iraq cannot become a terrorist state and that Iran should not obtain a nuclear bomb. I would like to hear specifically what your plan is to change their perception and behavior. I’m not sure what a “life-affirming ideology that can rise above sectarianism and cultural differences” is.

Saddam Hussein and the Taliban (just as examples) were backed and armed by the US. The US engineered the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Chile (in 1972) and allowed a takeover by a dictator. There are many other examples. The fact is that the power structure of the US will back any regime that will support its interests. Instead of removing “bad guys,” wouldn’t it be simpler not to put them in power in the first place?
Joe LaCour
Mobile

If it makes you feel better, I’ll give a horrible response and string things together also.

Not every Conservative has their beliefs dictated by religion. I feel you can arrive at the same values through logic and common sense. You could refer to my prior pro-evolution posts as evidence.

Conservatives believe in the use of force for idealistic and practical purposes. We don’t like to look the other way when horrible dictators oppress and slaughter innocent people. I am not one of those people who feels Saddam needed to possess WMD’s to be labeled a bad guy who needed to be removed. Terrorists in Iraq ARE a threat to our own security and retreat is not an option. A democracy and ally in the Middle East is a powerful symbol to other repressive states.

I also don’t believe Conservatives are anti-environment. We feel there has to be a reasonable balance between progress and conservation. We feel many evironmentalists use scare tactics to further other anti-business agendas. Keeping the economy strong is a high priority to retain our leadership position in the world.

The evidence about smoking being dangerous has been out for a long, long time. I don’t hear anyone arguing against it. In my opinion, you have to be a complete moron to smoke. However, conservatives also tend to have a libertarian streak and feel that if you want to do something dumb to ruin your own life, that’s really your own decision, not that of the government. Now if you want to argue that smoking infringes on the rights and health of others, then there may be some merit, but there better be overwhelming evidence to overturn the right to be a complete moron in this country.

Conservatives do have a large tent because we only need a few common values to unite us: Free speech, limited government, free markets, strong military, personal responsibility, and the same rights and opportunity should apply to EVERYBODY equally, not just favored minority groups.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech at the Republican convention summarizes our shared values quite well. I don’t agree with every thing Michelle Malkin says, lately I’ve disagreed with her positions on immigration, but I believe she fights for our common values which is why she garners our support. And…nobody’s perfect.

It is just sad, really. Now part of having a mature blog is trying to have dialog, but the problem is many of us adults already have our opinions fully formed, so we need to ask ourselves “is there any chance of being swayed by evidence? Even if my side ends up being wrong?” For me I think this is the case, because, ont he Left hand side we tend not to have wishfully thinking neo=COnservatives that base their view of warfare on bad readings of Thucydides, young earth creationists that deny Physics and Biology, and anti-envirnmental hacks whose work is funded by oil companies so that global wamring may be denied. And these are all the same people that cynically denied evidence of smoking’s harm so they could continue to sell cigarettes.

This has been a horrible comment because I strung lots of things together, but you should see who you are in bed with.