Reply #68: ...

[Egalitarian]

"I don't buy that men and women are SO different that their actions can be male or female. Yikes!"

Umm, should I insert my foot in my mouth? Maybe I am a sexists? I've always considered it feminine to be compassionate and peace seeking. I just looked up feminine and masculine and was surprised. I thought male and female referred to our sex, but that feminine/masculine were personality descriptors irrespective of sex. I had thought of Condi as masculine and Cindy as feminine. My bad, apologies to all offended.


"And the war on terror, such as it is, IS a war against radical islamists."

I can't say that I agree with this. Certainly there are some radical islamists, but my perspective is that religion is secondary to many who fight against our policies. Stating that the war on terror is a war against radical islamists ignores the fact that if we were not intervening in their countries, then they would not be angry with us. Rather, it's a war on people who are resisting American hegemony who happen to be Moslem.


"But the government didn't wreck labor, cheap labor in Mexico and China did."

And who was it that negotiated the trade agreements that led to our present state of affairs? (Hint-it was not the worker). As I'm proud of saying, "Outsource the CEO's."

"I don't know, I read the New Yorker and the Atlantic and I get my share of good academic opinion there. I just don't see it. And Noam Chomsky would never be on TV because people generally are too dumb or disengaged to want to hear that level of political argumentation. Or this level, for that matter."

As you said earlier, the truth is out there for sure. But, if you follow the money, the vested interest, it seems to me obvious that government and corporate interests are largely the same. They want and actively cultivate ignorance for their own benefit. We are devolved to the point that Noam et al. would not be appreciated.


"I have a real reaction against arguments that this government is comparable to the Nazis, Mussolini, etc... And as cliched as it is to say this, 6 million Jews, 40 million Russians, and millions of others would testify to that."

What I hear people saying is that that the "new fascism" is more about control and power in the form of capitalists/corporations/media in cahoots with members of government. We don't know where the present path we're on will lead us, but it doesn't look good. Calling it fascism takes nothing away from WWII fascist atrocities. For better or worse, words often change meaning with time. There is a growing global movement/awareness calling for a new path. Before we can choose a new path we must first understand the one we're on and why it is failing us. Personally I'm not attached to the word fascism. I kind of like capitofascism myself, but fascism seems to be sticking.

cheers,
egalitarian