War blurs lines between good, evil

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel11.html

When good does evil to fight evil, it becomes indistinguishable from the evil it is fighting

<snip>When good does evil to fight evil, it becomes -- in T.S. Eliot's words -- indistinguishable from the evil it is fighting. War blurs the lines between good and evil so they are hard to recognize and traps those who launch them in Big Muddies of self-destruction.

Yet humankind still enters wars with bursts of patriotism, self-confidence and desire for vengeance that blind populations to the risks they are taking and cause leaders to indulge in deception and -- perhaps worse -- self-deception about the terrible risks they are taking.

How could the leadership of this country not realize that an ineffectual war in Iraq would, instead of advancing the "war against terror," actually generate new generations of suicide bombers eager for, as the film title says, ''paradise now''?

How could so many members of Congress and American voters be so influenced by the pseudo-patriotism stirred up in the wake of the World Trade Center attack that they would eagerly and enthusiastically rush into another Big Muddy? Even though "regime change" in Iraq might itself have been a good cause, why were there so many who did not realize the lesson of history that the war would be long and costly and ultimately pointless? And worse still lead the country down the path to torture and murder, which go against all the nation's ideals?

Why were there so few who said, "Hey, wait a minute! What are the risks? How long will it last?"

[Bouncy Ball]

1. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I thought that many moons ago

we were NOT a nation of sheep, but a nation of people who mostly questioned things and used critical thinking skills.

Were we always sheep or is his a relatively new thing?

Surely the generation that said no to taxation without representation, then fought to have self-rule were not a generation of sheep.

[rocktivity]

2. Present company included, Sun-Times?

How could so many members of Congress and American voters be so influenced by the pseudo-patriotism stirred up in the wake of the World Trade Center attack that they would eagerly and enthusiastically rush into another Big Muddy?
Haven't you left someone behind, Sun-Times? Who was it that DID all the "stirring?" Why aren't you wondering about the role THE MEDIA played in perpetuating the lie?

Even though "regime change" in Iraq might itself have been a good cause, why were there so many who did not realize the lesson of history that the war would be long and costly and ultimately pointless? Why were there so few who said, "Hey, wait a minute! What are the risks? How long will it last?"
Many DID, and there were a LOT more than a few. The media just called them traitors and refused to give them national attention!

:mad:
rocknation

[NNN0LHI]

3. Father Andrew Greeley who wrote this piece was never for invading Iraq n/t

[rocktivity]

4. Edited for clarity

I was talking about the media in general, not the author in particular.

:headbang:
rocknation

[gratuitous]

5. Pardon me, Andrew, but . . .

Are you out of your mind?!

Why were there so many folks "influenced by the pseudo-patriotism"? You're writing a newspaper column, so I presume you are aware of the mass media in this country. If you tuned in a radio or a television set or read a newspaper at all from September 2001 to March 2003 and beyond, you know the answer to that question.

And you're asking why "so few" were asking questions? Again, there were millions and millions of us asking questions, demanding answers, but the mass media again failed us by labeling anyone who wasn't falling into lockstep as a terrorist sympathizer, a traitor, or worse. You're old enough to remember the Red Scare of the 1950s and 1960s; what do YOU think?

I don't know if Mr. Greeley is asking these questions for rhetorical effect, but heavens, anyone with three working brain cells knows the answers.

[NNN0LHI]

7. 60% of America now agree with Greeley and us. This article is not for us

This piece is for the 40% still holding out. I hope it helps.

Don

[Village Idiot]

6. "The center cannot hold..."

Who can tell the dancer from the dance?