[OT] Another heated discussion about the Iraq siutation, war and politics.

[Fyron]

Yeah... so do I...

[General Woundwort]

Originally posted by rextorres:
That may be true, but one of the reasons that the Religious right supports Israel is there belief that its existance is a sign of the second coming. So I would be willing to go out on a limb that the war in Iraq is in the back of their minds as another harbinger of the apocalypse.

Yes, for some, but not for all. Please do not paint with too broad a brush.

Although, I noted with no small level of distaste that a book linking Saddam to Babylon (which was originally printed for Gulf War I) has been re-issued... just in time to see Saddam fall flat on his face again. This sort of concoction of bad theology and worse timing, frankly, is an embarassment to thoughtful believers...

[ April 16, 2003, 02:32: Message edited by: General Woundwort ]

[Phoenix-D]

"This sort of concoction of bad theology and worse timing, frankly, is an embarassment to thoughtful believers..."

It's not as bad as the group that predicted the end of the world on a specific date. Twice. Did I mention this was in the 1800s? And somehow they're still around, too..

Phoenix-D

[Cyrien]

Third time is the charm.

[Askan Nightbringer]

Originally posted by tesco samoa:
Askan Nightbringer I am currently hiding under a Tramplobombomee , trampoline. Care to join me. I have a BBQ pit , steaks , and a flat of beer.

Sounds good. I've got about a dozen half bottles of various spirits left over after a party on the weekend. I'll bring them around.

Fyron - I'm sure most Germans didn't expect to get what they got either

Everyone - Please lets not talk about god and jesus. Anything but god and jesus. I live in a secular nation where officials go to great lengths to never say the g word, where we find it very amusing that the only two sides that mentioned the g word in the war were US and Iraq, and the Last thing I want is to have an interesting discussion derailed with talk about god.

Askan

[Cyrien]

I second that motion.

[Fyron]

Askan, Germany only had a democratic form of government for a few decades (or less). The people were used to strong, authoritarian governments. So, the regime change was not such a big change of pace. But in the US, the country has had a democratic form of government for centuries. The people would not sit idly by if a military regime seized power. There is a huge difference between the US and post WWI Germany.

[Askan Nightbringer]

Fyron, before the Florida debacle would you have said that the people of America would never had sat idly by and let that sort of thing happen? If that happened in Australia I don't think I could ever talk about our democracy with a straight face.

Askan

[MegaTrain]

Originally posted by Askan Nightbringer:
Everyone - Please lets not talk about god and jesus. Anything but god and jesus. I live in a secular nation where officials go to great lengths to never say the g word, where we find it very amusing that the only two sides that mentioned the g word in the war were US and Iraq, and the Last thing I want is to have an interesting discussion derailed with talk about god.

Ah--but its not derailing the discussion--it is one of the central issues.

You live in a secular country where (I assume) the greatest proportion of the people oppose the war. In the US, a largely religious nation(historically at least), recent polls show 75% and higher support for military action.
This tells us something about how philosophical and religious ideology can affect your worldview.

We (in the US) largely view this as a question of "right and wrong", "good vs evil". Much of the rest of the world (and many on the left in the U.S.) view this as a question of legal vs illegal. This is why there is such a huge divide between those that say that U.N. support/approval is absolutely required, and those of us that say "The UN is wrong. This action is the right thing to do, and though we would like others around the world to agree and support us, the lack of a UN vote for military action will not prevent us from doing that which is necessary and right."

Again, I belive that clarity is more important than agreement, and if we understand more about the philosophic basis behind the disparity of views, that helps bring clarity.

[dogscoff]

We (in the US) largely view this as a question of "right and wrong", "good vs evil".

I think many (most?) of the protesters see Bush vs Saddam as "evil vs evil." I certainly do.