[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"As a matter of fact the vast majority of my students don't think street protesting is cool or exciting."

I suppose they would have sat on the sidelines in Revolutionary Era America

[TPartyType]

Remember how agonizing it was for the family in Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" to decide what to do? The hotheads were anxious to go to war, but not ol' Mel's character. Why? Because he knew the horrors of war and he wished to exercise restraint. He was a true conservative. He hated war and he didn't allow himself or his sons to entertain romantic views on the subject.

He wanted to give diplomacy every chance. BUT . . . when it was time to fight, he was ferocious . . . even scarey. I like to picture myself acting just so . . with my students right beside me!

Now I can hear someone scream, "But his son died because he drug his heals!!) True, his young son had to die before he jumped into the fray, but his reluctance to fight was not the cause of his young son's death. His son died because he acted rashly and because of the brutality of the Red Coat commander.

---

Speaking of war, a good analogy just occured to me:

Our adversary in Iraq is using lots of suicide bombers and road side bombs. Should we "fight fire with fire"? Should we start annihilating villages that support insurgents? Should we send in select troops on suicide missions to blow themselves up in a crowd of suspected insurgents to demoralize them? Why not?

reductio ad absurdum--"illustrating absurdity by being absurd"