Posted on 09/25/2001 9:45:44 PM PDT by NorCoGOP
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- We live in a time of the plague, I know. Petulance, if not pestilence. Most people don't call it a plague, I know. They call it health. They call it life's blood.
They call it nationalism.
Probably the worst thing that happened to this poor planet is that the glaciers melted and humans squirmed out of their hunter/gatherer lives and invented agriculture. And then, being human -- meaning never satisfied with a good thing -- went on to invent private property, nationalism, and war.
And so here we are. Swathed in the red, white, and blue, armed to the last molar, seething with righteous hatred, ready to do battle with God on our side.
Maybe it's just because I'm an atheist, but I always start getting nervous when people have God on their side. It conjures images of the Crusades, the Inquisition. I always remember that the Ku Klux Klan and Hitler also thought they had God on their side.
The maniacs who blew up the World Trade Center were utterly convinced that they had God on their side.
But we know better. We're Americans, so God is truly on our side. He must be. We sing "God Bless America" every five minutes or so. The way things are going, coming soon to a future near you, being able to zip off a quick verse of "God Bless America" will be a necessary part of applying for a job.
I guess that even we atheists had better start praying that God is on our side, because, unfortunately, Jerry Falwell is on our side, too. Of all the truly moronic things that have been said in the last two weeks, Falwell's blathering that gays and lesbians and feminists and the ACLU caused the terrorist attacks is the hands-down imbecility winner.
With patriots like Falwell, who needs enemies?
Of course, running a close second was the right-wing/NRA notion that armed passengers would have prevented the hijackings.
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral at 35,000 feet and 450 mph. What fun. See where nationalism gets you?
Do any of these gun nuts (who somehow manage to be more moronic than anti-choice nuts; only God would know how, if He existe.) realize what would happen if several people started shooting aboard a jetliner?
Take, just for comparison, the case of Amadou Diallo. So-called "crack" police officers fired 41 shots at Diallo; 19 of them actually hit him. The rest peppered and ricocheted off his apartment building.
If that's the best trained police officers can do under stress, what do you suppose the chances are of untrained civilians under stress hitting anything but the fuselage or fellow passengers?
Mayhem at 35,000 feet. Is this what freedom means?
How come nobody, God included, told Thomas Jefferson?
Of course, old Tom, in addition to being a slave owner, was an atheist.
In any case, do the gun nuts have any idea of what happens when you start blasting 2-foot holes in a jetliner's fuselage?
The cabin loses pressure nearly immediately. People not lucky enough to be right next to an oxygen mask asphyxiate. And the plane generally spins out of control.
Splat.
Better to be a dead hero than a live, rational person, I guess.
Meanwhile, to make us feel so safe and sound, the administration has been busy inventing something called the Office of Homeland Defense. The Office of Homeland Defense? That sounds like something Argentina would have had back when the colonels were "disappearing" every third person. It sounds like something Pinochet would have invented. Or Stalin.
It would fit neatly in Orwell's 1984.
The one thing it does not sound like is something a freedom-loving people would invent.
Go nationalism.
And then we have the patriots around the country who are harassing, threatening, and, in two cases, killing people who they believe are Middle Eastern.
People commit the worst kind of bigotry when their personal algebra goes something like, Person of Middle Eastern descent = terrorist. No regular American citizens would calculate it like that, of course. We believe in innocent until proven guilty, unless your name is O.J. We believe in liberty and justice for all.
We must: We say so every time we recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Of course, the last time an American leader tried to recite the pledge in public, he butchered it (George Bush the Elder). Turns out he didn't know it.
That's just one of the myriad reasons you should start to get cynical when our leaders start to resort to "patriotic" gestures.
A true patriot would publicly burn the American flag right now -- just to demonstrate that, in a time of nationalist hysteria, the Constitution is alive and kicking and doing quite well, thank you.
Of course, anyone who did burn the flag right now would also be a true moron, because right-thinking Americans would monkey-stomp him to death in order to prove their patriotism.
That's the great thing about patriots -- they're always willing to kill somebody to prove how much they love their country.
Welcome to the plague.
Maybe it's just because I'm an atheist, but I always start getting nervous when people have God on their side. It conjures images of the Crusades, the Inquisition. I always remember that the Ku Klux Klan and Hitler also thought they had God on their side.
And I get nervous whenever I hear people say they essentially are gods because they believe none exist - Stalin, Mao, Lenin, etc. All atheists. Whaddya know.
Do any of these gun nuts (who somehow manage to be more moronic than anti-choice nuts; only God would know how, if He existe.) realize what would happen if several people started shooting aboard a jetliner?
Funny how he lobs in a jab at pro-life citizens, and for no coherent reason in relation to the subject at hand.
And while I myself am sceptical of allowing all passengers to be armed, if they were, let's see what would happen - either they'd kill the terrorist bastards, or, if they did as he said (shoot the fuselage, plane spins outta control and they're dead) they'd be just as dead as they are now. Under the circumstances, I'm sure the passengers would've at least liked to have the option.
How come nobody, God included, told Thomas Jefferson?
Of course, old Tom, in addition to being a slave owner, was an atheist
I'm no in-depth scholar of American history, but I believe he was a deist, not an atheist.
Better to be a dead hero than a live, rational person, I guess.
Um, the passengers are not live, rational people. They're dead. Again, perhaps they'd have a chance if someone up there was armed.
Meanwhile, to make us feel so safe and sound, the administration has been busy inventing something called the Office of Homeland Defense. The Office of Homeland Defense? That sounds like something Argentina would have had back when the colonels were "disappearing" every third person. It sounds like something Pinochet would have invented. Or Stalin.
I find it amusing how a guy who demonizes anyone who believes in God (let alone a just God) would point to Stalin as someone evil. Earth to moron - Stalin was an atheist, and possibly the worst mass-murderer of all time.
That's the great thing about patriots -- they're always willing to kill somebody to prove how much they love their country.
The other great thing about patriots is how, you know, they gave and continue to give their life and liberty to allow you to spout your pacifist nonsense in freedom. Go hide behind a rock you Michael-Jackson-We are the world-treehugging-coward.
There, I think I'm done.
Just thought I would go out and get the source so we can respond to this article.
Where can I get some of this ammo? It sounds like great fun, especially if you can fire it from a handgun.
I guess most of the pilots in the union are GUN NUTS!!
So, the blood of people who fought and took pride in this country means nothing to you? The very ones who fought to allow you the right to burn the flag?
Tell you what, since you obviously have no time for our country, why don't you leave? I suggest you move to Afghanistan and see how long you last complaining about the regime there. Better yet, go wave an American flag over there. See what happens. Now, what will happen if you wave an Afghani flag here? More than likely, nothing.
Yes, in a couple of atrocious incidents, a couple of innocent people were killed here. And, the people who committed the crimes are facing long prison sentences if not the death penalty. Now tell me, what consequence have people who killed American citizens in those countries faced? Oh, thats right, they are heroes in their countries.
Your kind is disgusting, because everything you do shows ignorance and hypocrisy when it comes to the difference between them and the U.S.
I sent the above to The Daily Iowan
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.