...Some wise stuff, scroll to the end to see where it's from. See if you can guess beforehand. :)
Of late, the level of anger and vitriol surrounding this debate has risen sharply on this board. I'm seeing as lot of characterizations going both ways that do not, in my opinion, do justice to the thoughtful opinions behind them.
I have done my part to foster this problem, and for that I apologize. Hopefully, this will help to set the record straight.
The people who support the bombing campaign have begun to bristle, thinking that fellow DUers are accusing them of being bloodthirsty civilian-bombers. This is far from accurate. I see the folks who support the bombings as being people who have decided that no other recourse is available or effective.
While I personally disagree with this viewpoint, I want to state clearly that I believe my friends here who are in favor of the campaign in Afghanistan have made their decision in good conscience, with much thought and soul-searching going into it.
The people who are against the bombing campaign are constantly accused of having forgotten, or dismissing entirely, those Americans who died on 9/11. This phenomenon became most pronounced in the threads about Mullah Omar's dead son.
This is a pretty terrible thing to say, I think, and a fairly bombastic stick to wield in any debate. None of those who are against this campaign have forgotten 9/11, and I don't think a single person who questions the war doubts the need to seek justice from those who did it.
The questions turn on the method. There has been enough debate on this one, on various threads, so recapitulating the arguments are not needed here. Sufficed to say, those who are against the war, like their pro-campaign counterparts, have come to their decision after a great deal of thought and soul-searching. No one forgets 9/11, and everyone wants justice.
Those who are against this bombing are not all pacifists and full Doves. Most of us, I think, know fully the need for action of some sort. Those who are for the campaign are not hawks and lovers of war. Virtually all, I think, hate what is happening in a most visceral way.
Because both are thoughtful decisions - I know this, because I have seen DUers whom I deeply respect on both sides of the issue, proof positive that thought and introspection have gone into the decision - those decisions deserve respect no matter what side they fall upon.
9/11 has been compared to Pearl Harbor. I am beginning to see it as this generation's Vietnam - a conflict that has a great deal of politics in it, a conflict that can turn brother against brother, a conflict where the acusation 'traitor' is bandied about all too easily.
It is also a conflict that can shatter the Democratic Party, as Vietnam did.
As was stated, no one forgets 9/11, and everyone wants justice. We need to bear this closely in mind when reading comments that stand against what we might believe.
Finally, we are all in agreement on one centrally important fact: George W. Bush needs to be watched very closely by all of us.
Our divisions here are happening despite the fact that the airline bill has been, yeah I'll say it, hijacked by the far Right in the House. Important legislation is being held up until Congressional Democrats accept far-Right judicial nominees who, we hear, are "important to the war effort." This is vomitous, and must be blunted.
That list goes on.
We're in this for the long haul, friends. The minimum we must demand from each other is respect for opinions, and the understanding that we are all on the same page where it counts.
Thanks for listening.
P.S. The 2002 elections are right around the corner. There has never been a more important mid-term election in the history of this country. For this reason, and all the others, we must stand together.
Did you get it? One last hint: his mom has a killer recipe for tomato cheese pie.
Answer is here (it comes and goes, server-wise, so be patient if you don't get it).
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