I was talking with a friend over the weekend who was a supporter of all the wars America is involved in. One of his defenses I’ll paraphrase was, “Imagine being a female in one of these Middle Eastern who is forced to wear clothing covering nothing but their eyes. We are doing so much good for these people.”
That sounds like a bad situation for a woman… and it is… IF they are FORCED to wear these, but often times it is a voluntary show of commitment to the Muslim faith. We don’t understand their culture, religion or ways of thinking. You can say it’s bad that Arab women have to dress extremely modestly, but is the situation really any better for an American woman? Women in America are pressured to wear sexy clothing, makeup and be 20lbs underweight in order to attract attention from men. Girls are sexualized from a young age and are put down and made to feel as being of lesser value than men. Women in positions of power are few and far between and those that are, are made light of.
Think of guys like Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. They are old as sin, yet still land high-profile roles. How many past their prime women land starring roles in major films? (Glen Close?) Few people are interested in old women. America values young looking women who do scandalous things. Older American women in the spotlight need plastic surgery, facelifts and botox to keep from feeling worthless in our culture. Arab women do not feel this pressure. Facial coverings seem terrible and extreme to us, but step back from the situation and see that it’s just a matter of the pot calling the kettle black.
Even if we are doing these countries good by bombing them and overthrowing their rulers, there are several considerations we need to make.
1. Is it worth spending American money and sacrificing American lives to “help” other nations?
I fail to see how it is our moral obligation to get involved with the affairs of other sovereign nations by raining down death and destruction by land, sea and air. We need to accept that people are going to hate us and going after these people is only going to stir up more hatred. On Sept. 11th many people were shocked that terrorists were willing to sacrifice their lives to hurt us. Others who realize how our foreign policy is causing this hatred have been predicting an attack on American soil for years.
2. Are bombs and bullets really the best way to spread our “goodness”?
Maybe this is a naive viewpoint, but surely there have to be more diplomatic ways than threats and warmongering to bring about positive change in the world.
And by the way, there is only one anti-war candidate running for president. This candidate is the only one to have served in the military and garners the most donations from military personnel.
I’ve never been in the military so why not take it from someone who has:
I am a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. I support Ron Paul and I support his foreign policy. I am sure you would not dare call me a Paultard to my face.
No, you would give me the same parroted line I hear 100 times a day, “Thank you for your service”. When I hear some flabby couch potato like you say that to me it makes me sick. Yes, I serve our country, but our wars do not.
I do my best to keep my men alive while we carry out this sick policy of sticking our noses in other peoples business. When was the last time you had a friend die in your arms or look for the leg that was just blown off of the man next to you? When was the last time you walked past dead children that were killed by U.S. weapons? I’m glad you can sleep at night, because many times I cannot. I have children myself you self righteous SOB. If someone killed my children you can bet I would do everything in my power to seek revenge.
You dare call me rabid and blind? I know what I am talking about. Why don’t you grab a gun and head to Iran if you want to fight them so much. Ron Paul is right. They are no threat to us. We need to mind our own business. They hate us not because we are rich and free, they hate us because we are in their countries.
It is people like you that are the biggest threat to this country, not Iran.
BY SgtLewis on 08/16/2011 at 11:06
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/…
