The Impending Bloodbath
We are speeding toward a bloodbath. I say that as an observer and as one who would prefer to avoid it, but believes it to be inevitable.
America has experienced economic superiority over the rest of the world for decades, and will act to preserve this superiority. Not that the citizens will continue to enjoy a high standard of living. The domestic policies of the current administration have been working toward shifting the wealth of the middle class to the upper class and this trend is continuing. A major part of the agenda is to control the flow and the price of petroleum. There are countless articles all over the internet that discuss these issues beyond the degree that I can even comprehend, and anyone with an open mind and a desire for truth has had ample opportunity to investigate this for themselves. Many people assume that progressives have fabricated out of paranoia or blind hatred of the neo-cons the story that this administration planned the Iraq war prior to 9/11, and that they cynically used the terrorist attacks to advance their economic and political agendas, jumping to conclusions based on partial evidence and innuendo. Anyone who believes that can go right to the source: People for The New American Century. A quick check of the names at the bottom of this page reveals much.
What can I say about terrorism that hasn’t been beaten into keyboards since the explosion of the Internet? We know all about it, don’t we? At the risk of being redundant, I will state unequivocally that I abhor violence and have lost any tolerance for organized religion. The only reason there are more Islamic terrorists than Christian ones is that Christians tend to live in free secular nations and Muslims tend to live in theocracies and dictatorships. Both religions preach a monopoly on truth and superiority to all other religious beliefs. I shudder to think of the additional acts of violence and hatred that will be committed in the name of a specter should America continue on its course toward the marriage of Christianity and government.
What happens after the next major attack on American soil? Never mind the official government’s response, which will be brutal. What is going to happen to the people?
In the aftermath of 9/11, I remember that the airports were a nightmare; three-hour lines and soldiers with rifles everywhere. I also remember the fear and hatred in many people’s hearts, and while I am reluctant to admit it, in my heart as well. I was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City, and worked in Manhattan for many years. I attended business meetings and trade shows at the World Trade Center, and often ate lunch on the steps and in the area. The WTC was downtown New York City. While none of my friends or loved ones were lost in the attacks, many of my friends and loved ones had relationships with people who perished in or who were forever changed by the atrocity.
Around the 2nd week of October 2001, I was conducting a training class at a company in Trenton NJ, and during break time and at lunch there was much talk about the disaster. At one point, one of the students said, “I think America should announce to the world that ‘from now on, for every American that dies from a terrorist attack, we will kill 10,000 Muslims!’ and then do it!” There was a murmur of “yeahs” among the crowd. I kept silent and had to fight the feelings of agreement and revenge that were rising within me.
I believe that the terrorists do not realize (or do not care) about placing innocent Muslims, indeed anyone of Arab descent into peril. Whether one believes that American foreign and economic policy must share the blame for terrorist attacks along with the radical Islamic ideology or not, whether terrorists grievances are real or not is not the point. It comes down to which side has the money and the weaponry. I believe that there will be another terrorist attack on American soil, and for the reasons I’ve stated above I believe that it will ultimately result in the deaths of thousands, if not millions of innocent people, and the thought of it all makes me feel sick.
America has experienced economic superiority over the rest of the world for decades, and will act to preserve this superiority. Not that the citizens will continue to enjoy a high standard of living. The domestic policies of the current administration have been working toward shifting the wealth of the middle class to the upper class and this trend is continuing. A major part of the agenda is to control the flow and the price of petroleum. There are countless articles all over the internet that discuss these issues beyond the degree that I can even comprehend, and anyone with an open mind and a desire for truth has had ample opportunity to investigate this for themselves. Many people assume that progressives have fabricated out of paranoia or blind hatred of the neo-cons the story that this administration planned the Iraq war prior to 9/11, and that they cynically used the terrorist attacks to advance their economic and political agendas, jumping to conclusions based on partial evidence and innuendo. Anyone who believes that can go right to the source: People for The New American Century. A quick check of the names at the bottom of this page reveals much.
What can I say about terrorism that hasn’t been beaten into keyboards since the explosion of the Internet? We know all about it, don’t we? At the risk of being redundant, I will state unequivocally that I abhor violence and have lost any tolerance for organized religion. The only reason there are more Islamic terrorists than Christian ones is that Christians tend to live in free secular nations and Muslims tend to live in theocracies and dictatorships. Both religions preach a monopoly on truth and superiority to all other religious beliefs. I shudder to think of the additional acts of violence and hatred that will be committed in the name of a specter should America continue on its course toward the marriage of Christianity and government.
What happens after the next major attack on American soil? Never mind the official government’s response, which will be brutal. What is going to happen to the people?
In the aftermath of 9/11, I remember that the airports were a nightmare; three-hour lines and soldiers with rifles everywhere. I also remember the fear and hatred in many people’s hearts, and while I am reluctant to admit it, in my heart as well. I was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City, and worked in Manhattan for many years. I attended business meetings and trade shows at the World Trade Center, and often ate lunch on the steps and in the area. The WTC was downtown New York City. While none of my friends or loved ones were lost in the attacks, many of my friends and loved ones had relationships with people who perished in or who were forever changed by the atrocity.
Around the 2nd week of October 2001, I was conducting a training class at a company in Trenton NJ, and during break time and at lunch there was much talk about the disaster. At one point, one of the students said, “I think America should announce to the world that ‘from now on, for every American that dies from a terrorist attack, we will kill 10,000 Muslims!’ and then do it!” There was a murmur of “yeahs” among the crowd. I kept silent and had to fight the feelings of agreement and revenge that were rising within me.
I believe that the terrorists do not realize (or do not care) about placing innocent Muslims, indeed anyone of Arab descent into peril. Whether one believes that American foreign and economic policy must share the blame for terrorist attacks along with the radical Islamic ideology or not, whether terrorists grievances are real or not is not the point. It comes down to which side has the money and the weaponry. I believe that there will be another terrorist attack on American soil, and for the reasons I’ve stated above I believe that it will ultimately result in the deaths of thousands, if not millions of innocent people, and the thought of it all makes me feel sick.
posted by The Viscount LaCarte at 4:23 PM
1 Comments:
Welcome to the Blogosphere, Viscount. Good post, and one that I can empathize with, living in the DC area and wondering every day if/when someone with a low-yield nuclear (pronounced "nucleear," okay Shrub?) device in a briefcase is going to show up on the Mall, in the Metro, etc. It's affected my choice of where I live, where I work, how I get to work, etc. I know this probably makes me look needlessly paranoid to some people, but all it takes is one time. And who knows if they'll stop at one.
It's not that I mind being a target -- I'm used to that. DC's always been a target, and I remember joking with friends during the Raygun years that if we heard that the missiles were on their way, I'd head to the top of my Capitol Hill townhouse with a lawn chair and bottle of vodka, and face the rotunda. But I do mind that this administration, through its irresponsible and indefensible policies in Iraq, has made life in this town -- which I love -- so much more dangerous than it was before.
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