2Author's note: This is written in response to Sublevel's flaming of my poem "Dialogue between Concerned American and Mr. President." I wanted to respond to his review but he didn't leave his e-mail address so I am posting this up in hopes of getting into an open debate. I have changed none of his comments and I apologize for using them without his permission.
Sublevel's Comments
Okay, heh, where do I start?
1) You've insulted and all but spit on our government who protects you.
2) You make our troups look like they're a bunch of mindless machines when they're protecting you and are willing to give their life for you. I'd like to turn back time to last year and plant you in the middle of iraq and see how long it takes for you to survive under a tyrant's rule!
3) You make mere theories sound like facts (to list them all would take up more time than I have to waste on this review).
4) And it almost sounds like you're rooting for saddum. "oh! No! don't kill him! he's harmless! Peace! let's have peace! he has no weapons!" is all that's scribbled over the poem. Little known fact-peace is something people in the world only dream of. And taking out a tyrant like saddum is a small step towards that dream. Take hitler for instance. We went to war with him to liberate the innocent jews being tortured and killed for no reason at all except for hitler's extreme hatred for them. We didn't even know if hitler was dead until a few months later. Have a little faith. We'll nab that saddum bastard. we've already destroyed his regime. That's certainly a big step. So page through a TIME magazine sometime and look at the pictures of iraqi men, woman, and children smiling and laughing because they are able to eat drink and speak freely. Watch the news and see the ruins of saddum's portraits and statues. Feel some security when you realize that women won't be raped every day by saddum's son and innocents won't be tortured.
As for the other countries suffering in similar conditions...one at a time, honey. We'll get 'em. Just one at a time.
~sub
Mouse1's rebuttal
This is in response to sublevel's flame.
1) First of all since when is it unpatriotic to criticize your country? The First Amendment does not grant freedom of speech so long as you agree with the Commander in Chief; it is for everyone, even liberals like me.
To Quote Erich Fromm:
"Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one's country which is not part of one's love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship."
My love for my country does not excuse me from taking a stand when the country does something morally reprehensible.
2) Where do you get the idea that I hate our soldiers? I do not blame the soldiers for what's going on-they have no say in this-I blame our leaders for shipping them off to die.
3) These are not theories, these are facts. Try and repudiate them and do not dare send my anything from Fox News or Rush.
4) Let me make this clear: Saddam is a murderous bastard! There is no love lost between me and Saddam. I am getting sick of the notion that I am either for our president or for a murderous tyrant! The world isn't as black and white as you would hope.
We did not go to war to save the Jews. We didn't find out about the Jews until after the war. We went to war with Germany after they declared war on us following our declaring war on Japan. If you are going to dredge up Hitler at least get your facts straight.
I don't know how freely they can speak with Ba'athist party members (the party Saddam belong to) being appointed as police officers and looters everywhere. Oh and supply shortages and the fact their houses have been turned to rubble tends to put a damper on any party.
5) I don't know how secure I can feel when the man responsible for the September 11 attacks, Osama, is still on the loose, the economy's still in the toilet, and the war has probably given birth to even more terrorists but maybe that's just me.
Have a happy.