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Monday, September 06, 2010 |
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Look in the log, people! - 09/09/2004 8:55 PM I want to begin this rant with a true story. Many years ago, when BBS’s (Bulletin Board Systems) like The Wrong Number ruled the day, I had a fellow Sysop (System Operator – someone who operates a BBS) change his BBS to a unique BBS. It was essentially a trivia game, but to make things different and challenging, the goal was to reach the top of a mountain (Pyroto Mountain, I think it was called). As you reached certain levels on the mountain you would discover new commands available to you. The various commands would let you do things you could not do before. You could give or take “manna” (money) to/from other players. You could raise/lower other players on the mountain. And many other fun/evil deeds. Because his BBS was new and there was very little activity I suggested that another person and I be raised 75% up the mountain. She’d be the “good cop”, I’d be the “bad cop”. We’d battle each other (all fake, of course) and try to stir things up. I’d try to get people to join me by granting them good deeds – they just needed to say nice things about me, or bad things about my opponent. My opponent would essentially do nothing but good for everyone. I mostly did bad things, occasionally helping people who really groveled before me. We’d mock terrible battles between us and ultimately got things moving on the mountain. It was fun. There was an important feature of Pyroto Mountain I have not yet shared with you. You could view, in the log, who had done what to whom, and when. The log held the last seven days of activity. Anybody who bothered to look at the log could easily have discovered that I lied constantly and my opponent was truthful. She’d give someone a bunch of manna, and I’d claim I did it. All people had to do was look at the log and you could see I lied and she did the good deed. I’d do terrible things to people and claim she did it. Again, the log told all. After a few weeks of this I was insanely popular – everyone loved me and was convinced that my opponent was in fact cruel and mean spirited. Naturally the opposite was true and all people needed to do to understand and reveal this was to look in the log that was easily available. What this taught me is that most people will pretty much believe what they are told. They will rarely take the time to research an issue for themselves and will begin to support their beliefs despite evidence and fact to the contrary. I’m convinced that towards the end of the game a couple of people did discover what was going on, but learned that the more praise they bestowed upon me the more perks they enjoyed…so they said nothing. Former President Jimmy Carter recently called Zell Miller’s speech at the RNC “rabid and mean-spirited”. I read this speech, and it was nothing of the kind. But those who hate Bush need to hear nothing more. If Carter said it was hateful, they it was hateful – what else would you expect from the Devil Bush? People talk about how the US went into Iraq against the will of the international community. In President Bush’s January 21, 2004 State of the Union speech he eloquently stated the following: “Some critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This particular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands, Norway, El Salvador, and the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq. As we debate at home, we must never ignore the vital contributions of our international partners, or dismiss their sacrifices. From the beginning, America has sought international support for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have gained much support. There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few. America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people.” Russia, France and Germany didn’t want to go into Iraq because they might lose billions in loans they had made to the former Dictator, Saddam. They had clear motives to resist doing what was right. Russia, a recent victim of vicious terrorism thanks to fanatical Muslims, is beginning to see the light of day now. It has taken multiple airliners being blown out of the sky and about 200 children being murdered to wake them up, but they’re waking now. The United States has never backed away from doing what is right. We have fought evil many times before and we’re doing it again. Look at Spain, also a victim of terrorism. Their reaction? Comply with the demands of terrorists. The people of Spain will never be safe from terrorism again – it has been welcomed into their lives. There can be no tolerance for terrorists. We cannot bend into their demands or we will assuredly be their slaves. I do not think that all terrorism can be eliminated. You can defeat an army, but you can’t defeat a few thousand nuts that are willing to do anything to further their twisted cause. Criminals are essentially terrorists. Although few people are actual violent criminals, all the resources of the United States cannot eliminate violent crime. We can, however eliminate governmental support of terrorism. Any government who protects or welcomes terrorists should be overthrown. We’ve already done it in Afghanistan and Iraq. The “We” I’m referring to is the list of nations above, not just the United States. We can seek out and destroy terrorist camps and supporters. We can demonstrate to the world that it is better to ferret-out terrorists and destroy them than to live with them in quiet compliance. What is one of the greatest threats to the United States? It isn’t terrorists. It isn’t weapons of mass destruction. It isn’t economic harm. It is the destruction of the Constitution and the ideals it represents. Our Constitution is our national soul, our national conscious. We must do what is right – without regard to the cost – or we will destroy our very soul. The United States is the only superpower. We have the capacity to act or observe. It is sick and twisted to sit by and allow evil to ravage the innocent and lend no helping hand to the innocent. Our great challenge is to discern when we best serve humanity by acting or by observing. This line in the sand is where the real differences between most Americans lie. In my view allowing monsters like Saddam to exist unmolested is an abuse of our place in the world. We owe it to humanity to eliminate such monsters. Monsters like this exist in other places in the world, most notably North Korea. I am not a warmonger. I do not want the United States to single handedly “save the world”. I do not want the United States to abuse our tremendous power and influence. But just as a poor and sick child in a starving village in Africa had no choice as to where they would be born into the world, neither do we, as citizens of the United States. This is our time in history – and we may not live a tremendously long life. America should not be revered because of the number of trips around the sun we’ve taken; rather because we spread freedom and hope around the world. A coward dies a thousand deaths, but a brave man only one kcuhC, chuck@kcuhc.com |