Glutton.

[blustocking]

I've been thinking, watch out.
Opinions ahead...

So, I've come to some semi-conclusions. I've talked to those who would flee to Canada should we go to war and I've realized how they feel. I understand it and I even agree, to a point. There are only a few things that I don't understand...

Should WWIII break out...where will you go? Canada? Well, I would think Canada would be right there along with us, as they have in the past. So you would go where? Where could you escape today's warfare? Where could you escape nuclear fallout and chemical warfare? Tell me, maybe I'll go with you.

The simple fact is, you can't...why run? Why not stay here, make a stand, protest, chain yourself to the White House, stage a hunger stike, do something here, where we will see it...where your message is more likely to be heard.

Another thing I don't understand is closely related. Knowing that you could not outrun this, knowing that your moving to Canada would not send the message of "Hey I'm a pacifist, I'm not going to participate in this" but rather, "Hey, I'm a coward. I don't wanna die", why not, again, just stay here and raise your voice. I don't think the American government or American people are going to give a rat's ass if some people flee to Canada...they'll be written off. I would think staying here and protesting would make a stronger point. By the way, I am not calling you cowards. I'm sure some people out there would flee JUST to save their own ass, but I don't personally know any of them I think.

The third thing is this. I would not expect you to return. You leave in times of need, you stay away. I'm not condemning anyone's choice to leave, but don't come back. I don't like fair-weather friends and I don't think the country needs them either. I would not admonish you for leaving, but for returning.

The reaction to this horrid event is really letting us see who people are, and this scares me. I'm not talking about ANY of you, but the callous bastards who are "sick of hearing about it". This apathy, this coldness has me almost as scared as what's to come. Humanity indeed.
People are taking this country for granted. We've done horrible things, yes...things most Americans don't even know that we've done. We've been the aggressor, we've been the underhanded militant, we've killed innocents. I, like most, wish I could say that we've been the good guy, always...but it's just not true. But then you think, think about what freedoms you have. You have the RIGHT to slag the government, the right to protest, the right to dress, and worship how you please without governmental retribution. This, if anything, should inspire at least a little loyalty. Yes, you can leave, you can go to a country of similar nature...but what are you running from? If you're running from the oncoming possibility of war...best of luck. If you're running from a country that has an imperfect track record...good luck. We can't escape this, better to stay and make a difference.

I am scared and I am worried for our fate. But I am so grateful for the freedom to say so.

I never thought the National Anthem would bring me to tears...

Comments

Thinking (Part 1.... won't let me post more than 4000 words :P)

[qat.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of mixed feelings on the US. In the end, it is the country in which I was born and which has shaped, for better or worse who I am today. I am an American. I do not at all aupport a lot of what the US does and has done in the past, but I have always appreciated the various freedoms it has given its own people, and I do not take them for granted (OR refuse to see where even these freedoms might be improved upon and strengthened... for example, our "justice" system is an outrage). What I don't like, on the flip-side of the coin, is that our freedom, to me, seems to come at the cost of so many others around the world. We talk about how universally important freedom is, but then go about oppressing so many other people, and supporting many regimes which completely deny their citizens basic civil liberties. That seems, to me, to in some ways defy any freedom we, as Americans living in America may have. And I must admit that that doesn't rest well with me. Like, I said, mixed feelings. But when it comes down to it, this is my country. I neither spit upon it nor adore it. It has its definite and far-reaching problems, it has its very good points; and as an American, I am interested in trying to make the US a good place not only for us, but a good neighbor to others -- a valuable, positive, and *responsible* part of the international community...a point at which I feel we have definitely fallen way short.

About leaving, going to Canada, etc., if WWIII hits. I have been considering leaving the US to take up residence elsewhere for a long time, long before this, and not jus because of this. So I could actually see what the rest of the world is like; get a non-American residential perspective. I think that this is important, for me, just generally in terms of life goals and aspirations. Thinking about my country going to war was something which just further spurned my desire to leave. But as I have thought about it more, I have realized two things. First of all, most likely everyone would be involved, and there would be no real "sanctuary." Second and more importantly, that my voice of protest would not be well-heard if I were elsewhere. I'd be written off as a coward, as someone who does not count, and I am neither of those, and fear is not a real motivation for me to go anywhere, ultimately. I'd stay here and fight in any nonviolent way I could *against* the fighting. I cannot pick up a gun for any "cause" I can yet conceive of, nor can I support that "solution," no matter who employs it. But I may still yet leave the US to see what life is like elsewhere. To hear other peoples' stories, see they way *they* deal with thnigs, etc.... I don't like the tunnelvision anyone who lives anywhere long enough tends to get, and I know that I undoubtedly have a lot of that. I want to have a more open perspective. So I may yet leave. Now, however, if we did go to war, I'd ironically be more likely to stay. But who knows.... only time will tell, really.

[spasmolytic.livejournal.com]

"The reaction to this horrid event is really letting us see who people are, and this scares me. I'm not talking about ANY of you, but the callous bastards who are "sick of hearing about it". This apathy, this coldness has me almost as scared as what's to come. Humanity indeed.
People are taking this country for granted"

THANK YOU SWEETEST ELOQUENT BLU i have been trying to put this sentiment into words since tuesday (yes, i encounterd people who said that they were "sick of hearing about it" even on *tuesday*).

finally it is expressed. thank you. i shall steal this and use it everywhere (givin you credit of course)

-da mole