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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 15,719,287 |
Question of the Week: 95 - 1/19/2003 How Do You Feel About War? ‘Yes I'm talking about this war dance/ A patriotic romance./And I know all you poets/Have seen it all before…’ – Colin Moulding, XTC Colin: ‘The words were originally prompted by the Falklands War in 1982. But it was too much on one piece of history. Then along came the Persian Gulf War and I put the revised lyrics to a new piece of music. It was time to bring war out of the closet again.’ And again, it would seem. How do you, from your own spiritual perspective or tradition, view and/or cope with the ideals and realities of war and armed conflict? Do your political leanings influence how you feel? Do you have a difficult time explaining/defending/advocating your position to other Pagans or Heathens? Non-Pagans? |
| Reponses: There are 153 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| Bad Counting? | Jan 24th. at 8:33:13 pm UTC |
| Morsaille (Seattle, WA) | Age: 26 - Email |
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What causes me great frustration is watching the news unfold as I realize that each word is carefully chosen to invoke fear in the hearts and minds of the American people. We hear words like "cooperate" and "detainee" except do we know what Saddam could do in order to cooperate? Does the American public realize that "detainee" is nice word for prisoner of war and that we have been holding POW's for 2 years? UN inspectors were given information about the disposal of weapons and weapons grade materials. The search for contraband began with the understanding that if the UN fails to find weapons we will declare war against Iraq for lying? The polls say that 25% of Americans are opposed to military action, but who are they polling? What constitutes War? Bombing? We are already doing that. The no-fly zone and several "radar sites" are bombed routinely. Iraq is guilty of no direct action towards the US or its troops since Desert Storm, but controls most of the worlds oil reserves. Funny how government has superimposed Iraqs identity so that some Americans actually believe we are invading and threatening the country responsible for the attacks in NY. In a fair fight two parties exchange blow for blow (not that I am pro-fighting) but in essence the US has invaded a weaker country, shoved its leader to the ground demanding its lunch money. "You will never be as strong as we are, so don't even try, hear?" The immasculated leader is not permitted to defend himself because the UN has tied his hands and is closely watching for any sign of aggression while the US goes through its pockets. Don't misunderstand, I am actually pro-UN because the UN is less susceptible to the lure and pangs of greed and global wealth. If the US goes it alone, the rewards will be much greater than if shared with the global community. |
| Another Good Quote... | Jan 24th. at 9:10:30 pm UTC |
| Owl Starlight (Aliso Viejo, CA) | Age: 17 - Email |
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"An eye for an eye, and the whole world is blind." - Martin Luther King, Jr. I thought that one particularly appropriate... "One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson |
| Weaker Nation? | Jan 24th. at 9:25:34 pm UTC |
| diesel (washington) | Age: 46 - Email |
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now it's poor little iraq? are you kidding? i understand that alot of you are young and have never traveled the world. you are still learning[hey! aren't we all].my sister was born while the family was living in libya. remember that country? that used to be the place all the fools felt sorry for. big bad america was going to take them over too. didn't happen though ,did it? iraq is not sitting on the world's largest supply of oil. check your facts. sao tome is. a small island off the coast of africa. and it's "sweet" oil too. that means less processing=less pollution. easier to get, easier to use. and once again...this is not about oil. it all comes down to one thing really. VX gas exists. would you rather have your mother or charlie manson holding it? we need to take it away from the less responsible. it would be wonderful if no one had it. but someone always will..or something worse. chemists have a favorite saying......better living through chemistry. true in a way..........but it also means that there will always be someone somewhere that is creating something dangerous.it's only really dangerous when in the wrong hands though, isn't it? and before you side with such swell countries as france[you should see what they have done in the south pacific....i have lived there too] and germany [host of both world wars] think about what our country does stand for.are you being stoned to death for being who you are? you are not. yes, the president is a christian. oh so what? are we bigots now too? it's okay to say the truly loathesome things i read here about christians but let them say anything about us and all hell breaks loose.are we going to be like the worst people and say that we know the only truth? i'm sorry...but christianity is a valid religion for many. as valid as ours. and who knows........maybe who ever wrote some of the more prominant religious tracts was dyslexic and GOD is really DOG. i know.old joke but hey it could happen............ |
| Yes, It Is Poor Iraq. | Jan 24th. at 11:20:24 pm UTC |
| Skeggi (New Zealand) | Age: 32 - Email |
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Yes it is poor Iraq. The people there have the right not to be killed by your cruise missiles the same as your people(and others)have the right not to be blown up. So remember when bombs and missiles take the life of a mother or father or son or daughter, you will have no right to complain when someone else does it to you. Skeggi |
| Why Can't We All Just Get Along | Jan 25th. at 4:15:24 am UTC |
| Beth (Tennessee) | Age: 27 - Email |
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I feel that war in itself is an animalistic nature. Who is our government to say what's right and what's wrong . I feel that if we have nuclear weapons to protect ourselves then why shouldn't any outher country have the same priviledge. My personal opionion is we should get rid of all of them even ours. I think that talk of war and fighting is the one reason our youth of today acts out. I mean why shouldn't they , the country they live in does it. I just don't like the idea of war if it can be avoided. War does strange things to people. I just think that the United States is giving off the impression that we are bullies. That's not what American is supposed to be about, somehow I think that along the way America has become more like a dictator. Our government tells other countries how to run there own country when in fact its none of our business. If the people of those countries have a problem with the way there country is ran let them rise up together and deal with it themselves. America needs to mind its own business and for pity sakes stop giving away the countries money. We need it to take care of our own. |
| Blood For Oil | Jan 25th. at 4:56:17 am UTC |
| Nodicia (USA) | Age: 20 - Email |
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I guess some people have happy thoughts that there IS a lot of oil in the world market. The truth of it is, there isn't. The reason for the war IS oil, because we are running out. The sad thing is, even if we get more oil from this war, the world will still run out in about 50 years. Why don't we work on finding alternate resources so we are not dependant on a polluting substance? Oh wait, there are alternate resources... the government just doesn't want you do know about them. It's a sad world we live in when conspiracy theories are becoming fact. |
| Not Much Can Be Said For War | Jan 25th. at 11:29:29 am UTC |
| Ailsidhe (Central Texas) | Age: 25 - Email - Web |
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It sucks. People die. Nothing really gets resolved. So, what's the point? |
| Grrr | Jan 25th. at 11:41:15 am UTC |
| Autumn (greenville, nc) | Age: 19 - Email |
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Why don't we just go get Saddam? To quote an unknown person on a post I read today, we know where he lives. We've been to his house. If this "war" is really about stopping him and not about money or oil, then we certainly have the capability of getting him without hurting any of his citzens directly. I'm very much opposed to this war, but if Bush wants to start one we had better make sure we get Saddam. Because if we don't, he's going to make his people's lives even worse and is going to make them think it's our fault when he does. That's going to be even easier for him to do if we blow them up in the name of "freedom." Like they haven't gone through enough already... |
| War: Necessary? | Jan 25th. at 1:24:33 pm UTC |
| Suzanne (NY) | Age: 20 - Email |
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War can be necessary. It can benefit the winner, if played right. My political, religious, and social beliefs lead me to that conclusion. I do not agree with the Wiccan Rede, and therefore do not have issue with killing in certain situations. It can also be unnecessary. I believe the war in Iraq to be this variety, rather than the former. There are other areas of the world that we should be more concerned about than Iraq right now: North Korea, for example. At least we have *proof* that the North Koreans have the dreaded Weapons of Mass Destruction, and they don't like us very much. In Iraq's case, it feels much more like, "Well, he's Saddam *Hussein*. He *must* have weapons that he's going to use imminently against us." So, unless the government has a hell of a lot of information that they're not giving out to the public--and I don't see why they'd do that, if it would earn them more support--there are other things that should be higher priorities than killing Iraqis. |
| Who Cries For The Unknowns? | Jan 25th. at 2:26:08 pm UTC |
| Starr (Canada) | Age: 31 - Email |
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I think that this war is TOTALLY gotten out of control. They Go and blow up countless people in other countries and Nobody cries for them.. they are just nameless faceless people in another country far far away... BUT all of a sudden the US gets the same thing done to them.. and it's war?? People die EVERY DAY in bombs and explosions.. not quite the twin towers.. but on a smaller country scale.. Who cries for those people? Who cries for the mothers and fathers. and babies who die? Who cares for the children left behind? We SAY We do.. but the sad truth is THE HELP NEVER GETS THERE!! and it is NOT ENOUGH! We Bomb them they bomb us.. back and forth and back and forth untill one day NOBODY remembers WHY it all started all we know is we just need to kill each other.. Wars need to STOP NOW... and not by HAVING a war.. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE before we figure out war does NOT solve any problems... it CREATES THEM! Right now I am SCARED TO DEATH of what kind of a life my 3 children are going to have when they are my age.. I almost feel I should apologise for bringing them into the world such as it is currently.. What kind of a future are they going to inherit unless we can GLOBALLY get our act together? It HAS to stop... and stopping starts one person at a time.. We as a family are doing OUR part.. are you doing YOURS? |
| War Is A Part Of Life | Jan 25th. at 2:41:56 pm UTC |
| Karen (Birmingham, Al) | Age: 26 - Email |
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Most of us, if not all, would like not to see War. We do not enjoy death and conflict. We all wish peace would rain through out the land. The fact is, this is not the world we live in. Death is a natural part of life. Death is just as natural as birth. To me, Death is not something to be feared...it is something to be acknowledged and respected. War is a part of Death. In my opinion, War is a natural course in life. Wither it is a part of someone's time to go or a direction in world events. It has been happening before we were born, and it still will be here after we die. To me, sometimes some people forget that we were attacked, i.e. 9/11. Though, if we stat sitting down and just taking what others do to us...adventually our government will dissolve and we will not longer have the freedom to choice what religion we believe. It has happen before, the Roman Empire descided to start turning its efforts towards the arts and letting their army slack off. What happened is this great Empire became to weak to take care of itself. I believe that we should back our army and protect ourselves. We should honor those who make it possible for us to live in a nation where we have a choice to believe in what we believe. I feel my point of view comes from experience, knowledge and my religion. Yes, I consider myself Wiccan..and I believe in harming none. However, I also believe that if I am attacked that I should protect myself. We are born, we grow, we learn, and we die. It is all part of this world we live in...and it is natural as the Sabbats. I am happy to be an American, where I have a choice to be Wiccan. |
| Saddam Could Always Cooperate To Avert War............... | Jan 25th. at 3:14:42 pm UTC |
| diesel (washington) | Age: 46 - Email |
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it's not us americans that don't CARE about the iraqi people......it's saddam. they would be thrilled to be rid of him and not because they don't like his party or opinions.....it's because they aren't very keen on torture. what part of the u.n resolution and the first gulf war don't you understand? i hear alot of people complaining about how awful war is.....and it is. but what are YOUR solutions? you want us to just get rid of saddam? i agree.....but weren't you the same people that wanted us to stop short of marching into bagdad the first time around because.......all those bodies laying around looked so yucky. weren't you also the same people that elected bill clinton? you know, the president that wouldn't grab osama when he was offered to him THREE TIMES. placating bad people never works........ NEVER. france tried it with hitler. start reading up on your history and you will realize that saddam is just another cookie cutter creep. there are no shortage of them. but he has to be dealt with. and isn't it really his responsibility first to protect his own people by doing the right thing? and that is disarm. it's simple. |
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