Fahrenheit 9/11
last night i watched "Fahrenheit 9/11" - although i normally prefer to remain in my 'blissful ignorance bubble', this movie evoked irksome feelings in me that instilled a desire to become slightly more educated...
first, some of my thoughts on the good old u.s.a. - i enjoy living here: it's not a perfect place but i have electricity in my home (over 99% of the time!); potable (ok, it's socorro, semi-potable) water piped into my home; more varieties and greater quantities of food at the grocery store, which is within easy walking distance, than i desire or need; and when i walk down the street, i have little fear of being either randomly shot or bombed
we do have some problems here - poverty, expensive health care, inconsistent quality of public education, etc... one problem we really shouldn't have though is the shit-poor image that we have in parts of the world due to our meddling in other countries - i find it unconscionable that we send the children of this country off to be mangled and killed in order to protect our economic interests (or even worse, to protect 'freedom') in foreign lands while undermining the image of the u.s.a. at the same time
here is my proposal, feel free to poke holes in my naivete wherever you deem necessary -
get ALL of our troops out of foreign countries and back in the u.s.a. - use them to protect OUR country (i.e. currently defined land mass) from enemies, "foreign and domestic" (people trying to stay in their homes in new orleans are not domestic enemies) - i realize this carries serious economic implications and some economic hardship would arise as a consequence of this course of action - now i shall try to minimize the economic impact...
provide troops to foreign countries for the SOLE purpose of protecting that country's borders, subject to the following criteria:
1. the country's government specifically requests the assistance
2. the only troops we provide are individuals who volunteer for the duty
3. the government of the u.s.a. is materially compensated for troops provided by the country requesting the troops
4. members of the troops provided are awarded additional compensation for volunteering
5. if not enough volunteer troops are available to fill demand, troops go to the country best able to compensate the u.s.a. for their use
i think the above would improve our world image with minimal economic hardship
i realize this was a bit long - on the upside, i only post what? maybe once a month?
throw me some feedback, either on my plan or the movie (particularly considering it's factual accuracy)...
first, some of my thoughts on the good old u.s.a. - i enjoy living here: it's not a perfect place but i have electricity in my home (over 99% of the time!); potable (ok, it's socorro, semi-potable) water piped into my home; more varieties and greater quantities of food at the grocery store, which is within easy walking distance, than i desire or need; and when i walk down the street, i have little fear of being either randomly shot or bombed
we do have some problems here - poverty, expensive health care, inconsistent quality of public education, etc... one problem we really shouldn't have though is the shit-poor image that we have in parts of the world due to our meddling in other countries - i find it unconscionable that we send the children of this country off to be mangled and killed in order to protect our economic interests (or even worse, to protect 'freedom') in foreign lands while undermining the image of the u.s.a. at the same time
here is my proposal, feel free to poke holes in my naivete wherever you deem necessary -
get ALL of our troops out of foreign countries and back in the u.s.a. - use them to protect OUR country (i.e. currently defined land mass) from enemies, "foreign and domestic" (people trying to stay in their homes in new orleans are not domestic enemies) - i realize this carries serious economic implications and some economic hardship would arise as a consequence of this course of action - now i shall try to minimize the economic impact...
provide troops to foreign countries for the SOLE purpose of protecting that country's borders, subject to the following criteria:
1. the country's government specifically requests the assistance
2. the only troops we provide are individuals who volunteer for the duty
3. the government of the u.s.a. is materially compensated for troops provided by the country requesting the troops
4. members of the troops provided are awarded additional compensation for volunteering
5. if not enough volunteer troops are available to fill demand, troops go to the country best able to compensate the u.s.a. for their use
i think the above would improve our world image with minimal economic hardship
i realize this was a bit long - on the upside, i only post what? maybe once a month?
throw me some feedback, either on my plan or the movie (particularly considering it's factual accuracy)...