[CLUE-Talk] FBI Gets Broad Domestic Spy Powers

[Matt Gushee]

On Sat, Jun 01, 2002 at 08:34:33AM -0600, Richard Knechtel wrote:

> >So you think we should follow that lead? Rather than seeking to understand
> >people who are different from us, and trying to distinguish which of them
> >are seeking to harm us, we should just lock 'em all up?
> 
> This isn't about understanding people of other ethnicity that is some feel 
> good politically correct garbage.  "Everyone should love the people from 
> the middle east". 

Bullshit. It's about:

 1) knowing who your enemies are, so as to be able to find and deal with
    them effectively, and not squander resources and credibility in the
    process; and

 2) refraining, as much as possible, from harming innocent people. Whether
    you love them or not. That's not feel-goodism, it's a basic tenet of
    civilization. And if we can't afford such basic moral principles, how
    can we claim to be a great nation?

As for your statements about Americans being unable to distinguish which
Middle Easterners are a threat: we are unable to distinguish because we
choose not to know about the world we inhabit and its other occupants. *We
choose*. I saw an interesting article a while back: it seems that the
proportion of international news in most US newspapers, which has always
been small relative to, say, Western Europe, and East Asia, decreased 
during the '90s. The reason? Surveys showed the readers weren't interested.

Maybe we couldn't distinguish which Middle Easterners are our enemies even
if we tried. I say we have a moral obligation to try before we give up. 
 
-- 
Matt Gushee
Englewood, Colorado, USA
mgushee at havenrock.com
http://www.havenrock.com/