Political posts often aren't big hits. A lot of people are too nervous about causing offence to express much of an opinion when it comes to matters of internaitonal conflict. The fact is though that war is looking pretty inevitable right now, and it's going to happen without any of the vigorous debate that ought to occur whenever one nation takes military action against another. Countries like Britain, France, Germany and Australia are getting sucked into a conflict while the populations of those countries are still very much unsure whether they like the idea or not. I think that's a shame.
For the record, I think Saddam is a highly unpleasant piece of work, but that's hardly unusual for a head of state and certainly not sufficient justification for a pre-emptive attack. But please feel free to disagree.
Originally posted by richhoeyNot at all I completely agree. I could say a lot of things I believe about Bush but I'm not as informed as I'd like to be.
For the record, I think Saddam is a highly unpleasant piece of work, but that's hardly unusual for a head of state and certainly not sufficient justification for a pre-emptive attack. But please feel free to disagree.
Originally posted by richhoeyAs an australian, though I have been away from home for a while, the veiws of our elected head does not correspond with the majority of australians. Plus we do not have the defense force to be involved in anymore conflicts
Political posts often aren't big hits. A lot of people are too nervous about causing offence to express much of an opinion when it comes to matters of internaitonal conflict. The fact is though that war is looking pretty inevitable right now, and it's going to happen without any of the vigorous debate that ought to occur whenever one nation takes military ...[text shortened]... rtainly not sufficient justification for a pre-emptive attack. But please feel free to disagree.
Originally posted by richhoeyI should think there would be more people willing to engage in a debate of that nature. Especially since this is an international forum. People seem to be afraid of ruffling anyones feathers, but I think a reasonable debate can be an intellectually stimulating process. On a forum this large and diverse, there are going to be many contradictory opinions on many topics. I don't think they should be avoided for this reason. I rather looked forward to having more people debate my political posts, but such a response was not forthcoming.
[b]Political posts often aren't big hits. A lot of people are too nervous about causing offence to express much of an opinion when it comes to matters of internaitonal conflict...
Hmmm. People. This thread started off with talking about the most important things in the world...and ended up with a discussion on politics. An invisible hand guiding us towards the one true answer perhaps? 😉
Apart from the sciencey boffin related things that have already been mentioned I would have said passion up until recently. To see people in the world with passion, people who care about other people enough to risk their lives, to raise money, to care for those that need it most, a passion to teach and so on, to see this just sends a shiver up my spine. To hear Kirk talk of the Ugandan refugees who he helped, and Tim talking about the young men and women who he helps really fills me with admiration. But while passion is part of this, I think there is another, more important ingredient in these actions.
But then, maybe Kirk was right. Gratitude. I'm not so sure though. It is important, and without it the world be a very morally corrupt place if people weren't thankful. However, there are instances where people help others, where things get done, and there exists no gratitude on behalf of the recipient. It's very sad when this happens, but it doesn't strike me as being *the* most important thing.
I suggest courage. The courage to believe in oneself, the courage to fight back against the unfairness of the world, the courage to stand up to an oppressor, the courage to put your life on the line to save others (Prescott, pay the firefighters more goddamn you!).
I spent part of Christmas besides the hospital bed of my dying grandfather, a man I love very much. There is nothing specifically wrong with him, other than the on-set of very old age. He is slightly delusional, and talks little sense. To see my grandmother, a lady who has loved this man for over 50 years, besides his bed, talking to him, trying to understand his ramblings, seeing him slowly lose his mind as the life gradually seeps out of him, like the air leaving a balloon whose knot has come ever so slightly undone, leaving behind a lifeless "skin", holding his hand, fighting back the tears....I mean, that's courage, isn't it? He means much to me, but he means even more to my grandmother.
Now transpose that to a mother in Nigeria called Sarah (an unlikely name perhaps but just go with it), or any parent in any country of the world, holding her baby in her arms, as the child cries and cries for food. Of which there is none. The baby will die as a result of, in the case of Nigeria, one man's greed and tyranny. Consider how Sarah feels. Consider how you'd feel if your child one day just stopped, stopped nagging, stopped crying, stopped laughing, stopped breathing. Sarah has other children. She has to look after them too. They are hungry. She is hungry. She has to carry on, in the wake of the starvation of her baby, she has to carry on. She can't give up. She won't give up.
I used to go to school with a guy called Dan, at aged 9 we were fairly good friends. Desperate Dan we used to call him because he seemed to always need the toilet. In fact, I remember staying somewhere overnight with him once, and before going to bed he'd eat an entire packet of energy sweets so he could run to the toilet faster in the middle of the night should/when the need arose.
He had a younger sister, whose name escapes me. 3 months ago she came home from school (she's about 14 now) and when she got home she saw her father hanging by a rope in the garage. Dead. I'm not sure it's possible to ever cope with something like that. I am sure that every last ounce of courage she has was and will be needed.
Sarah's baby dying, Desperate's sister seeing her father hanging like that, my grandmother watching the man she's spent over 50 years with descend into senility and then death. This sort of thing is sadly all too commonplace, and happens on a daily basis in vast numbers for as long as life has existed. Life contains many inherently, unavoidable, unfair terrible happenings. Without courage the world would crumble. People would crumble.
So yes, courage is what I reckon.
Mark
