From Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale

People disappear when they die. Their voices, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living mempry of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continut to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humour, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic.

--Diane Setterfield



Monday, October 15, 2007

Question from Miles (my little Brother)

In any case so here is the big question of late.

Does the US as a big free country have the responciblility or the right to invade other contries and then try to police them?



Hmmm, good question.

I don't think any entity has the right to attempt to manipulate the free will of another. Not a person forcing another person to do something illegal (think crime lords and the mafia) nor a parson forcing a nation to follow only one way of thinking (Hitler and Stalin and Lennon and Saddam and communists in general...) nor do a group of peope have the right to do the same (any "wing" of politics which is a whole discussion in and of itself or the Talaban or whatever). So. In order for this to happen, good people must be vigilant in going around and keeping order.

I am reading the Lord of th Rings again. The fellowship of the ring was made of good people doing their best to keep free people free and tyrrany abated. However they "invaded" other lands and fought and killed to maintain that freedom.

Much like the US going to war with people/policies/ or nations that are corrupt and are actiely corrupting those around them. Or manipulating or even removing the free will of the afore mentioned people.

So I think the real question is when are we protecting freedom and when are we fighting just to fight?

If the free people of Middle earth had the strength, and they marched aganist Mordor and were able win battles and hold their position near the Mount of Mordor, and if they were content to sit there and fight until the evil of Sauroman was defeated; I think we'd have a great analogy to the US's position in the War aganist Terrorism. However they did not. They went in and destroyed the ring of power. Once that ring was destroyed, the evil forces were defeated, without a so-long and gory battle.

HOWEVER. That is a story. In real life there is no ring. And just like is explaned in the book, if they were to destroy just Sauroman, another would rise to fill his shoes. So it is that if we killed off Hitler then Hussein came later to fill his shoes and then ben Lauden.

SO. MY THOUGHTS:

America as a big strong country has the opportunity to stomp out evil. And then withdraw. Build up their forces and prepare for the next baddie to come. Satan is likened to Sauroman, the ring would then be his power over this world. We don't have a Hobbit (Prophet) and a Wizard (Christ) at this time to destroy that ring of power. We are in the stages of Rangers roaming the wilds and beating back the evils that threaten to come up among us unawares. If a Ranger was to camp at a baddies door and vow to rid the world of evil by killing the whatevers he'd probably not get far... and that is where I think we are.


What do you think?
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