I don't know, the nuking of anyone is pretty criminal
Only if you consider all things done in war criminal. It's a defensible viewpoint, but not one I share.
Especially if they surrender first
They didn't surrender, now did they? Not on the US's terms. They were trying to negotiate a surrender that would allow the underlying cause of their militaristic aggression to survive; that wasn't acceptable. They wanted to set terms, and were in no position to dictate them. That lesson had to be taught in one of two ways -- nuking them or invading the Home Islands. Nuking was the less costly option, measured in human lives.
As far as being the best the world's got - that's pretty jingoistic.
It is not. It is flatly accurate.
How about Sweden? or Denmark? France? The United Kingdom? Or Canada? How about Switzerland? Oh, what about Japan? Oh, here's a good one - Bahrain.
How many carrier groups do they have? In billions, how much foreign aid do they give? How much freedom does a citizen of any of those countries have? By all measures, they fall short. Not by a lot, in some cases -- the UK is a strong ally that still remembers how to carry the White Man's Burden (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Kipling.html) -- but yes, the US is still the world's last, best hope.
Certain principles - altruism, egalitarianism, fair play, justice - even compassion - things that we preach, we don't practice.
There is no room for altruism in the Hobbesian environment of international politics, though it's a fine thing among individuals. Egalitarianism requires the existence of peers -- we're egalitarian with the UK, for instance, and even France, though they currently oppose us. But there is no point of equality with governments like Cuba or North Korea or Libya, while their people groan under a yoke. Justice? The first great law is the right of self defence. Thwarting aggressive actions intended to kill you is eminently just. Compassion? Who gives more to the world, both government largesse and the private charity of individual citizens?
I sincerely belie(ve) that the reason things are THE WAY THEY ARE in this country is that the majority of people have a lifestyle that would make them practically royalty in most other countries.
Yes, and that lifestyle was made and kept so by the suffering and death of our fathers, whose faces we seem bent on forgetting.
Re: Off subject, but still relevant
Only if you consider all things done in war criminal. It's a defensible viewpoint, but not one I share.
Especially if they surrender first
They didn't surrender, now did they? Not on the US's terms. They were trying to negotiate a surrender that would allow the underlying cause of their militaristic aggression to survive; that wasn't acceptable. They wanted to set terms, and were in no position to dictate them. That lesson had to be taught in one of two ways -- nuking them or invading the Home Islands. Nuking was the less costly option, measured in human lives.
As far as being the best the world's got - that's pretty jingoistic.
It is not. It is flatly accurate.
How about Sweden? or Denmark? France? The United Kingdom? Or Canada? How about Switzerland? Oh, what about Japan? Oh, here's a good one - Bahrain.
How many carrier groups do they have? In billions, how much foreign aid do they give? How much freedom does a citizen of any of those countries have? By all measures, they fall short. Not by a lot, in some cases -- the UK is a strong ally that still remembers how to carry the White Man's Burden (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Kipling.html) -- but yes, the US is still the world's last, best hope.
Certain principles - altruism, egalitarianism, fair play, justice - even compassion - things that we preach, we don't practice.
There is no room for altruism in the Hobbesian environment of international politics, though it's a fine thing among individuals. Egalitarianism requires the existence of peers -- we're egalitarian with the UK, for instance, and even France, though they currently oppose us. But there is no point of equality with governments like Cuba or North Korea or Libya, while their people groan under a yoke. Justice? The first great law is the right of self defence. Thwarting aggressive actions intended to kill you is eminently just. Compassion? Who gives more to the world, both government largesse and the private charity of individual citizens?
I sincerely belie(ve) that the reason things are THE WAY THEY ARE in this country is that the majority of people have a lifestyle that would make them practically royalty in most other countries.
Yes, and that lifestyle was made and kept so by the suffering and death of our fathers, whose faces we seem bent on forgetting.