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OSG Home > Opensewer 10 > Jackson |
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Opensewer 10 Jackson Discussion Summary Wednesday, August 10, 2001, 7:00 PM at the Black Water Cafe, : BlackWater Cafe (301 W. Capitol St., Jackson, MS, 39203. Telephone: (601) 948-3663. By Tony Difatta Has the American lifestyle changed forever? - "Yes," we are more aware of our surroundings. Our sense of security was false in the first place. But then again, "No," Americans have a very short attention span. Look at our idols, such as musicians and actors. Remember Vanilla Ice? Is this a wake up call? - The center of our military power, The Pentagon, was hit. Do they really envy our freedom? We seem to flaunt our liberties and electively protect those of others. We may have brought this upon ourselves by past policies. We can't understand their point of view. Not everyone wants a fast-food-Baywatch-Britney-Spears culture. "Our way" may be the best for us, but look at the former Soviet Union after Capitalism. The Media - Immediate but sometimes inaccurate coverage. Yes, it has been appropriate, but there have been too many retractions. The line has been blurred between news organizations and tabloids. Should the government censor the networks, or even the internet? We need to be careful that we don't confuse convenience with civil liberties, and that the events of September 11 don't distract us so much that laws are passed that affect not only the media, but our civil liberties as well. GWB - War has not officially been declared. A war on terrorism will leave other countries, Ireland as an example, looking to America for help with their terrorist problems. What about Israel and Palestine calling each other terrorists? Which terrorists are we at war with? All of them? Follow the money trail. Foreign policy - Is there a coalition? No, only by force, coercion, or personal interest are some countries agreeing to be part of the coalition, which could have repercussions in those countries where part or most of the population are against supporting the U.S. And didn't Iraq use our own weapons against us (that we provided) while they were fighting Iran? Cascading effect - Herpes was awful until AIDS came along. Castro seemed evil until Bin Laden. Our perception has changed. All business has been affected. Just the having fewer people flying affects airline employees, airport employees, travel agents, hotels, resort and vacation areas and all the businesses that rely on tourism. Remember when we had a surplus? The government may end up having to bail out insurance companies, as well as the industries directly touched by the terrorist attacks. Can you believe that the president of American Trial Lawyers Association called for trial lawyers not to file suits related to the attacks? Subtext - Our hypocrisy is partially to blame. The U.S. was fertilizer to these events. We supported the Taliban during the war with Russia. We ignore countries like India, which is the only country in the area that has chosen to be a true democracy and we don't support them. Hell, Coca Cola wouldn't even help India set up Coca Cola plants and teach them how to make it. Instead they had to develop their own. Same thing with the telephone company. We'll come put it in for you, but we're going to charge the shit out of you and not teach you how to do it yourself. The United States doesn't consider the long-term effects of our actions and policies. We only look back to the immediate events to find blame and never consider the chance that we could be part of it. It took years for the anti-U.S. hatred to fester and build to the point that men would give their own lives to kill innocent Americans.
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