John Ferrell wrote:

> I (and many,many other Americans) chose to be your adversary on each of
> these points.

So 50 to 60 thousand PREVENTABLE traffic deaths a year is OK?

10 of thousands of PREVENTABLE gun deaths a year is OK?

Having a president who has a narrow 'us vs them' view of the
world and engages in a war in Iraq which costs over 900 American lives
(and dozens of lives of other friendly nationals)
to destroy WHAT weapons of mass destruction, is OK?

> I also choose to behave in a much less inflammatory manner. I respect your

It was not meant to be inflammatory.
But given the 'you're either with us or against us' attitude of many
of your leaders, I am not surprised that you reacted as you have.
Just because I disagree with your choices doesn't mean that I am
"against you".

> position and I expect you to respect mine.

I do. You're the one with the firearms-in-every-house/army/missles.
Might makes right, right?
My apologies for expecting a rational discussion on the topic.

> We like our culture and are willing to do whatever is necessary to maintain
> it.

I understand that. I simply question the effectiveness of an approach
that seems to globally make more enemies than friends.

With freedom comes responsibility, but many of your countrymen
don't seem to be sufficiently responsible about the lives of
those around them (or under their command).

And don't get me started on deaths by tobacco, alcohol or drug abuse.

> John Ferrell
> http://DixieNC.US

I wonder if your Californian or mid-western states feel the same way.

All I ask is that you THINK about why you feel the way you do.
Are your feelings and responses based on 'thought' or just on
what you've been taught or been exposed to as a child?

If the billions being spent on homeland security were spent
on gun control or improved traffic safety, you'd be saving far
more lives per dollar spent. As has been amply demonstrated by
the news media, border controls are NOT working very well.
If terrorists want to strike within the USA, they WILL.
Just look at how ineffective Israel has been at protecting -their-
population from terrorism.

Since James is concerned about bandwidth use, I'll not
reply to further posts on this thread.

Robert
Do I smell smoke?

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