Ayn Rand and Identifying as American

   Jacob has been reading “Atlas Shrugged.” By reading, I mean listening to on Audible. Because I’m cheap, I’ve started listening to books on Audible too, even though I prefer to read them, so we don’t purchase two copies of the same book. I read “The Fountainhead” and “Anthem” back in high school, and I remember getting a little infuriated with Ayn Rand at the time. I thought she sounded so vain and selfish. I want to read them again to see how my perspective has changed. Jacob’s liking Ayn Rand, although he says she’s full of only half truths.

As expats, we no longer identify ourselves as “American.” More and more, wealthy Americans are choosing to discard their citizenship. One of the founders of Facebook just did this. People (read: government officials who want your money) acted like this was a scandalous and selfish decision to make. In fact, they are looking at passing laws making you have to pay taxes for 10 years retrospectively if you’ve already given up your citizenship, along with fines and fees out the wazoo if you decide to permanently emigrate. We’ve been told, ourselves, that we should be “proud” to pay taxes in the US even if we don’t live there, because many of our customers live in the US so we should pay our fair share. I find that argument ludicrous. No matter where our business is based or what nationality we were, we would have customers all over the world. We have Australian customers; we don’t pay Australian taxes. It reminds of this question I got in my newsletter from Lief Simon, an international real estate investor whose emails I receive:

QUESTION: “In my opinion, paying taxes is the price we pay for living in a free society. Who do you think should pay for bridges, highways, firefighters, police, schools, postal service, etc.? Somebody other than yourself, right? Those who benefit greatly from our way of life should certainly be paying their fair share, tax-wise. I do not agree with your philosophy of moving assets offshore to avoid taxes."

D.B.

ANSWER: I think you're missing the point. The United States is the only developed country in the world that taxes its citizens (and permanent residents...Green Card-holders) on their worldwide income even if they live outside the country. The point is that, as you suggest, those using services should be the ones paying for those services. U.S. citizens living overseas aren't using U.S. services (except maybe now and then as tourists when they come and go). Why should they pay for them?

Another clarification is called for. Moving assets offshore has nothing to do with avoiding taxes. Again, the United States taxes Americans on worldwide income no matter where we live, so putting assets into another jurisdiction has nothing to do with our related U.S. tax obligation. It has to do with protecting those assets, from a frivolous law suit, for example.

Note also that schools are usually paid for by property or other local taxes. The postal service is a semi-autonomous entity that is going bankrupt and that should be allowed to do so. Highways and bridges could be paid for by those who use them directly, through tolls. And if the United States would stop wasting the lion's share of its resources policing the world and "fighting a war on drugs," then they could afford to continue to pay out "entitlements" to non-productive members of society without having to tax the productive ones out of existence.

 

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Although Ayn Rand called libertarianism too close to anarchy for her to support, she has nevertheless become a representative of the movement. Most permanent travelers that I’m aware of are libertarian. The way I think of libertarian is this: A Republican wants the government to stay out of economics but legislate moral matters. A Democrat wants the government to step in economically but stay out of people’s moral choices. A libertarian wants the government to mind its own business in economics and social/moral matters, that individuals and freedom trump government. I consider myself to be libertarian.

My Response to the “Should Christian Women Wear Bikinis” Video

A certain video has taken the Mormon Facebook world by storm.

What I mean is, it has been posted and reposted by both men and women alike, but they have all been LDS, at least on my Facebook wall.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only Mormon feminist in the world. I know I’m not, it just feels that way at times. Then I remember that, thank God, I know another one-- I’m married to a Mormon feminist. Yes, my husband and I have an egalitarian marriage where we share what we feel is equal responsibility at work and at home—and I’m sure the trend will continue in the future raising of our children. I’m so grateful to have a man who is comfortable enough with his own masculinity to respect decisions I make on my femininity, even if he also, of course, has opinions of his own.

The Youtube video is called, “Should Christian Women Wear Bikinis?”

It’s a video given by a Christian preacher to a crowd of high school girls.

When I saw the video for the first time, I left this comment on Youtube, which will give a hint of how I felt about it:

So a one piece swimsuit doesn't cause the same reaction?... Somehow I doubt it. I think Muslims use this same argument on why they should cover. Men telling women what they should wear. Women having to take responsibility for men's reactions. That's so medieval.

I’ve been meaning to do a post on modesty for a long time, because my opinion of it, like so many other things, has been changed by travel. This video, and people’s responses, jumpstarted this post.

So I’m going to deconstruct the video bit by bit, showcasing why I have a problem with it, and why, if you believe in gender equality, you should too.

Issue #1: Because the word “science” was used, people assumed this was proof.

Reality: The science of the study was twisted to be used for this Christian preacher’s purposes. The women’s heads were cut off. This does not imply a real-life situation in any way. There were only 21 men in the study, all from the same socio economic background. This sampling is NEVER big enough to be an interesting study. It’s smaller than a high school class. We don’t know anything about the pictures: the postures of the women, the size of the swim suits, etc. We don’t know if the men were married. If they’d ever had girlfriends. If they were addicted to pornography. Why they volunteered for the survey. If they’d drank any alcohol before the test. If they were carpenters (and therefore with extremely developed parts of the brain devoted to “tool use” -can you catch my irony here?) If the women were supermodel-esque attractive or morbidly obese.

All of that is irrelevant in the end, though, because:

In any event, the speaker completely skewed the findings.

 

Here are the findings:

"Although men and women were, in general, slightly

faster to pair images of sexualized female targets with

first-person action verbs (e.g., push) and clothed female

targets with third-person action verbs (e.g., pushes) than

the inverse, the difference between the two pairings was

not significant for either sample"

and this seemed to be more frequent among the men who already scored higher in the "Hostile Sexism Score" ...

In other words, the findings were not statistically significant. So, actually, men were NOT more likely to objectify them.

IF YOU MISSED IT, LET ME PUT IT IN ALL CAPS: THIS STUDY DID NOT SHOW MEN OBJECTIFY WOMEN FOR WEARING BIKINIS. IT SHOWED THE RESULTS WERE STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT.

The only ones who had the tendency were the ones who identified themselves as “hostile sexist.”

I sincerely hope that is not most of the LDS men I know. Although an awfully large amount of them seemed to resonate with the findings.

The preacher basically misled people in the video, and the study was flawed. People get so excited when they hear the words “scientific study” that coincides with beliefs they already have that they don’t think to deconstruct it and look at the method of the study. However, although in my mind that’s enough to conclude my case, this is an important subject to discuss so I’ll keep going.

Issue #2: There is often a double standard within religious communities.

I’m only speaking from personal experience here, but:

How many lessons have Mormon men had on modesty?

I’m guessing exactly zero.

How many lessons on how women should be respected as human beings no matter how they dress?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think not many.

How many lessons do LDS young women get on modesty?

Answer: probably weekly.

How many lessons have I been taught that women are in charge of men’s sexuality and it is up to us to say “stop” because men can’t control themselves?

I don’t know-- I’ve been told that on many occasions. 

How many studies have you seen or heard looking to see if women objectify men?

Personally, I’d welcome them. But it’s always the other way around.

How many LDS people would post a video about women objectifying men and men dressing immodestly that would go viral?

Somehow, I don’t see that even reaching most people’s radar.

Issue #3: There’s a reason why so many Muslims loved this video.

If you look at the comments in Youtube, a good part of them are Muslims saying this is exactly why they hijab, or wear burkas.

Countries whose official religion is Islam do not have the best record on women’s rights issues. In fact, the women in strictly conservative Muslim countries are among the least free in the world. According to studies, the worst are Benin, Pakistan, Chad, and Yemen. All practice Islam with the exception of Benin, which practices voodoo. I don’t think that has to be true, mind you. I see it in the world’s future to have much freer women--everywhere.  I love to visit predominantly Muslim countries— and personally I believe that no religion is closer to Mormonism than Islam. Nevertheless, in my mind it’s not a good sign when you have Muslims agreeing that “this is exactly why we tell women to dress the way we do.”

Issue #4: Women only wear bikinis or other kinds of similar dress to try to become a sex object.

Reality: This is a myth.

Women may wear bikinis because they are more comfortable to swim in, because it’s the style, because that’s the cultural expectation where they live, because that’s what their husband likes them to wear, because they love their bodies, because they are beautiful and look good in them, because it is difficult to find another swimming suit that fits correctly, to avoid tan lines, or many other reasons. If we all understand that, then we don’t all have to have a whore complex when we see women dressed differently than our standards.

Issue #5: It is bad for a man to find a woman sexually attractive.

Reality: This is wrong. It is completely normal for a man to find a woman sexually attractive. And vice versa. Weird idea, I know. What is not okay is to treat a woman or a man disrespectfully because of the way they are dressed. Fact: Women are beautiful beings. There is nothing shameful about that.

Issue #6: The video only mentioned women in bikinis. Not women in one piece swimming suits.

Reality: Do you think men are still sexually attracted to women in one piece swimming suits? Let me drop a hint—they are. There are plenty of Swimsuit Illustrated editions of sexy women in one piece swimming suits. Does that mean that it’s still okay for men to objectify women, and that it’s the women’s fault?

Issue # 7: One piece swimming suits are also revealing.

Reality: They are as revealing as some lingerie. So, do men who agree with this video believe women should stop wearing one piece swimming suits, which look like lingerie? If they do…then they can go hide their heads in the sand. Women, in this day and age, should not be expected to swim in jeans and a t- shirt.

Issue # 8: The message of this video is not the best way to get girls to be modest.

Reality: Many women will like the idea that they can be empowered by making men in their control by using their bodies. The most important part of modesty, for both men and women, is to teach themselves to respect their bodies and the feelings of those who are around them. To teach them that being comfortable in their own skin in the most important lesson of all. Guilt is not needed to do that. Shame is not needed to do that. Blame is not needed to do that. Teaching appropriate clothes for appropriate situations will do that. Teaching appropriate and modest behavior given the situation at hand will do that. A bikini is not appropriate to wear to the office. I believe it can be appropriate to wear on the beaches of Europe when 2,000 other women and girls are all wearing the same thing (or less, for that matter). The message of modesty is not bad. Of course it isn’t. The way it is taught, though, is often demeaning and unfair. The emphasis on external, clothing-oriented modesty is just another form of sexualization.

Issue # 9: Women (shocker) get sexually aroused by men as well.

Reality: If this were not true, there would not be so many ads with shirtless men on them. I’m not so naïve as to not know that -overall- men are more visually stimulated than women. Although I have known my share of very sexualized women. But that leads me to my next point:

Issue # 10: Men who are attracted to other men are never considered.

Reality: Can you imagine a religious lesson in which boys were taught: be careful the way you dress or homosexual men will lust after you? It would disgust and shame most men. Yet women have to listen to lessons like this on a regular basis. What if a woman told men, “Don’t take your shirts off, or you will become walking pornography to struggling homosexual men.” It is never said, but is it not equally true? Women don’t deserve to be made to feel dirty for being attractive and sexy. Or, put another way, if they deserve it, men deserve it too.

Issue #11: This idea is behind “rape culture.”

It’s harmful to young women to be saddled with not only their own growing and changing bodies, developing sexuality, and insecurities, but also with the responsibility not to tempt boys and men. Not only responsible for lustful thoughts, but for rape. It’s harmful for young men as well. Males should not be taught they are helpless victims simply responding to messages they think females are sending by their choice of clothing. Taken a little further, this kind of psychology leads to the justification of sexual assault. We should take care to steer clear of this kind of thinking in society. This, sociologists would agree, is part of rape culture.

Issue # 12: Modesty is cultural, and it changes over time.

Reality: Modesty, and how it is enforced, is not an eternal truth. Ankles used to be scandalous. If you sexualize arms and say they always have to be covered, arms will become shocking if exposed.

Issue # 13: Sexuality’s perception is cultural.

There are many examples of women within indigenous societies that wear even less than what the bikini covers; if there were a study on their men's brains as well I think the response would be completely different for how they view near naked women compared to extremely conservative religious societies. Many other societies compared to the US allow women to breastfeed in public with no outrage because it is not sexualized to feed a baby. Concepts of sexuality are entirely dependent on society. What if we were all raised to look at human beings with an artist’s eye, appreciating their beauty without sexualizing them? Maybe we should all take a “life drawing” class where we have to draw women and men naked. I don’t think it would take too long to learn to control the primitive response and just get to drawing. Even BYU, amazingly, has a class where women pose in bikinis and students draw them.

Is this not why we can look at great, classical art of nude subjects and not feel that it is pornography? It’s because we’ve desexualized them, and reemphasized their beauty and the talent of their creator.

Issue # 14: Gender equality has a long way to go in the US.

Reality: We are ranked #17 in the world. #19 in other studies. Not bad overall, but terrible for developed countries. We moved up from #31 just this last year. We must be making progress. Of course this doesn’t have to do with bikinis directly, but it does apply to gender equality overall. One of the first cultural differences I noticed when I lived in Europe for the first time as a 20 year old college student was how Europeans found violence shocking and no clothes acceptable, whereas Americans find no clothes shocking but violence acceptable. European women have more freedom and less crime perpetrated against them than American women as a general rule. I prefer their mode of thinking.

Issue #15: Here is a response from someone on Facebook, I will address his questions in red:

I found some of the comments interesting. I'm sorry, but some responsibility is on the woman as well as the men.

Totally agree. I think in issues like these, it’s fair to give 50-50 responsibility. This video did not give 50-50 responsibility. It was 100-0.

To suggest that it's completely the man's fault, is like demanding someone not to swear around you when you, yourself, continuously expose them to foul language. Also, please realize that what you wear does have some effect on how you act.
I'm some what astounded by the cry of sexism, though. If the study demanded that all women must not wear bikinis and men are at no fault what-so-ever, then sure it's sexist. 

It is a man telling a large group of teenaged girls they *should not* wear bikinis if they are true Christians, shaming women for a personal decision. I could find nothing in it that said men had any responsibility. So yes, it is sexist.

But if it comes across as a warning that wearing such outfits may arose certain thoughts in men, then where's the sexism?

It doesn’t come across as a warning—it is stated not only as science, but as an inescapable conclusion. Men—all men, not just “hostile sexist ones” which technically was the findings of the survey, will not be able to help themselves.

Especially today when so many women are taken advantage of and when society--sadly to say--paints women as objects.

If women are taken advantage of, it is in societies which women do not have equal freedoms, equal rights, and which shame women into being modest. In societies where women are completely free, they have less crimes perpetrated against them, they experience less violence, and they are happier. Think Europe versus the Middle East.

And as Carric pointed out, they said women might be effected the same way as well and they plan to do the same study with women.

Great. I hope it goes viral like this one did within the Mormon community. Of course, if the findings were the same the findings would be that there was not statistical significance, which would be quite boring.

Would you find the findings more truthful--or not complain--if they came from women running the same experiment?

 I certainly think that the video—forget about the experiment, which was flawed anyway—would have been more truthful if both genders were being examined, if a woman was giving the lecture as well, and if men were present as well. 

Should I cry sexism, if a women tells me how a man should treat women?

You should cry sexism when genders are not treated fairly, one way or the other.

Would you be okay with a man getting scantily clad women tattoos? He's "wearing" what he wants.

Yes, I would be okay with a man getting those tattoos. Why would I care? It has absolutely nothing to do with me. Just don’t tell me it’s my fault he got the tattoos.

I guess I'm tired of quick cries of discrimination, when there might not be any.

What makes you assume the cries are quick? I ended up reading every comment on every posting of this video, researching the man who made the video, and reading the entire survey which is more than most people did who have posted this video.

Plus, I don't expose any part of my male organs, so I think it's fair for me to say that women probably shouldn't expose themselves.

Wearing a bikini is not “exposing female organs” any more than wearing a Speedo is. Or the fact that men swim shirtless. I’ll be waiting for the shirtless and/or Speedo Study. An unbiased one.

 

CONCLUSION: Until I traveled, I thought it was fair to think of girls who wore short skirts as skanks. Why? Because I was socialized that way. Then I lived in two different extremes. I spent about six months in the Middle East. I’ve spent nearly a year in Europe. The difference of being a woman between these two is so incredible I can’t even begin to explain. I was verbally assaulted in Egypt just because I didn’t have a headscarf on. (I was already very conservatively dressed.) Probably, to be honest, just because I was a woman. I was followed around and told: “I want to f*** you. How much do you charge?”  I was told by fellow women that they are used to it over there and you just have to learn to put up with it. I didn’t like walking alone there because I got far too much attention. Women in these kind of places have to cover their skin from head to toe. I did, while I was there. And these ideas reinforce themselves. Women think they have to dress that way or men can’t help themselves; they’ll molest them—and it will be the woman’s fault. And men feel justified that if a woman is dressed differently than what he is used to, she is asking for trouble.

In Europe these days, a woman can wear whatever she wants and she won’t even get a second glance. No one will bother her. Men and women are free to dress according to the dictates of their own conscience. And I can tell you there that a large majority of women, LDS or not, wear bikinis and a large majority of men, LDS or not, wear Speedos. And guess what. People get over it. It’s fine.

The next time you see a woman dressed in a way which you feel is scantily, say a quick prayer to God thanking Him you live in a free society where women aren’t killed, raped, or stoned for not conforming to unequal laws that men have created.

I could keep going, but this post is long enough. I’m going to breathe easier after I post this, though. It’s distressing for me to see so many LDS people reposting this when its message is damaging, unfair, and dishonest. Let me know: do you agree?

And by the way, although this disclaimer isn’t necessary, I personally don’t prefer to wear bikinis. (Although I do at times because my husband likes me to-- he thinks I look good in them.) But I’ll defend my right to wear them with every feminist breath of my modestly dressed body.

I welcome your comments. Just so you know, my husband agrees with me. So this isn’t just a woman talking on this subject.

Vegetarian

I remember the first time I met someone who was vegetarian and I thought he was really strange. Definitely not the kind of person who would convert me to the idea or anything like that. Who knew that several years later I’d have joined his ranks? Since I eat fish, I guess I’m technically a pescetarian.

If you ever invite me over for dinner, please know this:

1. I don’t care if you eat meat. I don’t care if you eat meat in front of me. I make Jacob a BLT every day. Please don’t feel guilty if you’ve made a meat-centered meal. I would love it if there were an alternative, but if not, I’ll eat the meat. I’m not a die-hard.

2. It’s possible that one day I will resume meat-eating… or that I will go the other direction and become vegan.

3. But for now, with the research that I’ve done, eating the way I do makes sense to me. Here’s why:

I love animals.

I picture the animal when I’m eating it, and I can’t divest the type of animal I’d never eat from the ones that are sociably acceptable. Like, it’s gross to eat cats and dogs right? But not sheep, lamb, goats, cows, pigs, chicken, or turkeys? Why not?

I do eat fish-sometimes-because I can go fishing. I’m still a little bothered by it, but I can do it. But I can’t imagine slaughtering a cow and dividing its parts for consumption. And if I can’t imagine doing it myself on moral grounds (that would make me sick) it seems strange to ask someone else to do it for me.

A whole new world of cooking is opened up to you.

A lot of people get stuck on just eating a slab of meat every night for dinner for lack of any other ideas. If you look at cuisines around the world, however, you’ll find so many ways of preparing vegetables, legumes, and sauces that there is an infinite variety available—much more than steak and potatoes or a hamburger.

 

Health.

The healthiest group of people in the United States are the 7th Day Adventists (the Mormons follow close behind). The 7th Day Adventists are about 35 % vegetarian and encourage a low-meat diet.

The Japanese are famous for their large centenarian population and they eat much more fish than meat.

The American Heart Association reports that vegetarians have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and several forms of cancer.

The animal industry mistreats animals and pumps the animals full of chemicals and hormones.

If you research this at all, you will be astonished at the conditions animals in the American food industry are left in. Pigs go insane at their treatment. They are sometimes castrated and boiled alive. They are left inside cages where they can’t turn around.

Chicken meat has four times the amount of arsenic (yes, the poison) than any other meat due to what drugs they are given.

Hormones are infused in the animals to make them bigger which we humans then ingest.

Much of the meat in the American food industry is highly processed, which means it contains dangerous cancer-causing ingredients like sodium nitrate which has been significantly linked to pancreatic cancer.

Eating meat damages the environment.

The meat industry causes more emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide than all the cars, planes, and ships in the world combined.

More than half of all the water consumed in the US is used to raise animals for food.

The run off from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all other industry sources combined.

Protein

I’m no expert on this, but what research I’ve done is that you get plenty of protein in plant-based foods. Vegetables, nuts, eggs, and fish all provide protein—and so do milk and cheese. However, getting too much protein is linked to kidney stones and cancer of the colon and liver.

The Word of Wisdom

This is controversial, I know. But this is my interpretation of it: It says eat meat only in times of famine or winter. I believe the “eat meat sparingly” is taken too liberally (it’s eaten at every meal). Of course during the 1800s during winter meat was the only thing available. But these days you can get anything you want any time of year, making the need for eating meat…never.

I don’t know how to cook vegetarian?

It’s easy. There are plenty of cookbooks available, and you can even buy fake meat if you love the taste of meat (I don’t.) Substitute vegetables or bean curd or fish or cheese for your meat. As long as you replace your meat with something good, like plums for example, and not something bad, like carby doughy bread or extra dessert, then you’ll be on your way to getting all the nutrients you need (especially if you take a multivitamin) and reaching your target weight.

I would love to attend this…

On October 2, U.S. local and national peace organizations will be a vital part of the coalition of progressive organizations marching in D.C. as One Nation Working Together.

Please contribute as generously as you can to support UFPJ's organizing for this demonstration and to ensure that our demands to end war, cut military spending, and fund jobs and human needs are heard.

The US military consumes over 50% of our national budget - tax dollars that are desperately needed here at home to save jobs and support families. The U.S. war machine is a huge contributor to climate change. With over 700 bases girdling the globe, the U.S. foreign policy of endless war has wreaked havoc on people around the world. To maintain a nuclear umbrella of intimidation, war makers continue to build new generations of expensive weapons that risk nuclear annihilation.

We must stop this madness! But the peace and anti-war movements cannot stop it alone. That is why UFPJ is working with hundreds of groups across the nation to take action to build a peoples' movement and to march in Washington on October 2.

It is time to stand up with our friends and allies in the labor, civil rights, immigrant rights and environmental movements. Please contribute as generously as you can to make this coordinated push for jobs, justice and peace a success.

Spread the word and organize where and when you can for the October 2 demonstration!
The UFPJ Coordinating Committee
Cole Harrison, United for Justice with Peace (Boston)
Gael Murphy, CODEPINK Women for Peace
Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation
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Michael McPhearson, Veterans For Peace, UFPJ Co-Convener
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9/11

If you’d care to, I’d be interested in anyone’s opinion on why they believe 9/11 happened.

It was foggy in my mind, but I was told it was “bad men who hate freedom and want to take away America’s freedom.”

I didn’t really question that until a friend of mine who lives in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border (the same one I mentioned in another post) and whose family is the same ethnicity as al-Qaeda said that clearly it happened because of the American support of Israel against Palestine—all Afghanistan people recognize that. What? I told him that it was not clear to most Americans (maybe I’m wrong). That’s why I wondered if I was just ignorant about that fact?

I decided to ask my friend who majored in Middle Eastern studies, and who speaks a little of both Hebrew and Arabic and who lived over there for a while his opinion. I thought it was such an excellent answer it should be shared:

I suppose that the first thing to do is to ask the people who perpetrated the attack.
Osama bin Laden is the figurehead of al-Qaeda, but it is a matter of speculation as to how much power he has, and how big a role he played in the September 11th attacks. He probably had knowledge of the attacks, and while he didn’t claim responsibility at once, he later did claim direct responsibility. It’s safe to say that ideologically, he represents members of al-Qaeda, and other similar groups.
He issued a manifesto about a year after the attacks that he called a “letter to the American people.” He outlined his grievances against the US and the reasons behind the attacks. He mixes political motivations with religious justification, including several verses of the Quran. Much of the letter is non-substantive, but the core of it is actually quite lucid.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver
“(Q1) Why are we fighting and opposing you?”
“(1) Because you attacked us and continue to attack us.”
He then outlines his grievances, and his beliefs regarding American aggression against Muslims:
1. US support for Israel, especially violence against the Palestinians.
2. US supported violence against Muslims in other areas including Somlia, Chechnya, Kashmir, Lebanon.
3. US support for dictators and regimes in the Middle East.
4. US control of Middle Eastern oil.
5. US military presence in the Middle East, particularly military bases in Saudi Arabia.
6. US support for Israeli dominance of Jerusalem.
He concludes by saying “If [Former Israeli PM, Ariel] Sharon is a man of peace in the eyes of Bush, then we are also men of peace!!! America does not understand the language of manners and principles, so we are addressing it using the language it understands.”
Analysts and experts have concluded that these reasons are transparent and are the actual grievances of bin Laden and al-Qaeda, and that the chief grievance is the US support for Israel’s violence against the Palestinians.
To me then, there are two obvious questions. The first: Are these grievances legitimate? The second: How do we use these grievances to undermine and eliminate al-Qaeda and other similar groups.
The answer to the first question, in my opinion, is that for the most part the grievances are real. Acknowledging this is in no way justifying al-Qaeda, or the vicious September 11th attacks. Terrorists regard themselves as the vanguard of the people, and they use actual grievances to recruit and motivate jihadis to commit violence.
In my mind, this brings the answer to the second question. We should eliminate the grievances, over which we have a large degree of control, and undermine the base of support for al-Qaeda. This is not just my opinion only, but the opinion of many experts, including two former National Security Advisors, General Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski.
In a report you can download here:

 http://www.usmep.us/usmep/wp-content/uploads/a_last_chance_for_a_two-state_israel-palestine_agreement.pdf
These two, and a team of other bipartisan experts recommended steps to ending the Israel-Palestine conflict to President Obama. The entire report is well worth reading, I’ll only quote two paragraphs:
“Today, when our enemies avoid America’s military superiority by waging information warfare and terror, an early Arab-Israeli peace is indispensable. Although a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace would not erase Al Qaeda, it would help drain the swamp in which it and other violent and terrorist movements thrive, and eliminate a major source of global Muslim anti-Americanism. Iran would find the strategic advantages it recently gained in the Arab world greatly reduced. Far from being a distraction from other Middle Eastern crises, an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement would significantly facilitate their amelioration.
Conversely, for the U.S. to avoid effective facilitation and mediation is to cede the field to America’s enemies who are counting on the Arab-Israeli dispute as the gift that keeps on giving.”

Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America' | World news | Observer.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

I

Thoughts on the US of A

It's really strange being back in a western country after seeing how the East does things. It's hard to explain exactly how I feel after living in so many countries for the last couple of years. I guess I feel like a citizen of the world now more than I feel like an American. My patriotism has dwindled quite a bit. And I'm having a hard time convincing myself this is a bad thing. Just like I think that feeling pride in your state, which is an honorable and fun thing to have, should nevertheless never overpower your pride in being an American (Texans are sometimes borderline in this issue) I feel that patriotism for your own country should never overpower the essential belief that the world itself, all countries and their welfare are more important than the welfare of your own country only.

What's more, there are things that I have begun to realize that I don't have in common with American's values. That in fact, bother me quite a bit about America.

1. Guns

The average American honors and values gun ownership. America has a big violence/crime problem which is also glorified in a lot of the films and tv shows that you see. Most of all, the biggest heroes of America are those who fight in wars. No one is honored as much as those who fight in the military. Our military is the largest in the world by at least nine times. Americans value war.


2. TV

The biggest national pastime of America. I don't watch TV. Not that I'm morally opposed to it or anything, it's just not my thing. I do think a lot of TV is an empty wasteland.


3. Driving

I hate driving. I hope when we settle down I won't have to own a car. It's bad for the environment, it's one of the most dangerous ways to travel, and it's very costly. It's a pain to maintenance your own vehicle. It's also a very isolated way of getting around. And most of small town America is very spread out, with no way of getting around expect by...driving.

4. Franchise stores

More and more, I realize how much of America is made of huge chains. When we were in Morrow, Georgia, population less than 5,000, I saw: TGIF, Olive Garden, Best Buy, Walmart and others that could be found all across America. It feels lifeless, sterilized, and fake to me. I've grown out of Olive Garden. The only good thing about their menu is the salad. I hope that doesn't make me a snob. But chain restaurants have lost their charm for me. Give me a little start up where you can talk to the owner and the menu is fresh and changing any day.

5. Evangelical Christians

Much of the US is made up of people who believe the majority of people that they meet are going to hell. How unpleasant. Not all Christianity believes this, I hope, but I know in the South that there's a whole lotta Bible bashing going on and it's really very divisive.


6. Drugs

Americans are so rich that they don't have anything better to do than burn their excessive free time on drugs. Drugs that often cause a lot of civil violence in other countries to produce. It starts in school. It's not an environment I'd really want to raise kids in. The positive thing is that smoking cigarettes has lost quite a bit of popularity in comparison to other countries.

7. Consumerism

Americans are high rollers, from the day they are born till even after they die. Getting born in a hospital with all the medications and fancy doctors. Dying with a funeral that costs minimum $10000, with the nice tombstone and the carved coffin. And all the days in between, Americans value their possessions and often are swimming in them, always working towards the newest acquisition. Since coming home, I have constantly been amazed at the standard of living expected by even "lower income" kind of people.

8. Privacy

Americans value privacy more than I ever realized until traveling in the east. They prefer to live lives somewhat isolated in fancy homes driving in fancy cars. They often don't spend time with their neighbors. They often don't like to get too close to people physically. Americans value space. It's kind of a lonely way to live.

I know America has a lot of things going for it, too. Some of the best things are the ones you don't see but take for granted, like freedom of speech, business opportunities, free education, and top-notch innovation. Not to mention a passport that can get you into about any country you want. But this time, coming home, these things that never used to bother me, bother me. Dang.

I guess one of the points of this post is to assuage my fears. Will I be able to find a place in America with extremely friendly, kind, open-minded people, mild weather, personality, energy, and public transportation? Will I live in a place where I can make girl friends who enjoy other cultures, visiting art museums, and eating organic? I mean, if I'm going to call a place home after moving around for so long, it's gotta be pretty special. Is there a place in America that can make the cut? It's a blessing that with internet business, we will have complete free reign when it comes to choosing where we want to live--but that makes the decision difficult, too.

I'm thinking maybe the west or east coast, or maybe Austin...when Jacob and I stop traveling--and that won't be at least for another 1-2 years--we're planning on traveling through the States, looking for that perfect place. I hope it's there.

Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich. ~Sir Peter Ustinov

India is a spiritual destination. It forces one to reflect. It has awakened my latent activism. The worst and the best, the poorest and the richest, the ugliest and the most beautiful sides of humanity co-exist together here. If you can’t tell already, I can’t help but wax philosophical and maybe share something I’m learning along the way. These posts may be idealistic, but it’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.
I’m such a hippie.
Well, not the drug-using hallucinating part. But the anti-war part. When the Iraq war was announced, in all its patriotic fervor, I shared with my family and friends that we were making a mistake. I was hardly prophetic. War has been denounced throughout time as being one of the least effective ways to solve the world’s problems. I wish that I had been more outspoken, just for the sake of my conscience now.

  I guess every generation is doomed to fight its war...suffer the loss of the same old illusions, and learn the same old lessons on its own. ~Phillip Caputo

I am publishing this in the hope that I can communicate that we must learn to communicate with our so called radical Muslim brothers and sisters: using force with them will not convince them to stop using force with us.

Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it….
To some degree it matters who's in office, but it matters more how much pressure they're under from the public.
~Noam Chomsky

If these quotes inspire you at all, think about getting involved. I found this excellent organization online: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/index.php It has ways to protest and to encourage our leaders to bring our troops home.
I share this because…

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
~Margaret Mead

One reason the United States finds itself at the edge of a foreign policy disaster is its underinformed citizenry, a key weakness in democracy.
~Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke
About the quote: from "America Alone"

And

Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.
~Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice

So many of these quotes were said/written decades and centuries ago, and yet history continues to repeat itself.
I really hope some of these quotes ring true to you. I think every single one of these is incredibly insightful, except for the ones made by George W. Those were added for comic effect.

‘All wars are sacred,' he said. 'To those who have to fight them. If the people who started wars didn't make them sacred, who would be foolish enough to fight? But, no matter what rallying cries the orators give to the idiots who fight, no matter what noble purposes they assign to wars, there is never but one reason for a war. And that is money. All wars are in reality money squabbles. But so few people ever realize it. Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and fine words from stay-at-home orators. Sometimes the rallying cry is 'Save the Tomb of Christ from the Heathen!' Sometimes it's 'Down with Popery!' and sometimes 'Liberty!' and sometimes 'Cotton, Slavery and States' Rights!'
~Rhett Butler, Gone With the Wind

Most of the miseries of the world were caused by wars and when the wars are over, no one ever knew what they were about.
~Ashley Wilkes, Gone With the Wind

Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose—and you allow him to make war at pleasure.
~Abraham Lincoln

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.
~Agatha Christie

When a war breaks out, people say: "It's too stupid, it can't last long." But though a war may be "too stupid," that doesn't prevent its lasting.
~Albert Camus

Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.
~Albert Einstein

What is absurd and monstrous about war is that men who have no personal quarrel should be trained to murder one another in cold blood.
~Aldous Huxley

We Americans have no commission from God to police the world.
~Benjamin Harrison, US President
About the quote: from an 1888 address to Congress

The terrorist is the one with the small bomb.
~Brendan Behan, author

War should be made a crime, and those who instigate it should be punished as criminals.
~Charles Evans Hughes, Supreme Court Justice

The truth is that neither British nor American imperialism was or is idealistic. It has always been driven by economic or strategic interests.
~Charley Reese

Imperialism is an institution under which one nation asserts the right to seize the land or at least to control the government or resources of another people.
~John T. Flynn, journalist

War, n: A time-tested political tactic guaranteed to raise a president’s popularity rating by at least 30 points. It is especially useful during election years and economic downturns.
~Chaz Bufe

War in the end is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians, and of idealists by cynics.
~Chris Hedges

After victory, you have more enemies.
~Cicero

All forms of violence, especially war, are totally unacceptable as means to settle disputes between and among nations, groups and persons.
~Dalai Lama

You cannot win a War on Terrorism. It’s like having a war on jealousy.
~David Cross
About the quote: Cross is a comedian, most well known for his roles on the television series "Arrested Development" and "Mr. Show." This quote is from his 2002 comedy album.

War creates peace like hate creates love.
~David L. Wilson

We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

I hate war  as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly, I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower
About the quote: from 1953

Together we must learn how to compose difference, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

(I think he must be my new favorite president)

Compare him with George W.:

If we don’t stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, we’re going to have a serious problem coming down the road.
~George W. Bush

I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: From a speech at the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development in Wash. DC, 6/18/02.

Our nation is somewhat sad, but we’re angry. There’s a certain level of blood lust, but we won’t let it drive our reaction. We’re steady, clear-eyed and patient, but pretty soon we’ll have to start displaying scalps.
~George W. Bush

Wow. I think that quote just changed my life.

If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator.
~George W. Bush

Evil men, obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience, must be taken very seriously--and we must stop them before their crimes can multiply.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: from the President's Veteran's Day Speech (11/11/05).

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful...They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: From remarks by the president at the signing of The Defense Appropriations Act for 2005  (At least he is honest here)

We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: from a UN Speech in Sept 2004

I think war is a dangerous place.
~George W. Bush

These people are trying to shake the will of the Iraqi citizens, and they want us to leave...I think the world would be better off if we did leave...
~George W. Bush (on Iraqi Insurgency)

Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction.
~George W. Bush
About the quote: from a speech on 10/3/03 (LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL how hypocritical can you get)

Oh my gosh. Did we really have this man leading our country for 8 years?

It's quite fun to fight 'em, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling.
~Lt. Gen. James Mattis, USMC
About the quote: Comments from 2/1/05 conference in San Diego, California. Lt. Mattis commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SICK.

The worst barbarity of war is that it forces men collectively to commit acts against which individually they would revolt with their whole being.
~Ellen Key

They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.
~Ernest Hemingway
About the quote: from "Notes on the Next War," published in Esquire Magazine, 1935.

If my soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the army.
~Frederick the Great

With no notice to the American people...this country entered the war...Stranger than the fact was the passive acceptance of it.
~Garet Garrett

Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it.
~General Douglas MacArthur

I believe that the entire effort of modern society should be concentrated on the endeavor to outlaw war as a method of the solution of problems between nations.
~General Douglas MacArthur

Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency.
~General Douglas MacArthur

Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear.
~General Douglas MacArthur
 About the quote: MacArthur was an American army general who lived 1880-1964.

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
~George Washington

I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough to want to force it upon anyone.
~H. L. Mencken

How can you make a war on terror if war itself is terrorism?
~Howard Zinn

It's more humane to cure your enemies than to kill them.
~Hugh Mann

Even philosophers will praise war as ennobling mankind, forgetting the Greek who said: ‘War is bad in that it begets more evil than it kills.'
~Immanuel Kant

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
~James Madison
About the quote: This quote is from the period he served as a US Congressman (he represented Virginia from 1789-1797).

Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner.
~James Wolcott
About the quote: in his article “From Fear to Eternity” in Vanity Fair, March 2005

I'm afraid, based on my own experience, that fascism will come to America in the name of national security.
~Jim Garrison

Scary to ask ourselves…has this already happened?

Yes, we love peace, but we are not willing to take wounds for it, as we are for war.
~John Andrew Holmes

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
~John F. Kennedy

If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.
~John Lennon

I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private individuals.
~Joseph Heller
(author of Catch-22)

We have to show the American People that war is not patriotic.
~Justin Raimondo

The war on terrorism is akin to the war on drugs…unwinable, unless you kill everyone…or address the root causes.
~K. W. Ibrahim

The greatest protection against war is a well educated populace.
~L.L. Castetter

Wars are inevitable... as long as we believe that wars are inevitable. The moment we don't believe it anymore it is not inevitable.
~Lydia Sicher

It takes more courage to get out of a war than it does to get into one.
~Mark Couturier

Why, the Government is merely...a temporary servant...Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.
~Mark Twain

     

Is it not a strange blindness on our part to teach publicly the techniques of warfare and to reward with medals those who prove to be the most adroit killers?
~Marquis de Sade

There are many terrorist states in the world, but the United States is unusual in that it is officially committed to international terrorism.
~Noam Chomsky
About the quote: from his book "Necessary Illusions" (p. 270)

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.
~Pentagon Official (unnamed )
About the quote: This quote was from a Pentagon Official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War.

Power is usurped from the people, first by implementing fear, then it is maintained by slandering as 'unpatriotic' those who refuse submission.
~Ramman Kenoun

The occupation and robbery of a nation occurs under the illusion of freeing its citizens from brutal oppression.
~Ramman Kenoun

When American presidents prepare for foreign wars, they lie.
~Robert Higgs

There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we went in. It was we who gave the perfect conditions in which Al Qaeda could thrive.
~Robin Cook
About the quote: Cook is Britain's former foreign secretary. He resigned from the British Cabinet over the Iraq War.

Terror is a tactic. We can not wage "war" against a tactic.
~Ron Paul

War--after all, what is it that the people get? Why--widows, taxes, wooden legs and debt.
~Samuel B. Pettengill

I abhor war and view it as the greatest scourge of mankind.
~Thomas Jefferson

If you kill one person you are a murderer. If you kill ten people you are a monster. If you kill ten thousand you are a national hero.
~Vassilis Epaminondou

If [America] becomes militant, it will be because its people choose to become such; it will be because they think that war and warlikeness are desirable.
~William Graham Sumner
About the quote: from 1903

The greatest crime since World War II has been US foreign policy.
~William Ramsey Clark
About the quote: William Ramsey Clark was US Attorney General under Lyndon B. Johnson

And finally…I don’t normally like to combine the gospel and politics. But this isn’t something you hear preached over the pulpit much, yet I believe it is fundamental to what our religion stands for. So I close with this quote from a General Conference in 1942:

The Lord is a Lord of peace. He has said to us in this dispensation:
“Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace . . . ” (D&C 98:16) Thus the Church is and must be against war. The Church itself cannot wage war, unless and until the Lord shall issue new commands. It cannot regard war as a righteous means of settling international disputes; these should and could be settled—the nations agreeing—by peaceful negotiation and adjustment.
A message from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and David O. McKay), delivered in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah, Monday, April 6, 1942, during the closing session of the 112th Annual General Conference of the Church.
http://www.latterdayconservative.com/articles/j-reuben-clark-jr/war-first-presidency