Name:

Scott

Channel Views:

55,747

Style:

Commentary

Joined:

February 09, 2007

Last Sign In:

4 days ago

Subscribers:

1,662

Country:

United States

Occupation:

I install and inspect burglar and fire alarm systems as well as home theater systems.

Companies:

I'd rather not divulge that information.

Hobbies:

Progressive/Liberal Politics, my Family, Defeating Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly, Making YouTube videos, Playing Video Games, Answering Comments, Giving Advice (when asked to give it), Technology, Internet Radio, Sculpting, Drawing, Karaoke, Cooking, Movies, My Cat, Making My Country and the World a Better Place, Stopping Global Warming, Getting The Troops Out Of Iraq and Afghanistan, Fixing The Damage From 8 Years Of Rape-publi-con Rule.

Movies:

I am pleasantly surprised at how President Obama has come out of his corner swinging! Yesterday Jan. 22, 2009, he made a great statement (for what that's worth) about wanting to see a solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that includes not only Security for the Israelis, but massive infrastructure improvements and Security for the Palestinians. He has been signing executive orders and doing more than I expected him to do on his first couple days. I want to believe in this man, and so far I do believe that he is doing all the right things. I haven't agreed with him on every single thing, but I believe he's doing his best. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes, he has a seemingly impossible task ahead of him. In the end though, President Obama is only President of the U.S. not the entire world. As much faith and confidence as we have in him, as much good as the he might hopefully be able to do in this world, I am always mindful of the fact that his margin of victory was only 7% in this last election. There are a lot of my fellow Americans who are dangerously stupid and a threat to this planet. It gives me no pleasure to say this, but the pendulum will swing back and to the right eventually and the world has to be ready to counter the United States if and/or when we 'lose it' again. I wish that my country, which I love so much, was a reliable force in this world and a steadfast friend of democracy, but we are unreliable over time. I know why the world sometimes loves the U.S. and often times hates us. When we are right we are right and a force of good in the world, but when we are wrong, people die and wars ensue. I do not blame the 'world' for looking at us with a skeptical eye. We are like that schizophrenic patient who unexpectedly goes off their medications and trashes the house. George W. Bush will serve as the poster boy for all the things that we can never let ourselves become again over here in the States. I really hope that the world holds OUR feet to the fire over Bush's prosecution. If we don't or won't do the right thing as far as prosecute our war criminals and make amends to those we've wronged, then the world should hold us responsible and complicit in Bush's war crimes. WE can not say that we didn't know what Bush was doing, we can NOT say that his crimes are not our crimes if we fail to prosecute this man for crimes against humanity. Preemptive War is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions and it cannot become a common practice if the world is to run by right and not might.

Music:

I was talking with a good friend of mine named Spentastic on YouTube about the prosecution of former President Bush for war crimes and he reminded me about the genocide in Rwanda that then President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright ignored and enabled. Albright dragged her feet when it came to restoring UNAMIR's forces in Rwanda and simply calling genocide, genocide. I also blame the media for not adequately covering the Rwandan genocide and ultimately I blame myself and my fellow citizens for just not caring enough about what was going on. I remember at that time, over here in the States, we were all so incredibly distracted by our own issues of race (the O.J. Simpson trial) that the Rwandan genocide just didn't make it unto our 'personal radar'. Another reason that we Americans turned a blind eye to the killing was that (I believe) we'd had our fill of military expeditions in Africa after the 'Black Hawk Down' incident in Somalia. I remember thinking, 'Oh well, more civil strife in Africa, what else is new?' I feel terrible about it now, but I was distracted and complacent back then too; and totally focused on the Simpson trial. I have the feeling that at the time, Bill Clinton was too afraid and timid, after the backlash over 'Gays in the Military', the defeat in Somalia, the fiasco of appointing his wife to overhaul our medical system (even though her plans were sound) to act decisively. President Clinton was looking at a potential huge midterm defeat coming up in November of 94. If fact President Clinton did get his ass handed to him in those midterm elections, and that was without having a military quagmire in Africa dragging down his poll numbers. In the end, all of it was just excuses for our own complicity and guilt. I used to wonder why it was that the world stood by as Germany conducted wholesale genocide during the late 30's and WW2. I used to wonder why it was that so many Americans stood by and did nothing as that Native Americans were slaughtered. It all comes back to Edmund Burke's famous quote, 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'. I don't know who wrote it or where I read it but one of my other personal favorite sayings about this goes like this- 'Perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, victims: we can be clear about three of these categories. The bystander, however, is the fulcrum. If there are enough notable exceptions, then protest reaches a critical mass.' Right now, we all know about what is going on in Darfur and we know that something has got to be done, but where else is genocide happening right now? It's like we get so used to the killing and the slaughter, that it then takes something geometrically more shocking to slap us out of our complacency and despair. We have to resist the urge to bar the door and block out all the bad news, that just perpetuates the cycle. There are days when I wonder if we humans deserve to live on this Earth. Why it is that we (as a species) believe that we deserve some exalted, self-appointed role over all dominion on this planet? Yeah I know, it says so in the Bible, but in reality, we are no better than the rest of the animals when it comes to controlling our own blood-lust and self destructive tendencies. Right now, our technology only serves to magnify our killing capacity, when will we use our incredible intelligence to heal our wounded souls and redeem ourselves? The Sun will continue to shine, the Earth will eventually regenerate and heal from the wounds that we have inflicted, life will go on, with or without human beings.