Comments on: What Readers Wrote, Posted, and Called About http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:11:52 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: weswinger http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1224 weswinger Sat, 10 Feb 2007 20:23:52 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1224 Paul's comments on family size and willingness to sacrifice children are right on. As the proud grandparent of 2, I am so terrified for their future that sometimesI feel frozen . Both parents were Airmen and played their parts in the early days of this GWOT. There were breathless moments when their mom was deployed to Kyrgyzstan. We have to remember that our children become adults who make their independent decisions. It is not up to us to decide for them whether our way of life is worth defending. Sacrifice is for all who would keep the benefits of our disorderly and maddening cultural and political life. Holding on to your progeny for the shreds of a reduced life of dhimmitude would not be worth living. But I still pray to God: Let me die first! Paul’s comments on family size and willingness to sacrifice children are right on. As the proud grandparent of 2, I am so terrified for their future that sometimesI feel frozen . Both parents were Airmen and played their parts in the early days of this GWOT. There were breathless moments when their mom was deployed to Kyrgyzstan.

We have to remember that our children become adults who make their independent decisions. It is not up to us to decide for them whether our way of life is worth defending.

Sacrifice is for all who would keep the benefits of our disorderly and maddening cultural and political life. Holding on to your progeny for the shreds of a reduced life of dhimmitude would not be worth living. But I still pray to God:

Let me die first!

]]> By: Curt Matern http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1223 Curt Matern Sat, 10 Feb 2007 02:13:58 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1223 Professor Hanson: As a student historian, I view this continuous tumult as an affliction of the American psyche, going back to the Revolutionary War. We seem to be a people incapable of united effort unless our backs are truly up against the wall. Unless we are presented with an incomparable travesty like Pearl Harbor was in it's time, we seem to be constantly immersed in ridiculous squabbles and petty political posturing. Somehow, and I don't understand why, the Trade Center homicides never reached that flashpoint. It seems our level of tragedy must be on a greater human scale to bring us to our senses. How sad it is that in all of our history, we have yet to truly understand the gravity of our enemy's intents until they are shoved straight down our throats. What is occurring, of course, is an inevitable string of events which are going to lead us to the most horrific World War to date. Whether we win in Iraq or not, this is merely the first act in an even greater struggle to the finish. For our enemy will never stop, never surrender, and never sue for peace. It is a fight to the death. Americans will win the Great Struggle, for that is what we do. We are the most fierce warriors on the planet when aroused. The main problem is that by the time our arousal is piqued, the cost of victory is horrendous. The critics will finally be silenced by world events. They will be relegated to the Neville Chamberlains of history. Insubstantial characters deserving of the historical derision and mockery which they will so well deserve. All of this is very sad, but it is what it is. If one has the desire to go back and review events leading up to the American Revolution, the War of 1812, our Civil War, WW's I and II, Korea and Vietnam, one thing is clear. The United States Congress (our country's only native criminal class) is constantly rife with the very worst our republic has to offer, and can sometimes create great injury, but the American people will always prevail. I take great heart in this. Professor Hanson:
As a student historian, I view this continuous tumult as an affliction of the American psyche, going back to the Revolutionary War.
We seem to be a people incapable of united effort unless our backs are truly up against the wall.
Unless we are presented with an incomparable travesty like Pearl Harbor was in it’s time, we seem to be constantly immersed in ridiculous squabbles and petty political posturing. Somehow, and I don’t understand why, the Trade Center homicides never reached that flashpoint. It seems our level of tragedy must be on a greater human scale to bring us to our senses.
How sad it is that in all of our history, we have yet to truly understand the gravity of our enemy’s intents until they are shoved straight down our throats.
What is occurring, of course, is an inevitable string of events which are going to lead us to the most horrific World War to date. Whether we win in Iraq or not, this is merely the first act in an even greater struggle to the finish. For our enemy will never stop, never surrender, and never sue for peace. It is a fight to the death.
Americans will win the Great Struggle, for that is what we do. We are the most fierce warriors on the planet when aroused. The main problem is that by the time our arousal is piqued, the cost of victory is horrendous.
The critics will finally be silenced by world events. They will be relegated to the Neville Chamberlains of history. Insubstantial characters deserving of the historical derision and mockery which they will so well deserve.
All of this is very sad, but it is what it is.
If one has the desire to go back and review events leading up to the American Revolution, the War of 1812, our Civil War, WW’s I and II, Korea and Vietnam, one thing is clear. The United States Congress (our country’s only native criminal class) is constantly rife with the very worst our republic has to offer, and can sometimes create great injury, but the American people will always prevail. I take great heart in this.

]]> By: Durst http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1222 Durst Fri, 09 Feb 2007 05:33:05 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1222 Dinesh D'Souza has been one of my favorite writers for some time. I haven't purchased his book yet, but I will attempt to defend his basic position. If you asked Dinesh if he thought there was any justification for the attacks of 9/11, I think he would answer in the negative. Ultimately, we are in a war for the hearts and minds of Muslims. We want them to embrace democracy, pluralism, human rights, etc. The problem is that the leader in exporting those ideas is the United States. And if any Muslim not in the Western World were to see one of our sitcoms, one of our music videos, or listen to the views concerning morality from any American liberal, they would react in horror as many conservative Americans do. They would not be foolish to think that the classic liberalism we are preaching to them ultimately leads to hedonism and unbelief. Am I saying that justifies murder and mayhem? No. Still, it severely hampers our argument that the Muslim world should become like us, when we are an increasingly atheistic/agnostic, sexually immoral, and lewd civilization. Hope to buy the book soon, so I can either defend Dinesh some more, or admit he is wrong. Dinesh D’Souza has been one of my favorite writers for some time. I haven’t purchased his book yet, but I will attempt to defend his basic position. If you asked Dinesh if he thought there was any justification for the attacks of 9/11, I think he would answer in the negative. Ultimately, we are in a war for the hearts and minds of Muslims. We want them to embrace democracy, pluralism, human rights, etc. The problem is that the leader in exporting those ideas is the United States. And if any Muslim not in the Western World were to see one of our sitcoms, one of our music videos, or listen to the views concerning morality from any American liberal, they would react in horror as many conservative Americans do. They would not be foolish to think that the classic liberalism we are preaching to them ultimately leads to hedonism and unbelief. Am I saying that justifies murder and mayhem? No. Still, it severely hampers our argument that the Muslim world should become like us, when we are an increasingly atheistic/agnostic, sexually immoral, and lewd civilization. Hope to buy the book soon, so I can either defend Dinesh some more, or admit he is wrong.

]]> By: republitarian http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1221 republitarian Thu, 08 Feb 2007 04:43:14 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1221 Last Tuesday, as President Bush got off the helicopter in front of the White House, he was carrying a baby piglet under each arm. The squared away Marine guard snaps to attention, salutes, and says: "Nice pigs, sir." The President replies "Oh, young man, these are not pigs. You see, I just came back from Arkansas. These are authentic Arkansas Razorback Hogs. I got one for Senator Hillary Clinton and I got one for our new Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi." The squared away Marine again snaps to attention, salutes, and says: "Excellent Trade Sir, Excellent Trade!" Last Tuesday, as President Bush got off the helicopter in front of the White House, he was carrying a baby piglet under each arm.

The squared away Marine guard snaps to attention, salutes, and says:

“Nice pigs, sir.”

The President replies “Oh, young man, these are not pigs. You see, I just came back from Arkansas. These are authentic Arkansas Razorback Hogs. I got one for Senator Hillary Clinton and I got one for our new Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi.”

The squared away Marine again snaps to attention, salutes, and says:

“Excellent Trade Sir, Excellent Trade!”

]]> By: Priscilla http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1220 Priscilla Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:31:36 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1220 Uh, Gary... "We won WWII but it cost us 50,000 lives." US casualties in WWII were acually 291,000 killed in battlefield actions, another 113,842 in non-theater deaths. You might be thinking of Vietnam, where we had close to 50,000 killed. VDH poses the interesting question as to why Kurdish areas of Iraq do not exhibit the pathologies of the rest of Iraq. Short answer: Kurds are not Arabs. They're Muslims, but ethnically different from Arabs. Uh, Gary…

“We won WWII but it cost us 50,000 lives.”

US casualties in WWII were acually 291,000 killed in battlefield actions, another 113,842 in non-theater deaths.

You might be thinking of Vietnam, where we had close to 50,000 killed.

VDH poses the interesting question as to why Kurdish areas of Iraq do not exhibit the pathologies of the rest of Iraq.

Short answer: Kurds are not Arabs.
They’re Muslims, but ethnically different from Arabs.

]]> By: Paul http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1219 Paul Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:33:01 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1219 In response to Gary O, WWII cost us over 400,000 lives. And it was still worth it. The 3000+ lives we lost in Iraq and Afghanistan are all tragedies, but they pale in comparison to the sacrifices made by our grand-parents in the 40s or our great-great-great-grandparents in the 1860s. But I can certainly understand why we take these lost lives so seriously. I have but a single daughter. When you have only 2 (or less) children per household, losing one of them is a fate worse than your own death. Not that a family with 10 children feels no grief or sorrow when 1 child passes before his or her parents, but that there are magnitudes of sorrow not reached when you bury ALL your children. In response to Gary O, WWII cost us over 400,000 lives. And it was still worth it.

The 3000+ lives we lost in Iraq and Afghanistan are all tragedies, but they pale in comparison to the sacrifices made by our grand-parents in the 40s or our great-great-great-grandparents in the 1860s. But I can certainly understand why we take these lost lives so seriously. I have but a single daughter. When you have only 2 (or less) children per household, losing one of them is a fate worse than your own death. Not that a family with 10 children feels no grief or sorrow when 1 child passes before his or her parents, but that there are magnitudes of sorrow not reached when you bury ALL your children.

]]> By: Fred Beloit http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1218 Fred Beloit Wed, 07 Feb 2007 16:03:30 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1218 A minor correction, Gary O. WWII USA deaths were about 407,300 of which about 115,190 were non-combat. A minor correction, Gary O. WWII USA deaths were about 407,300 of which about 115,190 were non-combat.

]]> By: Dave Begley - Omaha http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1217 Dave Begley - Omaha Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:13:15 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1217 I sent the top part of your essay to Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Agreed. The Senate should cool its jets on those pointless resolutions. I sent the top part of your essay to Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Agreed. The Senate should cool its jets on those pointless resolutions.

]]> By: Gary O http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1216 Gary O Tue, 06 Feb 2007 04:55:26 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1216 I'm not one of those Americans who considers himself right or left. I'm a gay man so I'm for gay rights but that doesn't mean I'm a liberal about everything. As I see it pulling our troops out of Iraq doesn't solve the problem. It creates a worse problem. We won WWII but it cost us 50,000 lives. It cost Russia 20 million lives. The war in Iraq is worth winning and it can be won if America is willing to make the necessary sacrafices. The problem is America isn't willing to make those sacrafices because most people don't understand what is at stake. If we allow Muslim countries to go on unchecked they will become a threat to world peace and, in particular, democracy. Pulling our troops out of Iraq will allow Iran and Syria to dominate the region and that would be a terrible thing. There are a lot of Muslims who wish to accomplish a world power that is a theocracy.. the worst kind of government.. We can not allow theocracy to ever accomplish anything! I’m not one of those Americans who considers himself right or left. I’m a gay man so I’m for gay rights but that doesn’t mean I’m a liberal about everything. As I see it pulling our troops out of Iraq doesn’t solve the problem. It creates a worse problem. We won WWII but it cost us 50,000 lives. It cost Russia 20 million lives. The war in Iraq is worth winning and it can be won if America is willing to make the necessary sacrafices. The problem is America isn’t willing to make those sacrafices because most people don’t understand what is at stake.
If we allow Muslim countries to go on unchecked they will become a threat to world peace and, in particular, democracy. Pulling our troops out of Iraq will allow Iran and Syria to dominate the region and that would be a terrible thing. There are a lot of Muslims who wish to accomplish a world power that is a theocracy.. the worst kind of government.. We can not allow theocracy to ever accomplish anything!

]]> By: Eric Thomas http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/what_readers_wrote_posted_and/comment-page-1/#comment-1215 Eric Thomas Tue, 06 Feb 2007 04:26:38 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/2007/02/05/what-readers-wrote-posted-and-called-about/#comment-1215 I was sort of hoping to read some samples of the hate mail Mr. Hanson refers to receiving following that Tribune article on John Kerry's "Speech" at Davos; specifically, I thought it would be interesting to see how the critics would defend Mr. Kerry's absurd statements - however, we can easily estimate that such 'defenses' were probably incoherent rants on how the evils of George Bush necessitated a blistering attack by a 'hero' such as Kerry, and there really couldn't have been anything such people could argue persuasively. So the amusement would most likely wear very thin very quickly. Still, it's amazing that people like Kerry can get away with such things - no matter how many zillions of dollars Bush gives to Africa (and he has) to fight AIDS, a clown like Kerry can still stand up at a meeting of world leaders, and - with a perfectly straight face - pretend it didn't happen. Indeed, the wonders never cease. I was sort of hoping to read some samples of the hate mail Mr. Hanson refers to receiving following that Tribune article on John Kerry’s “Speech” at Davos; specifically, I thought it would be interesting to see how the critics would defend Mr. Kerry’s absurd statements – however, we can easily estimate that such ‘defenses’ were probably incoherent rants on how the evils of George Bush necessitated a blistering attack by a ‘hero’ such as Kerry, and there really couldn’t have been anything such people could argue persuasively.
So the amusement would most likely wear very thin very quickly. Still, it’s amazing that people like Kerry can get away with such things – no matter how many zillions of dollars Bush gives to Africa (and he has) to fight AIDS, a clown like Kerry can still stand up at a meeting of world leaders, and – with a perfectly straight face – pretend it didn’t happen.
Indeed, the wonders never cease.

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