Saying it all
May 31, 2003 ~ 1:13 p.m.
I had a very intriguing conversation over AIM last night with a friend. Part of it turned out so good that I am publishing part of the transcript here. I have, of course, not provided the screen names so that no-one can harass my pal, but it shouldn�t be too hard to determine who�s who in this conversation:
�When you go overseas, that dream you once had tends to pale when you consider the fact that you can no longer just visit your grandmother or folks or sister anymore at any old time. So I always appreciate being home. Even though I could go to Australia considering the price I paid for a summer ticket to Boston. Damn near $800. But still worth it.�
�Yeowch, that is a lot! They gouge you in-season.�
�Yeah, indeed they do.�
�You�d think something would be done to regulate that or something.�
�Well, it�s a business, you got to let the market do its job. It�s frustrating, but it�s for the best. Price controls are not the solution in my opinion. It can only further damage an already reeling (airline) industry.�
�Yeah, but there�s a harder reeling economy here too. Seems like a no-win situation.�
�Well, we�ll see if the president�s tax cut plan works to stimulate the economy. I have faith that it will. I may be wrong, but if my faith in supply-side economics holds out, I�m sure it will. The economy may be in a bit of a rut, but most of that was because of the war which caused a dip in consumer confidence.�
�I�m not so sure about that myself. The war made a bad situation worse for the economy here. I dunno, maybe you have to be here to get the full effect or something.�
�Wars always cause a backlash in the economy but it�s nothing that can�t be remedied.�
�I know they do, that�s what I�m saying. We were already in a less than gleaming situation and that war knocked us down further.�
�It�s true that I�m not in the American job market and economy at the moment, but I know for a fact that England�s not too strong at the moment either. And yet Labour keeps raising taxes. Not a solution in my eyes.�
�That will cause the economy there to self-destruct.�
�Right. As for the war, I had to support it morally, because we made a mistake ever supporting that madman Saddam in the first place. We had a moral obligation to correct that. We did. The economy has tumbled a bit as a result. Now Bush is trying to stimulate the economy. We�ll see if he�s right. But I know that a lot of people are grumbling here for good reasons because the Treasury just keep raising taxes in an era when people don�t even have secure stocks anymore. And then there�s this �federal� Europe thing, which really and truly scares me.�
�The European Union, you mean?�
�The European Community under the command of Brussels. Brussels wants to use its henchmen of unelected officials to order the rest of Europe around and the only reason some nations go into the deal is for security. I�m sorry, I would never trade sovereignty to a power-mad, unelected government for a promise of economic and political security. And those are promises that can't be delivered upon anyway. It�s doomed to fail. If France and Germany want that, fine, leave it to them. But countries like Denmark and Britain are skeptical and for good reason.�
�Right, all these countries get together, and France gets to play leader, or so they seem to think. Anyone breathes pro-American sentiment and they flip. They have done so already. They are so worried about countering the US it is ridiculous. I think that was a big part of their real reason for trying to block the US and anything we wanted to do with Iraq. Now that it�s done, who jumps up and screams that they should have a major role in it? Typical. I�ve been told France has tried multiple times to counter the US in some way and has always failed.�
�Well, I don�t support the neo-cons on this matter because I believe we need to support England and Blair is concerned about salvaging British reputation in Europe. The last thing America needs is another strike against it in terms of people thinking we conduct wars if we feel like it. So fine, let France have a say in Iraq, everyone knows they�re moral cowards who only showed up once the world�s last remaining superpower showed its resolve to win. I understand the neo-con position firmly and I sympathize with it. But we�ve got to let the UN have a role just to salvage our reputation and to pay Britain back for their support. That�s important. As for France, it�s just a bitter nation full of crooked government people. Aside from Parisians, the French are pretty cool. I have lightened up a bit in my attitude toward them. But the French government is and has always been slimy and traitorous.�
�The UN as a whole should have a role, I agree. France is and always has been far too focused on countering us to be fair in any decisions. Hell, look what they did in NATO. They had to be locked out so progress could be made. Once France was separated, the others fell into line. What does that say?�
�LOL. You�re right, France left NATO, but mostly because DeGaulle was a madman. Just like Chirac. If only we could lock him and his government out. But it�s not just France anymore; Germans have become just as antagonistic. It�s not a nice situation no matter how you slice it.�
�You know what it comes down to with these antagonistic anti-American countries? Not talking from ego either, it is jealousy. Despite our flaws, this country has held out through a great deal, and come out for the better usually. That breeds resentment. The fact that we�ll stand up where they won�t, that furthers it.�
�Yep. In a nutshell. You said it all.�
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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