Dear Starchild,
I think we in American are all very prosperous - - - even those who think
they are poor. I have lived in several East African countries and they
know what it is like to be poor. As far as the �well meaning agents� is
concerned, I just took that from your comments without giving it too much
thought. I guess I really like to give most people the benefit of the
doubt and think they are all �well meaning agents�. Even the far left, I
think most of them think they are doing good, even when they are not.
In any case I would most likely not quibble with you about it. I have
little time enough arguing with people who profoundly disagree with me - -
- I would not be likely to argue with you.
Thanks and best wishes - - -
Bob Parkhurst
[Original Message]
From: Starchild <sfdreamer@...>
To: <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com>
Date: 4/27/2006 6:23:54 PM
Subject: Re: [lpsf-discuss] Re: International anarchy, UN influence,USgov
hegemony, and bloodshed
Robert,
I'm afraid I wasn't very clear, and I'm not surprised you misunderstood me. The topic of nationalism and applying possessive terms like "we" and "our" to countries and governments is something I've discussed a fair amount on this list, and I just assumed everyone on here would understand what I meant, but I realize now that you haven't been posting that long and may not have been around to have seen those previous posts.
In any case, my questions were not at all taking issue with the U.S. being called prosperous, or U.S. government agents being called well-meaning (I myself introduced that term in this discussion, after all). I strongly agree with you that even poor people in the United States are generally quite well off by the standards of many countries, and I also tend to credit people with good intentions most of the time.
What I was getting at was that I don't consider the U.S. government (USgov) "my" government, nor do I consider the United States "my" country. Nor I do consider any other government or country "mine." USgov claims jurisdiction over the place on the earth's surface where I was born, and by virtue of that fact, it claims jurisdiction over me. I support some of USgov's actions, at least given the likely alternatives (invading Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime happened to be one of them) just as I might think it praiseworthy of a criminal thug who's been robbing and terrorizing me to help deliver some other victim out of the clutches of a smaller, meaner bully -- but I certainly do not take responsibility for the actions of the thug who habitually robs and terrorizes me, or consider him in any sense my representative, even if he claims to be acting in my name.
Hope that makes more sense.
Yours in liberty,
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