Why don't "THEY" hate the Swiss for their "FREEDOM?"

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

Isn't it convenient to have an enemy that can wear the name "THEY?"

And isn't it convenient to have the reasoning of attacking a "THEM" because of a vagaries like "OUR FREEDOMS" or the "POTENTIAL OF SOMEDAY HAVING THE ABILITY TO CREATE WMD?"

Not even Goebbles could have created such an all-in-one propaganda tool as effective as the Rovian paradigm of cut and paste enemies and fear creations. One day it's airports, then it's train stations, then it's hospitals, then it's power plants, then it's small town America, then it's subways.... And on and on and on.

The most terrifying aspect of this is that it seems as if 50% of America is buying this tripe. It's black or white, yes or no, fight or flight... The Bush Administration has succeeded in frightening half of America to the point they no longer think but only react at the basest nature of survival. Fight or flight. No grays, no diplomacy, no quarter. Kill or be killed.

The frightened masses no longer ask questions, no longer use logic, and consider compassion a weakness that invites destruction. The frightened masses can't even look at world news and ask, why don't they hate the Swiss for their freedom?


End of rant.

[LiberalVoice]

1. It's alot more then 50%

More then half of the people in this country have no idea what Bush is doing to this country.

It's impossible that half of the people can still say go Bush and the other half be well informed inteligent individuals who realize whats happening. No way this country is 50/50.

[smirkymonkey]

2. Because the Swiss aren't out to colonize the Middle East.

Freedom, my ass. It's our aggressive foreign policy that's the problem.

Besides, Switzerland is neutral and there is the Swiss banking industry to consider. They leave the ME alone because a few tiny withdrawals from a couple of offended oil sheiks and the tiny mountain nation goes third-world.

[talleyJudy]

3. and because

the terrorists need somewhere to do their banking and launder their 'charitable funds'. Switzerland is where the majority of Muslims do their banking.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

4. Right along with Cheney's Halliburton who loves "off shore" banking.

And give it some of the LOGICAL thought that I mourned the departure of in the original message.

If you loved in an area that was inherently unstable and laws could change in a day, WHERE would you do your banking? Across the Ocean o on the same land mass in a country known for banking and neutrality?

[Djinn]

15. not to mention

that the whole secret swiss bank account thing is a bit of a myth - or atleast history, the Swiss have tightened up their banking regulations - you find more dodgy bank accounts in the Carribean these days

[newyawker99]

10. Hi talleyJudy!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[The Flaming Red Head]

14. and where the nazis did their banking, too n/t

[stavka]

17. really....most Muslims do their banking in Switzerland?

I know several Muslims...none of them do their banking in Europe. They seem to be evenly split between our employer's Credit Union, and a variety of commercial Banks, one does bank with an out-of-town bank, but I'm pretty sure its based in Chicago, not Switzerland.

I've been looking for somebody who has great ethnographic-banking data, and you seem to know something about it, can you tell me where most Lutherans do their banking?

<on edit>

I believe you were being sarcastic - I am sorry for the equally sarcastic response to something that initially offended me.

Please accept my appology

[Cocoa]

5. lol

that's how easy it is to destroy that stupid thinking. And yet, no one ever does it...

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

6. Cocoa... That's the problem. The Republican supporters have stopped

thinking.

It's easier to have Limbaugh and Fox news do the thinking and opinion making for them. Maybe they're just inherently lazy?

[truth2power]

7. Well, aside from the fact

that "they hate us for our freedoms" is a totally meaningless phrase, it's interesting that you wonder why they don't attack the Swiss.

I put exactly that question to one of the pod people: "Why don't they attack Sweden", I asked. "They're pretty free." The response: "Well, they will." End of discussion. <sigh>

That aside, you made a significant point in your rant. You said: "The Bush Administration has succeeded in frightening half of America to the point they no longer think but only react at the basest nature of survival." You are correct.

For those who haven't read it, Cheney Speaks to the Reptile Brain, at http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0817-13.htm explains why that's so. Also, George Lakoff is another name to google to see what he says about "reframing". Democrats need to get on board and start countering the programming that's going on instead of depending so much on logic, which doesn't speak to the reptile brain.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

9. Great article. Thanks for posting the link. Loved the preface:

It's Willie Horton all over again. The Bush family is subjecting Americans to psychological operations, only the level of sophistication and deception is an order of magnitude higher than it was in 1988. And it could turn the election, if not used effectively in rebuttal.

<snip>

[bread_and_roses]

16. Great article!

Thank you! Progressive "persuasive" tracts/arguements tend to rely only on the "logical" part of our brains. It is one reason that the Right wing has captured words like "family" while they continue their savage assault on the welfare and even lives of children around the globe.

[90-percent]

8. Freedoms

Bush and Company hate our freedoms more than "they" do!

-85%

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. I don't know.... I think they covet them.

:toast:

[Lone_Wolf]

12. "Freedom" is Bushspeak for the U.S. support of repressive regimes...

We tend to like dictators, oligarchs, etc. who give U.S. corporations easy, cheap access to their countries' resources. Of course, the indigenous people in those countries would prefer that they profit from their countries' resources. The U.S. doesn't like that so we sell high tech weapons to the repressive regimes so that they can help wipe out the pesky indigenous people.

This is too complicated for the typical Fox viewer to comprehend so Bush just calls it "freedom" for their benefit.

[AG78]

13. The real question

would be:

Would "we" hate "them" for their totalitarian regimes if "they" hadn't attacked "us" on 9/11?

No you say?

Then why would "they" hate "us" for "our" freedom?

If "we" hate "them" because "they" bombed "us", wouldn't "they" hate "us" because "we" bombed "them"?

But you're right, who needs logic.

[Disturbed]

18. Canada?

Does the USA have more freedom than Canada?