/*  Closing Arguments  */

	A war began, and ended, in the time it took this ezine to come out.  Naturally the United States won, and had made the right decision yet again (are we ever wrong?).  Still no chemical weapons, but we found some fertilizer and gas masks…you know, I’ve always been suspect of police officers, they have gas masks too.  But all in all the war was good for everyone, the Iraqi people were freed (excluding the dead/maimed ones), a country was reborn (looting and mass chaos generally lead to peace and prosperity as we all know), and a dictator was toppled.  Ok, no sarcasm for that one, Saddam really did suck.
	The USA defied a good portion of the world, as well as its allies, but as usual proved themselves to be right once again.  Don’t believe me?  Look at the 20 Iraqi’s riding Saddam’s head through the streets, you think something like that could be staged?  Can you imagine how much time and effort would have to go into setting up cameras, getting the right angles, and so on and so forth?  Yes folks, America was right.
	And America will continue to be right, after all, things never get questioned until after they’re over.  When the Japanese bombed our harbor, there was no doubt that Fatman and Little Boy needed to be dropped on civilian neighborhoods.  Hey, if Hitler could kill millions of innocent civilians, why not us too?  At least we did it in the blink of an eye.  It became America’s finest hour, or so we were told.  Then there was Vietnam, where we had no choice but to stop the “domino effect” from spreading Communism throughout the world.  What did it matter that almost none of the Vietnamese wanted to fight with us?  We had to stop Communism at all costs, and that meant the lives of our soldiers.
Ok, enough of the sarcasm.  The point I’m making here is that only time will tell what’s right, and what’s wrong.  High school will continue to feed us what we’re supposed to know, colleges will teach you how to think for yourself, but only by educating yourself can you begin to understand things a bit more clearly.  High school never mentions how we slaughtered the Native Americans like cattle, how we spread disease throughout their villages so we could claim the land.  No, Columbus and his guys were heroes, men who journeyed across the seas and found a new world.  That’s what your text books say, isn’t it?  Go ahead, look it up all you high schoolers.  Tell me how much it mentions about those same explorers pillaging towns and murdering innocent Native Americans.
Odds are it’s not much, if anything at all.  Does it question Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or simply say it was retaliation for Pearl Harbor?  No?  That’s because high school will never tell you that, you need to go on and learn these things on your own.  Fortunately people have, which is why so many people wonder if America really had to nuke two cities, especially when the war would have been over anyway.  People today also laugh at the “Domino Theory”, which said Communism would spread like a plague until it had engulfed the world.  
These things are questioned today, but if you lived during the time they happened, they were made out to be “the right thing,” just like so many other things are.  Defying the United Nations and going to war with Iraq was “the right thing,” and it’s possible it will always be remembered as such.  However, this will not be known until all is said and done.  Until this era is far behind us, and people can question it without fear of persecution, we will be told we’re un-American for thinking such thoughts.  Right now, if you ask “What happens when the USA is attacked again, and our ‘allies’ remind us that we wanted nothing to do with them?” you’ll be viewed as someone who should probably be shot.  We’re America, they’ll help us, and they’ll like it.  It’s like being the kid in Sunday school who asks “Who did Kane marry?”  You’re just not supposed to go there.
I’ve always found that I trust people with varying viewpoints a lot more than someone with static beliefs.  At least the people who think differently during different times are willing to think, they’re able to see both sides of a story and are not basing their decision on any sort of bias.  I’m this way, although I don’t say that to imply I’m better than anyone, it’s just how I try to be.  My proof?  I had nothing against the US bombing the Taliban off the face of the earth.  They killed thousands of innocent people (no, not just Americans) on 9/11, and retaliation was necessary.  The same could said if the Taliban had been a government, complete with it’s own country and citizens.  It would be a shame, and I would hope we’d do everything possible to protect the innocents, but to prevent future attacks retaliation is necessary.  However, I disagreed with attacking Iraq.  People can scream their heads off about how “we know Saddam funded Al Queida”, but until I see actual proof, that doesn’t count as retaliation.  But he tortured his own people, you say.  Indeed, and I’m glad they’re free now…but what about the ones we killed?  Acceptable loss?  I’m just one individual, I can’t answer that.  What I can say, and many people find this ironic, is that I’ve defended our government on numerous occasions.  When people, such as Aaron McGruder at H2K2, mentioned revolution as being the only alternative, I was quick to point out that all revolutions have failed.  America was founded thousands of miles away from the country it “revolted” against, so it’s up to you whether or not you want to include that.  I also said that democracy is a system that allows a person to earn their way, and even gives a helping hand when people need it.  Loans are available for people to go to school, some grants are even given so people never have to pay it back!  No, this country is not perfect…but that’s usually because of the people running it, not the system itself.
Let me continue by saying that I’m not necessarily right about all the things I just mentioned.  I was just using myself as an example, to show how one person could have numerous viewpoints and opinions on different matters.  I try my damnedest to think things through and come out with logical, rational answers.  And even if yours disagree, all that matters is that you put in the same effort.  Aaron McGruder seems to have given a lot of thought to what he said, and there were many times when I applauded him, and a lot of times when I didn’t.  He said the media blinds people to the truth of the world, and I clapped.  He more or less encouraged people to take up arms against the government, I thought that was ridiculous.  Differing opinions, but still two people who thought things through before spouting off.
So whether you look at history books in the future and think the events that transpired during this ezine’s creation were good, bad, monumental, or miniscule, all I ask is that you consult different sources and not be afraid to say what you really feel.  Trust me on this…or better yet, don’t.
Alright, gotta go.  George W. is about to tell us what a great thing we did by going to war at 9pm.

Until next time, keep on thinking.

-screamer