Home › Forum Online Discussion › General › First Lieutenant Ehren Watada still refuses Iraq deployment orders, calling the war illegal. A six-year prison term could result
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January 10, 2007 at 10:45 pm #20185Alexander AlexisParticipant
“You don’t get it. He volunteered.”
So now he’s un-volunteering. So what? As I asked you before- What business is this of yours? You could be glad for him and for us that he is deciding not to participate in the mindless slave game anymore. It is his choice and only his choice. And we are alright no matter what he chooses.
You seem not to be able to see the value in this mindset. You seem to think that “something needs to be done about it!” I do not. I think that’s the worst thing we could possibly do.
For the sake of your specific point about him I say this: When he volunteered to defend his country from harm he was not volunteering to work as a killer for a profit and power seeeking group of business people posing as public servants.
What you are ignoring in my posts is all the expaining I have done about this, the basic points of freedom and human rights, and what happens when we do not respect them.
No one’s life belongs to anyone else to judge. An enlightened society just doesn’t think that way.
January 11, 2007 at 2:18 am #20187DogParticipant“I think people should be able to do whatever they want as long as they are not harming others.”
Thats pretty funny. I can not be the only one that sees the funny.
I find braking agreements part of the healing processes. That said if you dance with the devil you will get burned. I do not believe you would want to see him shoot and killed, or imprisoned for saying I and all my friends have everything to lose and nothing to gain, I will not kill or die in this war any longer. Support your brother he is not a coward nor is he trying to leave his brothers to die.
January 11, 2007 at 11:59 am #20189Yi TaoParticipantI live in the world of the now. In this world, armed freedom in the best course. This course relies on a military. The military relies on discipline. Discipline relies on consistency of action and consequence. Consistency requires that soldiers fight when told. This is not a single case, but applies to the fabric of the military.
You can disagree with war in general, or this war specifically. You can disagree with the commander in chief or even the idea of a military. But you can not ask the military to be anything other than the military; that is dishonest. You are using this situation to promote your ideology. You are having an emotional reaction because of your political views.
I can respect your view that war is not the answer, but I can not respect you effort to undermine the institution of the military.
Everything must be true to its nature.
You might as well complain that tigers eat meat.
January 11, 2007 at 4:52 pm #20191Alexander AlexisParticipantDear Yi Tao, You are missing my point (almost) entirely.
“I live in the world of the now.”
What we live in is a world changing its paradigm from fear to openness. You do not live in the world of the now if you support the old way of thinking and being. You live in the past and want to keep it going that way. This is impossible. The universe no longer supports it.
“In this world, armed freedom in the best course.”
This is a personal opinion you were taught to believe and which you hold onto and which is not a fact but which you state as such. The words “armed” and “freedom” do not go together unless your definition of freedom is the same as your definition of false and tentative security.
“This course relies on a military. The military relies on discipline. Discipline relies on consistency of action and consequence. Consistency requires that soldiers fight when told. This is not a single case, but applies to the fabric of the military.”
Yes. That is correct. And, it is obsolete.
“You can disagree with war in general, or this war specifically. You can disagree with the commander in chief or even the idea of a military. But you can not ask the military to be anything other than the military;”
Why not? (Please look at the fact that I have asked you this question in many forms like, “What for?” and you have ignored answering it. I have to conclude that you do not want to face what answering this question means.)
Why should we not look at the individual men and women who comprise our military as growing human beings such as we say we are? Why can we not allow them all the space to move beyond their preordained roles and choose a new destiny? Why can we not imagine people in the military using their skills to clean up the messes they and the indusrtialists and we have made all over the world? Etc.
What do you think? Can you answer any of this now?
“that is dishonest.”
Rubbish. What is dishonest is you not facing the fact that things change. Everything changes. Either it does or it dies. While you sit at your keyboard arguing with me about this all those people in the military are going through consciousness changes that will make them unable to continue what they are doing for very much longer. So it is futile to resist. Life is changing us and we are better off accepting this and, even, enjoying it.
“You are using this situation to promote your ideology.”
A philosophy must be universal enough to be used in any context. If we do not keep a universal view our vision is myopic and our results dysfunctional.
Face it: There have been new energies coming into the planet for a long time and they are about peaceful coexistence not about war, fear, control, blame and punishment.
“You are having an emotional reaction because of your political views.”
No. I am having an emotional reaction because I am letting you get to me.
“I can respect your view that war is not the answer, but I can not respect you effort to undermine the institution of the military.”
If you can respect my view that war is not the answer why do you not understand that I see that the only thing to do is to disband groups of people gathered together under the idea that there is something to protect when there is nothing to protect and reform them into the next highest thing?
The obvious conclusion to draw here is that you want something to protect you.
“Everything must be true to its nature.”
You are not talking about “nature” here. You are talking about a temporary form (society, army, whatever) in which human energy has been concretized. “Nature” has nothing to do with forms. It has to do with the essence underneath. Our nature is to be spirit in a body.
“You might as well complain that tigers eat meat.”
It is clear from this conversation and many others I have read or participated in with you that you do not believe in change and that, in fact, you fear it. The underlying meaning in everything you write is “this is the way it is and there’s nothing to be done about it.” You are apathetic to your own nature.
Yi Tao! Mobilize your internal troops and make ready for CHANGE for it is upon us!
Best, Alexander
January 11, 2007 at 5:52 pm #20193Yi TaoParticipantI am not wedded to the past, but to what works.
When the USA was first formed, the original 13 states were called “laboratories for democracy”. No one believed in a perfect existence. They believe in a “more perfect” existence. They all had ideas about how the world could and should work, but they believed they first had to prove their ideas worked.
I believe the human condition has improved in the past several hundred years. I believe much of this improvement was possible only because of the philosophy of armed freedom. You’re only free if you can stay free. And free men make the world better.
You believe something else will work, but I have yet to see a concrete example in the real world. I still morn Tibet.
Socialism and communism offered false hope. Academics and dreamers love the idea, but there are no examples in history where it actually worked. The closest example of communism working is in the Amana Colonies. Great stories, better beer.
Anyway, thanks for the conversation. Many things to think about. My first instinct is to play the doubting game and find holes in your reasoning. But I’m trying to build my second instinct which is to play the believing game and consider what it means if you’re right.
Peace and unity is either a noble goal or a fools errand. Maybe it’s both.
January 11, 2007 at 8:14 pm #20195Alexander AlexisParticipantThat sounds good. I would suggest that you not look to the past for examples of this working and not refer in your mind to things like communism with relation to what I am talking about. The Dao is presenting us with new possibilities and taking us where we haven’t gone before. And we are capable of so much more.
To inspire yourself you might read the piece I posted on top from Steven Greer about energy. What is already perfected and available and that has been kept from our use by the controlling interests (and a global consciousness in support of it) is awesome.
In our lifetimes we will see Jules Verne-like changes.
Peace and Love, Alexander
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