1. A society that says "Death to another country", "Cut their heads off", "Eat little Children" - and does nothing concerning what they say.
They don't just do nothing Oliver. I wish it were as easy as that. I'm by no means sure that Ahmadinejad will employ nuclear weapons against Israel. Actually I think it's more likely that Iran will use the nuclear option to bolster its position in the region and gain the same immunity as Kim Jong-il has. But it's very dangerous to just rely on the worst case scenario not to happen - that particular strategy already failed in Iraq. I'd be glad if Ahmadinejad announces tomorrow that the whole Jew-hating thing was just a joke between friends. But I seriously doubt that this is going to happen.
Plus, you have to consider the propaganda effect of his speeches and behavior. I already mentioned Goethe's Zauberlehrling in another thread. You already know about the Palestinian Martyr mouse. From what I've read, Jew bashing has become part of the education in some Middle Eastern countries. The problem is, even if Ahmadinejad is just rationally exploiting the scapegoating tactic to gather public support, the populace might take him seriously. They already take The Protocols of the Elders of Zion seriously.
This is not about fear Oliver. It's about vigilance. Try to get that distinction into your head, please. And at the risk of invoking Godwin's law, you do know what happened not too long ago in our own country, when the deluded writings of an aspiring dictator were not taken seriously. There even was a small number of foreign diplomats who had actually read the book and tried to warn their governments about what might happen, but they were simply dismissed in order to buy "peace in our time".
2. A society that formally says: "FREEDOM!", "PIECE", DEMOCRACY!"
- and goes to war, starts covert operations and invades countries that are no threat.
Yes, Iraq was no threat to the Western world, at least in the short term. But: We know that for sure only in hindsight, and Hussein definitely was a threat to his own people in any case. Of course it would all have been much easier if the West had teared down the "Realpolitik" of pandering to nasty dictators much earlier. It's a real mess now, and there are still a lot of dictators' asses to kick. The US will just have to sit this through. You of all people should be glad about this, since it means that America's military resources are bound in Iraq for the foreseeable future.
I know you don't like my example. But that's exactly my point here:
"Reden kann man viel - letztendlich zählen die Taten."
(Translation: "One can talk all day long - the actions are what finally counts.")
Some people might not be willing to wait until it's too late. And Oliver, it's not as though there were no actions. Do you know about the little colored plastic keys to Heaven the suicide kids in the Iran-Iraq war were equipped with? I thought culture was important to you. Don't you think we've got an incredibly nasty culture here, a culture which shouldn't be conserved but fought?
Be patient my friend. You will be a true believer. Keep reading Oliver's and Ion's posts and "learn" from them. You too can hate America and learn to blame America for all of the evils of this world.
)
