" I wanna kill ! I wanna kill !! I wanna burn babies !! "

[kentuck]

Remember that scene from Alice's Restaurant?

We just took for granted the absurdity and insanity of war. Arlo started jumping up and down, yelling, "I wanna kill!" and a smile came across the face of the Sergeant.

"You're just the type of soldier we're looking for", he said.

Nowadays, it doesn't seem so absurd. It seems almost normal. No longer can we take for granted that people will see the insanity of war.

War has become acceptable to too many people.

[rwheeler31]

1. Why have we lost our humanity?

[RagAss]

6. Religion.

[TornadoTN]

7. Bingo.

When the religious right hijacked this country and started drawing themselves as "patriots doing the service of the lord against heathens", it was all downhill from there.

They use the persecution complex to paint everyone not exactly like them as the enemy. In a sense, they are much like the extremist Muslims we are "fighting". It's only a matter of time before they reach that point.

[RagAss]

12. In EVERY sense, they are like the Muslim Extremists. Religion is Religion. Hate is the fuel !

[Soylent Brice]

10. AGREED.

religion is the ultimate and endless source of justifications for atrocities against humanity.

[cali]

9. we haven't. war and agression have ever been part of the human condition

[davidpdx]

2. That was a killer program

(pun intended)

[Greyhound]

3. Here's a link to the scene on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0a6iWHSWbA&feature=PlayList&p=FAC2D433BFB1960A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

I don't know how old you are, but did you ever imagine we would be here in you life?

[AndrewP]

8. I'm shocked how quickly this has all happened

Maybe I'm just more aware of how it's always been? But it's a much more war hungry culture than ever.

[kentuck]

11. Thanks Greyhound! Everyone should watch this.

The world was much more sane back then.

[Greyhound]

18. We tolerate as normal what would've been universally outrageous.

It was far from perfect, but there were commonalities.
:shrug:

[Ignis]

16. Thanks for the link.

I know a few youngsters who need some Guthrie schoolin'. ;)

[FrenchieCat]

4. Yep. This war was acceptable for like 8 years....

and then when we finally get someone in who is competent,
and had told us along what he would do,
then he announces that he has an exit plan,
although first he has to try to fix the
shit that Bush totally fucked up,
and all of the sudden we act like we can't take it.
We must be shellshocked or something,
cause that's the only way to explain that disconnect.

[redqueen]

13. No, that's not the only way to explain it. (nt)

[Greyhound]

15. It was never acceptable, not for one minute. The difference is that the

republiks finally screwed things up so badly that we got a chance to fix it and all that been done is to continue to screw it up.

It's the wasted opportunity that's got people so pissed off.

All that's been achieved in Afghanistan was achieved in the first three months by the incursion of the initial 1,000 special forces. Pouring more and more assets into this meat grinder is worse than a pointless waste of the opportunity to make things better, it is a legitimization of a crime. One that we refuse to prosecute or even allow anyone else to prosecute.

[zbdent]

5. I remember when someone acknowledging soldiers torturing people and

outright murdering them was considered hurtful to the troops and un-American ...

but, after 9/11, the same people who were attacking John Kerry for his 1970s expose are now essentially saying "Hell, yes, we MUST do that! And with a smile on our faces!"

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Erecting bogeymen, and sending cannon-fodder to kill people, is "smart" politics.

Just throw in a bunch of flags, show dazzling videos of troops and weapons, back it up with a few choruses of "God Bless America" and the election is won.

Which is why were escalating the killing.

[SIMPLYB1980]

17. OH THE HUGE MANATEE!!