Interesting rants can occur when one posts a seeming innocuous criticism of some popular figure and someone else takes offense…. What follows is a dialogue between Paulus and Magnus recreating that which may have actually occurred. Parts edited for the anonymity of the participants…. Enjoy…..
Paulus –
Long rant about the failures of the leader;
Enter Magnus –
On the eve of 9/11 you should try to post positive things about this country and the people in it; show your support for all of our people and stop giving the world fuel for fodder.
Paulus Queries-
Only the positive? Tell that to the president’s pundits who issue nothing but venom to those who oppose them….
On the eve of 9/11 I should exercise my rights as an American and not wallow in fear that someone, somewhere in the world will take offense. That is what the terrorists want, that is their victory.
Did 3,000 people die so we can cower in fear of the rest of the world? did the people of Flight 93 take action so that we can write fairy stories that make others feel good? Have hundreds of thousands served and many die in Iraq and Afghanistan so people can live clueless and feel good? I think not.
Was I affected by 9/11? Yes. Am I affected by those sacrificing themselves for this country abroad? Yes. (My son has served 4 tours in the war zones so far).
As Stephen Decatur said so long ago :”‘Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.”
So on 9/11 and the days leading up to it, I celebrate my freedoms, paid for in blood and horror 10 years ago Sunday morning by Men, Women, and Children who sacrificed their lives. To me, doing less would dishonor their ultimate sacrifice.
And if the world takes issue with us for exercising freedom of speech, press, religion…. They can all go to hell and meet with the miscreants already there who murdered Children and thousands of others 10 years ago this Sunday.
Magnus replies:
Geeze Maximosa…you don’t get it!!
In response Paulus –
Oh I get it. All too well. I refuse to hide behind, touchy-fealy ‘You must be/post only happy’ mandates.
Should I just think and post happy-happy when I think about the sacrifices in Vietnam, Beirut, Panama?
Must I only post Cheery rainbows when thinking of the slaughter of millions by the Germans because they were Gay, Jews, Catholics and Poles?
Should I post cuddly kittens when I remember the images my uncles told of the bloody seas and the bloated bodies floating in the surf at Iwo Jima and Normandy?
Yes I still cry at the thought of what happened on 9/11; at the sacrifices they made when others stole their lives.
To Honor THEM I will cry with those others I know who were affected. I will hold the inconsolable in my arms and offer comfort if the survivors need me to.
To HONOR THEM I will do what they can no longer do. Live life, love life, and REMEMBER the enormity of their sacrifice. I will refuse to cower in the addictive illusion of Happy-happy because I don’t want to deal with the reality bites us much of the time.
THEN and only then will I smile and still remember when I see a rainbow, watch a fluffy Kitty, observe a child splash in a pool that their sacrifice allowed me to live on, and requires me to remember the horrors they endured, lest they be forgotten.
In response Magnus –
LOL you really don’t get it!
To which Paulus Queried –
Then explain it to me. I have been very thorough in explaining my refusal to hide from reality. Tell me what I don’t get.
Replied Magnus –
Its not about hiding…it’s about keeping your mouth closed for the good of the country…see you don’t get it!
Response Paulus –
Ahhh… be quiet ” For the good of the country”.
SPECIFICALLY: How is it good for the country?
“For the good of the country”, people kept their mouths closed while others were burned, hanged and beaten to death.
“For the good of the country” people kept their mouths closed while Syphilis was spread and monitored on purpose.
“For the good of the country” people were quiet while thousands of citizens (friends and neighbors) were sent to interment camps.
How is my “Keeping my mouth shut” good for the country? Explain that if you can. Rather than throw one-liners, explain.
Keeping my mouth shut does not honor the dead, it does not help the living, (unless they want to hide in fantasy), it does not respect the sacrifices my son, friends, my father, uncles, aunts, grandfathers who gave of their bodies and souls for the freedoms I enjoy.
So PLEASE be specific and thorough about how “keeping my mouth shut” is “For The Good of the Country”. I have thought long and hard about why I should, I must, I NEED to exercise my freedoms so heroically won by others.
I have been VERY thorough in why I believe Being quiet is not “Good for the Country”, and have been very specific. this called for a LOT of self examination BEFORE I posted anything.
I am not so old as to be inflexible and unable to change, but it takes more than one-liners and “Because I said-so” to convince me to change.
So convince me by rational argument and thoughtful phraseology. I welcome the opportunity to examine my feeling. thought, convictions from a new angle. PLEASE tell me how and why I am wrong.
At which point Magnus becomes silent….. but then….
Enter Miriam –
Paulus, on the eve of 9/11 it is more important than ever to face the truth, every ugly bit of it. That’s the only way to clear the way to a brighter future. And it’s the best way to honor everyone who was lost and affected by that tragedy and to honor the sacrifices made by every soldier for this country. We can’t stand by and watch these politicians continue to debase and twist the ideals for which we should all be striving – now THAT would be unAmerican, in my humble opinion.
To which Paulus responds –
Bravo and Thank you. I has been suggested that I stay Silent “For the good of the Country” Thoughts?
Miriam –
Never!
Paulus –
Thank You!
Miriam –
No, thank you. It is long past time to make our opinions and expectations known. We’re in real trouble here and the clock is ticking. I understand that there are those that find speaking out uncomfortable. I find it uncomfortable too…but necessary. So anytime I find someone willing to put themselves out there I truly appreciate it. Anytime I find someone willing to put the time in to read and research a matter and then put forth an honest and thoughtful opinion I truly appreciate it.
Ends it adroitly does Makehael –
Being quiet is for the good of nobody……..
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Thus ends the dialogues… and comment?