From: Steve Peterson (peterson.steve@verizon.net)
Date: Thu Dec 18 2003 - 00:25:01 GMT
Hi Dan, Jon
> I understand that a tyrant dictator commiting atrocities is wrong. But do we
> really need to go "there"??? If I started rattling off American atrocities I'd
> be writing for the next week nonstop! I think America just does a better job
> of hiding things.
> People in glass houses...
I'm not just talking about being able to admit when something is bad. I'm
saying that the MOQ (have you read Lila?) gives us a foundation for
promoting what's good. Would you agree that Democracy is better than
theocracy or dictatorship?
You are right to question the President's "Us or Them" rhetoric and whether
we should promote our society's social patterns in other countries, but
there is no reason to feel self-righteous about promoting intellectual
values.
As for the question "what country does the world need most now?" The answer
isn't a particular "them" or even "us." In a way Jon's implied answer of
"America" is right, but not the country, the idea of America. The US was
the first country that was not built upon "us v. them" mentality but rather
on ideas that we hold to be universal and self-evident. It is these liberal
values promoted by Rousseau, Voltaire, Locke, Jefferson, and Thomas Paine
that the world needs now. The American Revolution continues.
Regards,
Steve
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