Thinking for Oneself

North Miami Beach, FL May 22, 2002
A.H. Schectman

THINKING ALLOWED

Essays on Issues, Ideas and Reflections on the Times. Published now and
then. Opinions pro or con are welcome.

THINKING FOR ONESELF

I find that my thinking as been done for me. Carol and I receive
and try to read six newspapers divided between daily and weekly specimens.
They are filled with articles (essays on issues and ideas and reflections on
the times) that cover most of the intellectual (?) ferment that does not go
away, is not ever settled and has a history that few know.

I read this morning that the Bush Administration is trying vainly
to contain the idea that it had the opportunity to know in advance that
people like Osama bin Laden have been active in planning and carrying out
threats to bomb us, by suicide and otherwise, here in America. Bin Laden has
been forthright in letting the world know, the adoring Arab one and the
hugely populous "sitting on the fence" one that he is out to topple the
non-Moslem infidels who pollute the purity of his vision.

I find it interesting that there are so many willing
co-conspirators with leaders such as bin Laden, Hussein, the Mullahs of
Iran, the royal Saudi family and the non-democratic nations in the world who
applaud the attacks on America. Yet, these are the people demanding that we
listen to the lies and their demands that we give them what they want. Yet,
it is clear that what they want is not only the destruction of Israel and
the humbling of the United States but the supremacy of their vision of what
God (Allah) wants for them - at our expense.

Owen Schweitzer, editor of the Jewish Star Times, put it this way:
just ask the angry and punitive defender of bin Laden, Hussein, the royal
Saudis and the fundamentalists all over the world "What is it that you
want?" He thinks that this will shut them up. I fear that it will just
jack up the ante in the game that our enemies are playing. They do not
engage in dialogue. They just spout the same message that they are in the
right, they need to be listened to and that everyone else is wrong.

The universe of discourse is out of kilter and we are distracted
by the volume of nonsense and dangerous invective spouted by people who do
not think for themselves. We need to shut off the junk and think for
ourselves. Carol's Evaluation: 10 out of 10