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Even tools have value; better to be a tool of the state than an obstacle of an adversary. I'm not American, and I'm rather proud that my elected representative

Even tools have value; better to be a tool of the state than an obstacle of an adversary. I'm not American, and I'm rather proud that my elected representatives voted against joining the USA in the Iraq invasion. Americans voted for the Iraq invasion. It was popular[0]. It still remains reasonably popular, with slightly more Americans opposing it than supporting it in 2018[1]. Despite two decades of expenditure, pain and suffering. 0: https://news.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-americans-support-war-against-iraq.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-america... 1: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/19/iraq-war-continues-to-divide-u-s-public-15-years-after-it-began/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/19/iraq-war-co...

babesh 5y ago
The second invasion was on a false pretense of WMDs. The government in concert with the media manipulated and deceived the public. You are a pawn. Pawns have NO value in of themselves. They are used solely to advance the cause of a side. They will be sacrificed to do so. You can take solace in identifying with an entity that cares for you not one iota. Waitbutwhy writes extensively about this phenomenon. It is called tribalism and delusion. https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/story-of-us.html https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/story-of-us.html us vs them, good vs evil It has all the hallmarks. "A superglue story also jacks up the Us > Them values. The story needs to be all about good guys and bad guys, with a crisp, clear distinction between the two. The good guys must be good in every way—in knowledge, talent, motivation, and virtue. They’re good now, they were always good in the past, and they’ll continue to be good in the future. The bad guys are the opposite—they are and always have been stupid, ignorant, malicious, and morally backwards. Strife between the good guys and bad guys is always the fault of the bad guys"
- CodeShmode 5y ago
  There were plenty of media outlets that doubted the WMD story. There’s no widespread collision between media and government.
  - dleslie 5y ago
    Yeah, it's not as though there weren't protests against the invasion, and widespread media coverage thereof.
    - babesh 5y ago
      And all the protests accomplished jackshit. Can't you see that that is the point? Your opinion and protests have no effect. Your protests are just plausible deniability. https://youtu.be/UqMaYuVvqGo https://youtu.be/UqMaYuVvqGo Weapons of mass destruction LOL
      - dleslie 5y ago
        The protests failed to invigorate change, not unlike anti mask protests today, because the message wasn't persuasive enough to sufficiently many people. That's democracy. It's not great, but it's better than the alternatives.
        babesh 5y ago
        Entrenched special interests driving policy is what the US is. Even an erstwhile democracy can fall into a stuck state. Democracies can be perverted and also have a history of destroying themselves. See Greek history.
        dleslie 5y ago
        Still better than totalitarianism or fascism.
  - babesh 5y ago
    Nope. All the major outlets were pushing it. ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. Also go find out how many representatives were for the war. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823053520/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congress-says-yes-to-iraq-resolution/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190823053520/https://www.cbsne... 296-133, 77-23
babesh 5y ago
That adversary is that of the state that you identify with. Neither state cares about you one iota.

babesh 5y ago

The second invasion was on a false pretense of WMDs. The government in concert with the media manipulated and deceived the public. You are a pawn. Pawns have NO value in of themselves. They are used solely to advance the cause of a side. They will be sacrificed to do so. You can take solace in identifying with an entity that cares for you not one iota. Waitbutwhy writes extensively about this phenomenon. It is called tribalism and delusion. https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/story-of-us.html https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/story-of-us.html us vs them, good vs evil It has all the hallmarks. "A superglue story also jacks up the Us > Them values. The story needs to be all about good guys and bad guys, with a crisp, clear distinction between the two. The good guys must be good in every way—in knowledge, talent, motivation, and virtue. They’re good now, they were always good in the past, and they’ll continue to be good in the future. The bad guys are the opposite—they are and always have been stupid, ignorant, malicious, and morally backwards. Strife between the good guys and bad guys is always the fault of the bad guys"

CodeShmode 5y ago
There were plenty of media outlets that doubted the WMD story. There’s no widespread collision between media and government.
- dleslie 5y ago
  Yeah, it's not as though there weren't protests against the invasion, and widespread media coverage thereof.
  - babesh 5y ago
    And all the protests accomplished jackshit. Can't you see that that is the point? Your opinion and protests have no effect. Your protests are just plausible deniability. https://youtu.be/UqMaYuVvqGo https://youtu.be/UqMaYuVvqGo Weapons of mass destruction LOL
    - dleslie 5y ago
      The protests failed to invigorate change, not unlike anti mask protests today, because the message wasn't persuasive enough to sufficiently many people. That's democracy. It's not great, but it's better than the alternatives.
      - babesh 5y ago
        Entrenched special interests driving policy is what the US is. Even an erstwhile democracy can fall into a stuck state. Democracies can be perverted and also have a history of destroying themselves. See Greek history.
        dleslie 5y ago
        Still better than totalitarianism or fascism.
- babesh 5y ago
  Nope. All the major outlets were pushing it. ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. Also go find out how many representatives were for the war. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823053520/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congress-says-yes-to-iraq-resolution/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190823053520/https://www.cbsne... 296-133, 77-23

babesh 5y ago

That adversary is that of the state that you identify with. Neither state cares about you one iota.