a depressing thought.

[eakers]

this has been bugging me for a while...

2 years ago i joined my school's amnesty international group and we wrote dozens of letters to the canadian government, the american goverment and various other european goverments begging them to step in and take care of the taliban and the atrocities they were commiting there. we were not alone, many, many, many chapters of amnesty worked had on these letter writting campagins.

but it took a building being blown up and a loss of american life for something to happen.

it makes me sad.

it makes me see that those letters mean nothing to goverment officials and im sure that not anyone in power cares about places like tibet or the people there.

do i have the power to change the world and the way it works? no.

*kat. <-- doubts anyone looks at those letters or listens when people protest.

 

[minendo]

<< *kat. <-- doubts anyone looks at those letters or listens when people protest. >>


i bet there is just a stack of unopened letters in the basement of the capitol building and the whitehouse.

 

[pulse8]

Sad but true.

 

[gopunk]

i never once suspected they looked at the letters... it's not so depressing once you come to accept it though. this is why i think protestors are silly. like those wto ones. all they do is clog up traffic, and force the meeting to be moved.

 

[MrCodeDude]

Yeah it's true, I realized that I couldn't do anything about the world until I changed something about myself. Watch the movie Pay it Forward, even though it sucks in my opinion, it gets a point across.
-- mrcodedude

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

Never underestimate the power of a small group of people to change the world. It's the only thing that has.

 

[Ladies Man]

when i become president things are going to change



and kat.... i'll appoint you to whatever office you want

 

[eakers]

i just dont understand how politions dont care about places like tibet or about prisioners of concious (sp?).

how can you just not care about people?

i dont understand.

*kat. <-- "bleeding heart liberal"

 

[trmiv]

The problem is, what were they going to do? We have a reason to be over there right now knocking out the Taliban and the terrorists, yet some people are still unhappy with it, and insist America is being a bully. What do you think would have happened if we went over there without the WTC attacks? 90% of the world didn't even know conditions were so bad in Afghanistan, do you think they would have endorsed the US trying to oust the Taliban without that knowledge? No, people would have protested and insisted the US was just throwing its weight around, like some are trying to do now.

 

[edjam]

Yeah, it sucks big time.

 

[eakers]

<< The problem is, what were they going to do? We have a reason to be over there right now knocking out the Taliban and the terrorists, yet some people are still unhappy with it, and insist America is being a bully. What do you think would have happened if we went over there without the WTC attacks? 90% of the world didn't even know conditions were so bad in Afghanistan, do you think they would have endorsed the US trying to oust the Taliban without that knowledge? No, people would have protested and insisted the US was just throwing its weight around, like some are trying to do now. >>


perhaps if the world was educated about bad things that happen and if several major countries decided that human rights are important... but you know "humans just have different rights in china"

*kat. <-- starting to get angry...

 

[Stark]

Maybe that's why Clinton shot that missle into Afghanistan... it was all those letters he got from hot college chicks!! And here I always thought it was because he was being impeached.

 

[GrumpyMan]

I think alot of it is economics. No one does anything until the world market is threatened in some major way. Sometimes they just look away and hope that it stops on its own. Sucks.

 

[Nefrodite]

sometimes i wonder why amnesty international doesn't setup their own little army to deal out justice around the world beats writing letters right?

 

[yllus]

Few politicians' careers have gone awry from following the simple policy of not sticking their necks out without a damn good reason to. Why commit to a military effort and spend all that time building support behind your actions if you simply don't have to? It's so much safer and easier to let the support come to you (eg. recent events in Afghanistan).

It's not about not caring, it's about looking out for #1...which is something most politicians become quite accustomed to in order to get as high up as they do. Can't really hate them for doing it either, I'd play the same game in their place.

 

[silent tone]

<< *kat. <-- doubts anyone looks at those letters or listens when people protest >>



Who were you sending these letters to? Most(Every?) letter(s) I've sent/faxed/emailed to Texas senators or house reps have gotten replies that seemed to indicate someone skimmed through it.

 

[MooseKnuckle]

It makes me sad that I knew 6 firefighters who died. The reality of the situation is that until it hits home there is little we do to change it.

 

[LethalWolfe]

<<

<< The problem is, what were they going to do? We have a reason to be over there right now knocking out the Taliban and the terrorists, yet some people are still unhappy with it, and insist America is being a bully. What do you think would have happened if we went over there without the WTC attacks? 90% of the world didn't even know conditions were so bad in Afghanistan, do you think they would have endorsed the US trying to oust the Taliban without that knowledge? No, people would have protested and insisted the US was just throwing its weight around, like some are trying to do now. >>


perhaps if the world was educated about bad things that happen and if several major countries decided that human rights are important... but you know "humans just have different rights in china"

*kat. <-- starting to get angry... >>




Devils Advocate here:

Countries do many things thru economical, diplomatic, and humanitarian channels. The US was (before the "war"), and still is, the largest single supplier of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. For decades the US has kept trade restrictions on China because of it's human rights record, but recently it loosenend<sp?> those restrictions because of pressure coming from other U.N member countries. Countries just can't start invading one other because country A thinks country B is wrong. What gives country A the right to police the world? Also, what about all the domestic problems? Why should country A spend millions or billions of dollars on country B's citizens, when country A has needy, impoverised people w/in it's own borders?

Lastly, writing letters to the government ain't gonna do crap. If you have an agenda to push you do it thru the media. Have a food drive (or something) and contact all the local papers and news TV stations and tell them what you doing, when, and why. You get the population to care (or at least part of the population) and the population will get the government to care.


Lethal

 

[Scarpozzi]

The american government works much in the same way a corporation does. When you send a letter to the government, you must send it to a particular group or organization that would be able to rally enough support for action to be taken. It's virtually impossible to contact anyone at the top of the chain and it takes a while for the laws to be passed that would allow the US Government to justify stepping into any country for any reason other than trade agreements. I'm sure most other countries are set up the same way. I know that this may seem ineffective, but the American Government usually does know what problems there are around the world it's just that prior to this incident/war there was never any justification as to why we would help a country that had a rich government (like the taliban) that failed to bring aid to its people. It's overstepping bounds....like telling someone how to care for their own children. I don't necessarily agree with the way things in this world work, but I'm just hoping that as the human race evolves it will gain knowledge and hopefully take those important steps to ensure peace.

 

[Lithium381]

<< Sad but true. >>

 

[voodooguy]

<< how can you just not care about people?

i dont understand. >>



Go look up "priorities" in the dictionary.

The welfare of the American people and the American economy is just a tad higher in the priority list of the American government, compared to what one camel dung eating ignorant beloved patriot is doing to another camel dung eating ignorant beloved patriot, in a country that contributes nothing to world civilization or world economy.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

The american government works much in the same way a corporation does. When you send a letter to the government, you must send it to a particular group or organization that would be able to rally enough support for action to be taken.

Again, I say never underestimate the power of a small group of people to change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.

 

[Grminalac]

Write a bunch of letters noone cares.
Write a bunch of letters full of anthrax and the world listens.

 

[KingHam]

The only way to improve things is to elect better politicans. That is easier said than done.

KingHam

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

<< and kat.... i'll appoint you to whatever office you want >>

Intern?



<< i bet there is just a stack of unopened letters in the basement of the capitol building and the whitehouse. >>

Not necessarily. There's usually a fire going in the winter in the fireplace for Mr. President. I'm surprised he hasn't addressed the public and thanked them for the fuel to keep him warm each winter.

Nik