April Thoughts in November

2005-11-19 14:57:00

April:

Do you feel that another terrorist attack would be a good thing?

Absolutely not! I was saying that even though 911 partially woke us up it may still not have stirred us enough to take the necessary steps to prevent another one. Fortunately several 911's have been prevented with the measures that have been taken, but not enough measures have been taken to rest securely.

Bush is in a catch 22. If he took more steps they would scream Hitler at him all the more, but then when another incident occurs they will scream he should have done more and many will call for impeachment.

Not since the Civil War has a president been in such a predicament, but now the stakes are higher than ever because of potential WMDs.

April:

Or do you feel that we should round up all the arab/americans so we make sure we have the cells? Can you please clarify this statement for me?

Of course they should not be rounded up but neither should we be so politically correct as to pretend that cells do not exist that are bent on our destruction. We need to keep an eye on them as well as make friends with patriotic Arabs and get them to assist us in finding the terrorists.

April:

As far as Bush we will know soon but as of right now it is not revealed.

And you know this because...?

April:

I promise you that if President George Bush wanted to put all of Keysters group in a prison camp in the United States because he felt we were a threat then legally he could do that through the Patriot act and FEMA.

Look at what Clinton did to Waco with no Patriot Act? The whole compound went up in flames killing men, women and children. The Patriot act would have not made anything worse.

Any president can go after any group he wants and create problems if he does one thing first - demonize them in the eyes of the public.

No president, with or without the Patriot Act, would dare go after an organization that is seen to be benevolent in the eyes of the public. He could not go after the Salvation Army or the Red Cross, for instance, and burn one of their compounds down. A demonization must occur first.

The fact is any leader in any position can abuse his power. This is why it is important to elect good leaders. So far I haven't seen any major abuse of power by Bush. I would say his abuse is much less than average considering the circumstances he is in. The accused abuse seems to be from imaginary accusations with nothing to back them up.

In our history the president who assumed the most power was Abraham Lincoln. He used much more power than George Bush has. Fortunately, he was a good man and used it wisely. Even so, he was killed because he was seen as a tyrant by many, just as Bush is today. Remember the words of John Wilkes Booth after he shot the President: "Death to tyrants."

April:

What would be a better scenario for taking over the Great United States of America then to do it legally by duping the people through fear and putting into place documents that allowed them to do so.

Worse than any current abuse of power by the president is the greater danger from within than and that is the division we have as a people. The situation today is much like it was just before the Civil War. Unless this breach is healed our country will be greatly weakened.

During the Civil War almost all the South and a good portion of the North thought the major problem was with the President and his abuse of power. Now, on hindsight, we see much differently. Now we see that the major problem was a lack of unity behind a president attempting to heal a nation and bring liberty to the enslaved.

This situation is one of the reasons I am writing my current book on Fallacies.

April:

You are very defensive of your position. This to me is a sign that you are not confident in your position. Who are you trying to convince us or you?

Being defensive is an emotional reaction. Defending a position is a mental approach and one taken by myself. You can't effectively defend a position unless you are at a point of strength.

I always defend my positions when attacked and I do it from a point of power or the point in the middle way wherein lies the point of truth. If I see I have missed the midway point I will make a correction, but an emotional attack with no evidence gives me no reason to correct.

April:

I would appreciate it if you would stop projecting your feeling on to me and putting words in my mouth.

I used your own words which were: "Have you been to New York since 911. Have you watched the news? Our government promotes fear at every turn."

If you read the whole post you really give the impression of fearing every move the government makes on the war on terror. If you want to correct this impression I will be happy to listen.

April:

Do you really believe what you are saying or do you just want to see the reaction? Is it a test to see how far you can push your followers?

I always believe what I say. Every spiritual teacher worth his salt teaches many things contrary to the preset opinions of his students, but after a hundred years or so passes by their words still stand and are quoted.

April:

I am very sad as I thought I found a true spiritual teacher.

And you now doubt because I do not think Bush is Hitler. You should have more than that on the plate to reject me.

Those who have read the archives and examine my teachings in the light of spirit, truth and reasoning may find some items to put on the shelf because they cannot prove them true, but there is little if anything that can be proven false through fact, through reason or through the soul.

April:

I know that I will once again be attacked for this post because it is not the general view of the list.

You've got it wrong here. Defending myself or my teachings is not attacking someone else. Some feel attacked when I defend myself because they see any disagreement as attack. Others see it for what it is.

Some may feel you attack because you do not agree with them. That would also be incorrect.

April:

Please remember that we are all adults here and are entitled to our views. I do not expect you to agree with me but as I respectfully read your post I would ask that you respectfully read mine or delete them. That is what is nice about e-mail the delete key.

I think you would be hard pressed to find any teacher more tolerant of opposing views and more willing to answer challenges than myself.

You have always been welcome to express your views, but others are also welcome to express theirs whether they agree with you or not.

All we ask is that members be civil and stay on subject as much as possible.

You are always welcome here.

The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it.  George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)