Irrational Mystics?

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TOM: "History teaches that the great civilizations crumble from within.  America, the shining STAR of all human endeavors, is in mortal danger because irrational mystics took over the universities,molding the minds of [almost] every young adult searching foranswers. I was there, after my military time, in the late-60's:every class was statist rubbish and training grounds for violent,NON-democratic revolt."
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I was a Real Estate major to begin with and ended up majoring in Economics (maybe the social science of the business world if even that stretch would be allowed).  My last semester I had an academic scholarship which paid my tuition and books.  This was the BUSINESS dept. -- no place for irrational mystics at a conservative university (BSU) in an even more conservative state (Idaho).  Even if I accept your premise that is was their goal to mold impressionable young minds -- like you, I went to college AFTER my time in the military -- so the military had ample opportunity to shove my skull into THEIR mold first.  IF the university mold is the one that prevailed, I can be no less than grateful for that.  The university taught me to expand my horizons and that increasing my intellectual capacity comes with increased social responsibility -- the university never once asked me to risk death for THEIR cause.
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TOM: "I understand what happened to people like you & "sail", and I sympathize."
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So what happened?  Share your understanding.  Enlighten us oh wise and wonderful war hawk!  Were we DUPED in the process of pursuing higher education?  Seeking answers and enlightenment; embracing learning and knowledge as a never-ending lifestyle . . . we ended up DUMBER?  Does that really make sense to you?
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TOM: "But your anti-ideology is wrong, wrong, wrong. You support apres. candidate that has no values...because you have none yourself."
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I support NO president OR presidential candidate.  They've ALL already sold their souls to the highest bidder and the auction for this particular contest is ongoing.  The one able to raise the most money will win.  They don't represent us anymore -- they represent the interests of extremely wealthy and powerful business interests -- and if you can't see that, it is YOU that I feel sorry for.  They no longer compete for our votes; they compete for dollars -- it's the truest and most consistent way to measure who will win ANY U.S. political contest.  And how dare you pass judgment on my values?  You are ill-informed and pompous -- shall I adopt YOUR values?
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TOM: "You claim to love everyone, and have no concept of whatlove is, certainly have none."
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So tell me more about YOUR love.  This kind of "love" so genuine and protecting which encourages his children and grandchildren to march themselves into the gears of a military machine which seeks nothing more than to rip them limb from limb?  A kind of love which expects them to become landing grates for a military-industrial complex that has grown so powerful and so wealthy that it now can purchase political power and influence and advance IT'S OWN agenda purely for profit?  What kind of love is that?
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My love seeks to SAVE my children -- and their children -- and their children from this murderous horror that far too many of us have accepted as the price we must pay for freedom.  What freedom in a nation with the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world?  What freedom in a nation where white males stand a 1 in 11 chance of being incarcerated in prison for some portion of their lives?  What freedom in a nation where 1 in 4 black males will end up in prison for some portion of THEIR lives?  Land of the free?  Gimme' a break!  My love was encouraged -- briefly -- by the promise of America becoming a "kinder, gentler nation."  What encourages your love?  Missiles and Bombs and BIG Guns?
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TOM: "You don't believe in patriotism, and honoring our young people who have volunteered to defend you...because you have no idea of what the value of America is."
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The type of nationalism (aka "patriotism") you extol is dangerous.  It's volatile and it gets people killed.  Moreover, it has NOTHING to do with democracy, the will of the people, or freedom.  It has EVERYTHING to do with fascism.  The other key ingredient of fascism is absolute intolerance of those with differing opinions.  Sound familiar?  (Like Bush having protesters removed to a "designated protest area" far removed from his ears and his eyes?)
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TOM: "It is SO sad, that the most articulate...are [usually] the mostdeluded....and THAT is the "death-knell" I really fear, for the sakeof my children & grandchildren."
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"The most articulate are the most deluded."  The smartest are the dumbest.  The fastest are the slowest.  The richest are the poorest.  Do ANY of these statements ring true for you?
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The "death-knell" is that our federal government has been taken over by a group (some call it a cult) of 8 or 9 men with an ideologue, a clear ideology and their agenda doesn't give a flip about your personal freedom OR mine.  It's about securing our temporary position as the supreme military might of the world and projecting that position as far as possible into the future absolutely REGARDLESS of the cost in dollars or human lives.
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Read it and weep -- all 90 pages of it -- at: http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf
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sail4free
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