Why Peace Isn't Pointless by Deepak Chopra

[BigBearJohn]

Although we see ourselves as a peaceful nation, there is considerable room for doubt. In a recent blog I pointed out that making peace with the Muslim world was our only long-term option, given that every Islamic society is rapidly being instilled with permanent anti-Americanism., almost from the cradle. But many responders would have none of it.
They found peace a pointless, futile, doomed strategy. Here are their reasons.

--Peace shows weakness.
--The jihadists would attack us anyway, all the more viciously if we stop fighting them.
--Withdrawal from Iraq would goad the insurgents to come after us.
--The world is too dangerous for us to pursue a course as idealistic as peace.
--Our enemies deserve what they get from us.

And so the received opinions of the military establishment are parroted. We pursue homeland security, even though the current policies have been implemented with dismal results (see Gov. Kean's recent blast on behalf of the 9/11 commission against the Congress and White House for failing to make our major cities and airports even a whit safer than they were four years ago.) There are huge holes in the militaristic arguments, anyway.

--We can't stop Muslims from hating us by attacking them.
--To say that terrorists will be goaded by peace has no historical precedent. Terrorists are goaded by repression and aggression.
--We've successfully made friends with enemies in the past (Germany, Japan, China, the former Soviet Union).
--If our enemies deserve to be punished, haven't we done that already? The thousands of Iraqis, Afghans, and miscellaneous terrorists bombed in camps testifies to that.
--We've taken on the "axis of evil" without sufficient troops and armaments to win the fight we picked.
--The American public has no stomach for war, protracted or short-term, that doesn't lead to victory. Since victory is nowhere in sight, the entire militaristic venture is politically self-defeating.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/why-peace-isnt-pointless_b_11968.html

[enki23]

1. oh god, no....

i don't want friends like deepak chopra. seriously. i know it can't be helped, to some extent, but fuck. just... fuck.

[BigBearJohn]

2. Well, I sure do. I admire him immensely.

[Imagine My Surprise]

7. Did you know he was written up on ethics charges...

by the AMA for writing articles supporting products in which he had financial investments. This is the height of bullshit. I call him Deep Pockets Chopra, and I'm sorry if this offends you. There have been other articles written about him and the way he treats his neighbors.

[Imagine My Surprise]

8. these were AMA articles, by the way...

[BigBearJohn]

9. I'm no big supporter of the AMA and just because something is in print

doesn't make it true.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. The title is a straw man argument

I dispute the premise.

No one has made the claim that peace is pointless, and to do so would be to claim an apparent and indisputable oxymoroninc interpretation of peace, ergo the argument is a straw man argument.

To the undereducated, however, I'm sure it's a provocative and interesting title that will sell many books.

*yawn*

[bigbrother05]

4. I also admire him

I always thought and still believe in negotiations.
But we have for our leaders Bullies in the school yard.
The only way to deal with bullies is to punish them, and we aren't strong enough to
fight our own people, so I will pray that the rest of the world
will come to our aid.

[Codeine]

5. Even a New Age jackass can be right occasionally. n/t

[bloom]

6. I noticed a Muslim greeting

that went something like "peace be upon the people of peace."


It's kind of interesting to think about. Christians often wish "Peace on earth" at Christmas - some of whom currently support the torture and occupation that is currently being carried out. So they wouldn't fall into the "people of peace" group. And wishes of "peace on earth" don't mean much if you are supporting such devastation upon others.