Don't Close Your Blinds

[Mr.smiley]

>> The other day, my nine-year-old son wanted to know why we were at
>> war. My husband looked at our son and then looked at me. My husband
>> and I were in the Army during the Gulf War and we would be honored
>> to serve and defend our Country again today. I knew that my husband
>> would give him a good explanation. My husband thought for a few
>> minutes and then told my son to go stand in our front living room window.
>>
>> He said "Son, stand there and tell me what you see?"
>>
>> "I see trees and cars and our neighbor's houses," he replied.
>>
>> "OK, now I want you to pretend that our house and our yard is our
>> country
>> and you are the President."
>>
>> Our son giggled and said "OK." "Now son, I want you to look out the
>> window
>> and pretend that every house and yard on this block is a different
>> country"
>> my husband said.
>> "OK Dad, I'm pretending."
>> "Now I want you to stand there and look out the window and pretend
>> you see
>> Saddam come out of his house with his wife, he has her by the hair and is
>> hitting
>>
>> her. You see her bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, he throws
>> her on
>>
>> the ground, and then he starts to kick her to death. Their children run
>> out and
>>
>> are afraid to stop him, they are screaming and crying, they are watching
>> this
>>
>> but do nothing because they are kids and they are afraid of their father.
>> You
>>
>> see all of this, son.... what do you do?"
>>
>> "Dad?"
>> "What do you do son?"
>>
>> "I'd call the police, Dad."
>>
>> "OK. Pretend that the police are the United Nations. They take your
>> call. They
>>
>> listen to what you know and saw but they refuse to help. What do you do
>> then son?"
>>
>> "Dad.... but the police are supposed to help!" My son starts to
>> whine.
>>
>> "They don't want to, son, because they say that it is not their
>> place or your
>>
>> place to get involved and that you should stay out of it," my husband
>> says.
>>
>> "But Dad...he killed her!!" my son exclaims.
>>
>> "I know he did...but the police tell you to stay out of it. Now I
>> want you
>> to look out that window and pretend you see our neighbor, who you're
>> pretending is Saddam, turn around and do the same thing to his children"
>> "Daddy...he kills them?"
>>
>> "Yes, son, he does. What do you do?"
>>
>> "Well, if the police don't want to help, I will go and ask my next
>> door
>> neighbor to help me stop him," our son says.
>>
>> "Son, our next door neighbor sees what is happening and refuses to
>> get
>> involved as well. He refuses to open the door and help you stop him," my
>> husband says.
>>
>> "But Dad, I NEED help!!! I can't stop him by myself!!"
>>
>> "WHAT DO YOU DO SON?" Our son starts to cry.
>>
>> "OK, no one wants to help you. The man across the street saw you ask
>> for
>> help and saw that no one would help you stop him. He stands taller and
>> puffs
>> out his chest. Guess what he does next, son?"
>> "What Daddy?" "He walks across the street to the old ladies house
>> and
>> breaks down her door and drags her out, steals all her stuff and sets her
>> house on fire and then...he kills her. He turns around and sees you
>> standing
>> in the window and laughs at you. WHAT DO YOU DO?"
>>
>> "Daddy..."
>>
>> "WHAT DO YOU DO?" Our son is crying and he looks down and he
>> whispers,
>> "I'd close the blinds, Daddy." My husband looks at our son with tears in
>> his eyes
>>
>> and asks him. "Why?"
>>
>> "Because, Daddy, the police are supposed to help people who need
>> them...
>>
>> and they won't help. You always say that neighbors are supposed to HELP
>>
>> neighbors, but they won't help either ... they won't help me stop him...
>> I'm
>>
>> afraid.... I can't do it by myself, Daddy.... I can't look out my window
>> and
>>
>> just watch him do all these terrible things and ....and..... do
>> nothing... so...
>>
>> I'm just going to close the blinds.... so I can't see what he's doing...
>> and I'm
>>
>> going to pretend that it is not happening." I start to cry. My husband
>> looks
>>
>> at our nine year old son standing in the window, looking pitiful and
>> ashamed
>>
>> at his answers to my husband's questions and he says...
>>
>> "Son"
>>
>> "Yes, Daddy."
>>
>> "Open the blinds because that man.... He's at your front
>> door..."WHAT DO
>> YOU DO?"
>>
>> My son looks at his father, anger and defiance in his eyes. He balls
>> up his tiny
>>
>> fists and looks his father square in the eyes, without hesitation he
>> says: " I DEFEND
>>
>> MY FAMILY, DAD!! I'M NOT GONNA LET HIM HURT MOMMY OR MY
>> SISTER, DAD!!! I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM, DAD, I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM!!!!!"
>>
>> I see a tear roll down my husband's cheek and he grabs our son to
>> his chest and
>>
>> hugs him tight, and says... "It's too late to fight him, he's too strong
>> and he's already
>>
>> at YOUR front door son ....you should have stopped him BEFORE he killed
>> his wife,
>>
>> and his children and the old lady across the way. You have to do
>> what'sright, even
>>
>> if you have to do it alone before its too late," my husband whispers.
>>
>> THAT scenario I just gave you is WHY we are at war with Iraq. When
>> good men
>> stand by and let evil happen, son, THAT is the greatest atrocity in the
>> world.
>>
>> "YOU MUST NEVER BE AFRAID TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT EVEN IF YOU
>>
>> HAVE TO DO IT ALONE!"
>> BE PROUD TO BE A SOLDIER!
>> BE PROUD OF OUR TROOPS!!...............SUPPORT THEM!!!
>> SUPPORT OUR COUNTRY SO THAT IN THE FUTURE OUR CHILDREN
>>
>> WILL NEVER HAVE TO CLOSE THEIR BLINDS..."
>>
>>
>> This should be printed in every newspaper and posted in every school
>> in the country.
>>
>> Of course that won't happen so we'll use the Internet. If your blinds are
>> closed, do
>>
>> nothing with this post. If they are open I do not need to tell you what
>> to do.
>>
>> GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY AND ALL OUR MEN AND WOMAN
>>
>> THAT ARE DEFENDING OUR RIGHTS TO BE FREE!

[Astro_Man]

Suddenly:
"Sorry son we attacked the wrong neighbor!"
"Oh no, we did?"
"Yep, now we are at war with the wrong country, and we went to war without a correct reason."
He looks at the mother with terror.
"But mommy, YOU told me that the neighbor was evil and to protect my family!"
"Nope son... Nothing is my fault! It must have to do with the people I appointed!"
"But..."
"Sorry son, but all the money you spent on 'protecting' your family is coming out of your allowance!"
"WAAAAA!"
"Sorry that YOU started it."
"But you told me to open the blinds..."
"Well son that is not my fault."

Dick should've listened to Dick.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6BEsZMvrq-I

By the way, why did the US fail to act, even unilaterally to halt the state-sponsored mass murder and expulsion of people in the Darfur region of Sudan?

The US closes the blinds all the time on plights of people all over the world...explain to 9 year old Timmy that we are at war for economic reasons. Not moral reasons as your syrupy chain mail tripe implies.

[Mr.smiley]

I see your blinds are closed to the big picture here. So I say Whatever man, whatever.

[Astro_Man]

Well Bobby, I can't say I'm suprised by your reply. Nor am I suprised that you didn't answer my question about Darfur. Intellectual curiousity isn't your greatest strength.

[blackicegal]

I have to agree with Astro Man. The big picture is that there are many countries such as Darfur where violence continues to occur, and we do nothing, yet we are in Iraq. The reason: oil. Bush continues to lie to us everyday. His ratings continue to drop. If this were the Clinton era, he would already be impeached by now. Yet, he's allowed to continue to break the laws, make things up as he goes along, and make us the joke of the free world.


Where's his spunk to help the children of the U.S.? Nowhere. He voted down the S-Chip bill. Where is he to help those women who are raped and seen as pieces of property? Nowhere. Where is he to help children who are sold into sexual slavery? Nowhere.

Those things don't hold a financial gain for Bush the way big oil does.

You want to speak of the big picture? As soon as Bush puts the same attention to other issues that matter just as much as he does to the mess he created in Iraq, then we can speak of the big picture. Until then, it's just Bush living in his own little world, telling us that his priority for oil should be our priority for America.

[Astro_Man]

Bush continues to lie to us everyday. His ratings continue to drop. If this were the Clinton era, he would already be impeached by now. Yet, he's allowed to continue to break the laws, make things up as he goes along, and make us the joke of the free world.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Billygoat]

It doesn't matter if you think the war is just or not.

It provides jobs.

Thank goodness President Bush has made this a war that is very easily carried on in perpetuity so these jobs last awhile.

What? Would you pay then to do nothing? Everybody has to do something for a living if they are able right? With all of Humanities inventions over the last few thousand years, and more so the last few hundered, we're runnin out of jobs that even resemble something that looks like it may need to be done so be thankful for the jobs that are created for you or others to work at.

[blackicegal]

The war provides jobs. Okay. For me, there are plenty of ways to provide jobs besides going into a war over oil. With all the money being spent on this war, Bush could help every American who's in poverty a thousand times over. I'm sorry, but this war isn't providing jobs for those who need it the most. It's providing the most jobs/money for private contractors who continue to financially rape innocent people just trying to live their lives over there.

As a side note: my oldest niece worries everyday about her father having to go back to Iraq for the fourth time and possibly wind up dead. But I guess that's justifiable to you because of a senseless war creating "jobs". What a joke.

For anyone who wants to call me Anti-American: I have a long family history of military service including my grandparents who served in WWII and my father who served in Vietnam. I also feel Vietnam was a senseless war as well. I respect what they did and what our soldiers do, but there are many as we all know who are still dealing with the Iraq war who call it senseless.

[BiLlYbEnAsSi]

It provides jobs.

Thank goodness President Bush has made this a war that is very easily carried on in perpetuity so these jobs last awhile.


Are you kidding me?
It provides jobs at the cost of peoples lives!

[Billygoat]

Bet these soldiers are Praying for the war with Iran to start so they can get a paycheck....

Soldiers find little help getting back to work (http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=fb60d3a0-95be-4dfd-ac55-3135a75e4049)

Law... heh See Sig below.

Oh, and "But, but, that's not fair! They should get thier jobs back when they come home!"

And where should the people who worked the jobs while they were off fighting go?

Argue all you want, but deep inside you know that while there are jobs to do, there are not enough jobs to go around for everybody.
C'mon now, really, Gold farming for a video game is now a way to earn a living, just how much of a "not a job" does work need to be before it's, well, not a job?
And yet, the food would just sit on the store shelf without these not a job jobs, because we as a civilization can't seem to get that just because you can work, does not mean you have to.
We won't let them just go into the store and get food without thier working for it, that wouldn't be fair to those who did work for it. So, what's the next not a job job going to be?

I say let all the illegal immigrants come to the Great American Empire and take our jobs, just so long as we still get like at least 75% of the salary we were making on the job.
Would that make the "Illegal" situation more tolerable? Or do you really need your job that much that you wouldn't even accept this idea?