You've really hit on the fundamental dynamic of the situation. Globalization isn't just a concept, it's a reality that grows exponentially stonger every day. The world is a playground for the multi-national corporations who will eventially wipe out terrorist organizations as they exist today. The problem is, multi-national corporations are more of a threat to global security and stability than are so called "terrorists" (quotations cuz the word depends on which side you're on). The pofit and power quest does not include, however, any heed to principles of human rights and social justice. In fact, those conditions are major impediments to global domination by a few, and the subjugation of billions of disenfrachized human beings with no social capital to bargin with, and eventually, nothing to bargain for.

I don't believe that it has to go on being this way. I've recently been involved with several international social work projects, and I've met some incredibly wonderful and dedicated folks from all over the world that have a different dream of how the world should be. It just takes a whole lotta people doing a little bit of positive action everyday and in all their affairs. Real change is always possible; impossible is just an opinion.

I confess that I have looked out my window and judged the rest of the world but now that I have been out and have traveled the world I have come to realize that the world is also looking out their window and passing judgment on us. I have grown tired of violence. Our TV shows, games and movies are full of violence. When I read the newspaper in the morning or turn on the news the reports are full of violence. How can we expect the rest of the world to see us as a peaceful nation when there is so much violence in our own country?

America's history teaches us that we are not, and have never been, a "peaceful nation." But America is filled with many peaceful people. It's got to start at home. It's got to take on the image of a disease, a world-wide epidemic, and should be treated like Avian Flu, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, polio........And when all else fails:

"My peace, my peace is all I got
That I can give to you......." ~ WG

We sent a team of very highly trained people to kill a man in front of his wife and kids. And they did.

Y'all saw it on TV first. We've been in a power out for a week until earlier. Really bad storms, four waves of it, here. We're ok but ...

On the other hand, we didn't see the royal wedding. Every dark cloud, etc....

http://youtu.be/T64O6Mn3EiQ

Is it justice? Perhaps it is but it would have been better if we could have taken him alive to face a trial. Evil will always exist in this world but somehow or someday everyone will know what it is like to really live in peaceful world.

Is it really fair to single out America as a nation that has never been peaceful. I mean, can you point to the peaceful nation please? It is fair to say we are all Earthlings...so we we are all responsible for the violence or non violence. Some would suggest these things are part of our DNA? You can debate this in that...but it is what it is!

I tell you what...those Libyan Freedom Fighters would make lousy Republicans or Teabaggers. They don't seem to want a wealthy class of untouchables as we would have here in America. Probably wouldn't be good democrats either. It seems questionable whether America's Democratic Republic is a role model for the way the world should be?

Bottom line to me is America is missing its calling of showing the rest of the World how things are done right.

That's right, we got all the answers, we just don't want to share them!

Leading and effecting positive change through example would be a great opportunity. But America needs to start actually doing things right, both domestically and internationally, before we can claim any high ground that would "show the rest of the world how things are done right."

There are a lot of answers out there, with many being on the Mondragon Cooperative thread here on arlonuts. They are not all of the answers, but would be an ok foundation from a number of different places. To me, Nationalizing Oil and Big Pharma, through the Worker Ownership Model of Mondragon, would go a long ways.

The scarlet A is my inclination.

sort of an aside from the title of this thread...
i heard a little about this on the news yesterday...here in a brief article

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/1 ... 60040.html

"laws of modesty"?

Wow!