Religion: what is it exactly?

[Say]

oh my god bushie you seriously are about to make me cry here, well Im a loner because i learnt to be, and Im very choosy when it comes to personal life so I do tend to be selective in who I talk to and what I talk about, for example, to be honest I dont have friends, I have clients, classmates, Im very separated emotionally to everything, so yes, when I put my heart into a relationship is I do give myself a lot, and well... I cant say more, I really shouldnt, but it hurts, when you give and everything is misunderstood and it isnt even in your hands to fix it it doesnt matter how much you could, all you have to do is sit down and cry just to pray for it to go away, the pain I mean.
So I know what its like to be alone and to have and then be afraid to let go, thats pretty much what it feels to have your heart broken, sometimes is not even up you yourself...

[Say]

Im sorry but Im going to have to go for now, It did reach me and hurt a nerve here so instead of rambling here, Im going to let you guys talk and I'll hang around back here when I'll feel better.
*hugz both*
Its been fun, I'll be back later.

[Oldbushie]

Okay, later.

I'll try not to talk about matters of love anymore since it's so painful, I'll let it be for a while.

*hugz Say*

[Storm]

"Love is the most selfish of emotions, and when injured - the most cruel" (forgot who said that)

Some say that the world needs more love. They are wrong. It needs more Tolerance, compassion and morality, but not love.

[Oldbushie]

I think I'm an obsessive sympathizer. I want to share other people's pains to lessen the pain. I saw the "Green Mile" movie a few years ago and I thought about how much I wished I could take people's pain away from them too. So I was one of the few people who was actually jealous of those who broke bones or whatnot, because I couldn't relate and I wanted to help them feel better.

Oh well.

I can't truly sympathize with everyone, but I try...

Heck, with my hearing trouble, sight trouble, allergies, asthma, petit epilepsy (gone now), and two surgeries, I can at least sympathize with quite a few people. Of course, I'm so used to those disabilities now that I hardly notice them anymore...

My one wish is that everyone in the world be happy...

I'm a bit of a simple fellow. :-/

[KatieHal]

Ain't nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy the simple things

[Peasant_Girl]

I saw a documentary on two Australian people going to Irac....or was it Afgahnistan? Well anyway.......they were going to be "Human shields" to poor civilians where there was war, or going to be war!
Now, I call that real heroism!!!!! Placing yourself so you get hurt and not someone else!
They said they were doing it, because it is the only thing they can do - and they felt bad not to help.

[Storm]

KatieHal -
I'm from Israel... what other place is there for a Hebrew speaking jew?

I haven't heard of those Australians... but I must say there either totaly nuts or plain morons. It's not like they can actually prevent anyone from dying, just get themselves killed alongside them for the sake of protest

[KatieHal]

haha, good point there Storm ;-)

As for the Australians, I too hadn't heard about that but I've heard similar things. Tons of people are obviously going over to protest...I found out from one article that technically Americans who go to Iraq are breaking the law, not that it's a law that ever *really* gets enforced, but they could legimately get arrested for doing so.

And if they died in protest, then they've more or less reached their goal.  Stop a war or die trying, right?  The protest is the whole point.

Stupid thing I heard this weekend: apparentally since France isn't supporting the US's warmongering (and from that you might see I don't either!), some restaraunts are now calling them "freedom fires" intead of "french fries."  

Without question, one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. It's not even like they come from France! It's a name for how they're cut! Why are some people in my country so dumb....like our President for example...when I heard about Sadam wanting to have a Televised live debate with Bush. My reply, "Well, now that's not fair, he's hitting Bush's weak spot! He *knows* he can't speak for himself and sound intelligent!"  

[Peasant_Girl]

I KNOW it's nuts, but at least it shows humanity......at least they care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:P

[KatieHal]

There was a lot less protest for that war for some very particular reasons (okay, so this is still world politics...oh well).

One, the war was against Al-Qaida/the Taliban/Osama Bin Laden and not Afghanistan, that just happened to be the country they were (primarily) located in.

Two, Al-Qaida (is it with an "i" or an "e"? I've seen it both ways) made an EXTREMELY aggressive first move - they hijacked commercial airlines filled with completely innocent people and high-speed crashed them into building filled similarly innocent people.  About 3,000 people died in one day; heck, within two hours!  And not just Americans, people of all nationalities and origins were victims of that attack.  I don't think I need to argue how, well, evil the attacks of 9-11 were to anyone.

Bin Laden's group made a clear first attack and declaration in doing that.  Not many people were going to argue with bringing down his organization and him.  We hadn't sought him out and attacked, he was the one doing that.

Now, Iraq on the other hand, while not having a shimmering white & pure past, has recently not really done anything antagonistic or aggressive.  In my opinion, yes, they should be held to the UN weapons regulations if they are a part of the UN in any way.  And they've been a problem in the past, so yes, some caution and careful watching should take affect as well.  But declaring war pre-emptively? There's no reason for it. Especially when so many other countries are against it, and Iraq does seem to making concessions now, trying to take steps to avoid a war.  Of course, one can argue they are only doing it because we threatened to start a war with them, but they have still shown signs of "backing down" so to speak.

It makes sense that more people are protesting this war because we (America) are the ones being the agressors, finding reasons and excuses, and basically war-mongering. I'm very anti-violence...I hate it, and war will never beget peace, it will onyl beget more war because people's memories are often too long, and their pride is too easily wounded.

On a down note, I heard on the radio this morning that a lot of those "human sheilds" left because it was getting too dangerous.  !?!?!?  Well, duh!!:-/

[Storm]

The disarmament agreements Iraq is violating are the ones inforced upon it after their defeat in the Gulf War. Personally, I think Bush shouldn't jump the gun, but also that the UN and europe should stop being so lenient. After all, Saddam's not kicking monitors out and hording weapons for his personal amusment
The europeans should have learned their lesson from WW2 - after the Germans were defeated in WW1, the rest of europe went soft on them, ignored the German violation of the disarmament agreements they signed, and gave them territories they demanded when they threatened war. What did we get then? WW2, and the Nazies just a few wrong decisions away from taking over europe

[KatieHal]

I wasn't intending to make you feel I was saying you were a war fanatic!  Sorry if you felt that way.

And I'll be the first to admit that most of my opinions & ideas when it comes to any kind of politics are just that - ideas & opinions. I couldn't pull out too many facts for any one if I tried, which is something I don't like and try to work on, but I seem to keep running into people who know more than I do.

War = bad. Violence = bad. And I don't think any of the attacking between Israel and Palestine (sp?) does anyone any good either.

It's all horrible, and you're obviously much closer to it than I.  

It's especially...hmm, ironic? that all these wars are fought over religion and freedom, two things that preach tolerance, equality, and so forth. Yet they already begin to contradict themselves the moment they are "enforced" because that means someone else was already wrong and their idea, whatever it may have been, was lesser, intolerable, not equal and "wrong."  

It'd be nice it was all as easy as "Can't we all just get along?" !

[Storm]

It's a big problem when people decide on their opinions without knowing all the facts. Sometimes I feel hated by people who make up their minds about the Israelis without knowing the first thing about the whole conflict

Of course war is bad, but when a country is attacked it has to fight back. In the Israeli-Arab conflict, both sides made stupid and unjust moves, but people tend to forget that the ones who started the war and caused the Palestinians to become refugees in the firstplace were the Arab countries.

And yes, it would be nice if we all just got along. What would be even nicer is if some people pulled their heads out of their asses and realize land isn't worth dying for or killing for.

[copycat]

Originally posted by KatieHal
Stupid thing I heard this weekend: apparentally since France isn't supporting the US's warmongering (and from that you might see I don't either!), some restaraunts are now calling them "freedom fires" intead of "french fries."  
... It's not even like they come from France! It's a name for how they're cut!

I still don't get it why you don't call them how they're supposed to be called and that's BELGIAN FRIES!

P.S. I also am against a war on Iraq, especially now.

[Storm]

We just call them chips over here...

P.S.
Well, color me stunned!!  

[Oldbushie]

Hmmm... I wanna create an anti-weapon! A shock-wave that destroys all weapons in its path...

So what if the museums incur heavy losses?

I think a lot of society gets too wrapped up in the whole idea of beating the heck out of other people, especially when the tag of "evil" is attached to them.
Isn't it true that it takes one to know one? Who's really the bad guy? It's hard to tell for sure, but the US sure acts like the bad guy sometimes but is too blind to see it (government wise, that is).

I secretly think mankind invented "evil", and uses that to destroy perfectly good people who are wrongfully labeled.

I don't think anyone deserves that label, since there is NO one I have ever seen that really fits that label. Maybe "harmful to society" yes, but it's really only actions that can be considered evil.

[KatieHal]

Originally posted by oldbushie
Hmmm... I wanna create an anti-weapon! A shock-wave that destroys all weapons in its path...

So what if the museums incur heavy losses?

I think a lot of society gets too wrapped up in the whole idea of beating the heck out of other people, especially when the tag of "evil" is attached to them.
Isn't it true that it takes one to know one? Who's really the bad guy? It's hard to tell for sure, but the US sure acts like the bad guy sometimes but is too blind to see it (government wise, that is).

I secretly think mankind invented "evil", and uses that to destroy perfectly good people who are wrongfully labeled.

I don't think anyone deserves that label, since there is NO one I have ever seen that really fits that label. Maybe "harmful to society" yes, but it's really only actions that can be considered evil.

How's that quote go? Something like, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

I think we all ahve the potential to go "good" or "evil" - it's a matter of choice, which really is the most powerful thing - weapon or otherwise - that any of us have.  In the hands of one man or woman can the fates of countless others lay.

And there's also "Evil thrives when a good person does nothing." (I always attribute that quote to "The Writing on the Wall" because I actually *did* see it written on a wall!)

TO his credit, after Bush had his press conference this evening, it was the most impressed with him I've ever been and I don't feel he's quite as dead-set on war as I did before. I still by no means like the idea, though.

[Oldbushie]

I wonder where the origins of evil are? The Bible says it was a serpent that gave Adam and Eve fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, but in actuality, what exactly happened?

But I don't neccessarily think that evil doesn't exist, it's more I think that no one is pure evil. Maybe in movies... but never in real life.

And one thing I heard a while back was "evil only has power over you if you think it does". Or something like that, I forget.


Oh, and I saw a bit of Bush's speech, but I had trouble dealing with the sudden pauses and his speech impediment, so I wasn't able to watch it all the way through.
Ah, well.

[Storm]

Oldbushie -
It was the tree of knowing good and evil, not of knowledge. It gave them the ability to tell right from wrong, and in that sence, be like god.

I secretly think mankind invented "evil", and uses that to destroy perfectly good people who are wrongfully labeled.

I don't think anyone deserves that label, since there is NO one I have ever seen that really fits that label. Maybe "harmful to society" yes, but it's really only actions that can be considered evil.

Reading this, I would prefer to call you naive rather then down-right blind.
Do you honestly think every single person "labeled evil" is really good? do you think murderers and rapists are just good, misunderstood individuals? We don't condemn people for being evil, we condemn them for doing evil. Labeling is just a simplification, one that doesn't effect people's opinion of a person but rather is derived from the evil that person did.