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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!rochester!ritcv!jrc
From: jrc@ritcv.UUCP (James R Carbin)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Re: Freedom
Message-ID: <821@ritcv.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 20-Nov-83 18:18:34 EST
Article-I.D.: ritcv.821
Posted: Sun Nov 20 18:18:34 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 23-Nov-83 03:59:12 EST
Lines: 45

bmcg!bprice posts:

>> If your house catches fire, in your absence, and a passerby calls the fire
>> department:  the firefighters are likely to enter your property and cause
>> damage to it by spraying water and chopping holes.  Are they trespassing?
>> Grenada was on fire (remember the 22-hr-per-day curfew?); the government was
>> absent (Bishop had been assassinated); and Grenada's neighbors had called on
>> US to play fire department.  [shift in tone, since this is net.flame:]  So
>> where do you ignorant turkeys get off calling the US in general and RR in 
>> particular to task?  [so much for the obligatory outburst.]

1. I am not ignorant!
2. I am not a turkey!  (I'm posting before Thanksgiving in case that premise
                        turns out to be false!    :-)      )
3. My gawd, this IS the US!  I have the right to question the actions of 
   my government whether it be the invasion of Grenada, Civil Rights, or
   our Income Tax Laws!    Isn't that what it is all about folks?
4. There is a significant difference between the invasion of Grenada and
   the local firefighters.  I pay taxes to support my local fire department 
   and they exist because I want them but hopefully will never need them.  
   How many Grenadians were polled BEFORE the invasion as to their desires?
   And just in case your geography is faulty, Grenada is not part of the US.
   I can vote either directly or indirectly on the policies and laws which
   will prevail within the US, but not on foreign soils no matter how noble
   the cause appears short of declaring war.

   There may be many analogies that can be used to support our action in
   Grenada, but nope, not this one!  If I apply this logic to another situa-
   tion, why don't we invade Afghanistan?  You know why as well as I do!
   Do we accept the current Afghanistan government as legitimate?  I don't
   believe that any of Afghanistan's neighbors are thrilled over that one
   either!  (Probably one of the few things Iran and Iraq can agree upon.)

   I could perhaps give greater credence to your analogy if the firefighters
   "left the house once the fire was extinguished and the clean-up completed."

   There are two major problems with citing analogies:    1) Are the two
   situations really analogous?  If not, you may serve to only weaken
   your argument rather than support it.  2) Analogies are often simplis-
   tic.  They attempt to simplify an explanation, but frequently are a
   catalyst for unrelated discussion.

as ever,

j.r.         {allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!jrc