teribus - Again, it's simple. I have a sense of proportion. I use the minimum force necessary to stop an attacker, and only as long as I MUST use it in my own defense. While I might counterpunch you (if absolutely necessary for self-protection), I would not follow it up by stabbing you with a knife, splitting your skull with a baseball bat, or shooting you. I have a sense of proportion.

The next thing I would do after that is try and find out why you wanted to punch me in the first place, since like all people you would surely have a reason which YOU thought was a good one. I'd talk with you about it, and see if we could come to some resolution. Given a little time, I imagine we could. We could not, however, by screaming further threats at each other, could we?

The sense of proportion I alluded to in my first paragraph is partly based on the fact that I consider other people's lives valuable too, not just my own (or those in my own country)...and I don't consider other people "evil" just because their actions seem not to be in my interest at a given moment. I may consider them misguided, but not evil. These crises are not a question of morality, they are a question of differing (and usually quite unrealistic) BASIC BELIEFS.

Got it?

Now regarding the War on Terrorism. I consider it rather misguided, as it is merely a reaction to a previously misguided attack on the USA, rather than a serious attempt to resolve longstanding social, political, and economic issues. AND...it's an over-reaction.

It will in its time produce counter-reactions which also fail to address the real underlying issues. And they will also be over-reactions.

- LH