[Excerpt from a speech made up in my head]
We haven't fought a war, at least, not a true war.
Because to fight a war you need an enemy. Enemies aren't people. An enemy is someone whose way of life is so different, so foreign to your own that you can't stand to live in the same world as them. Their simple existence is an affront to your own. You don't know about their redeeming features, and you don't want to know: they're the fucking enemy. You can't beat an enemy until they're dead. Similarly, to win a war, you need to cripple the enemy: burn the fields and poison the rivers and salt the land; destroy any chance of them ever being able to retaliate. Make the idea of standing against you so revolting the don't even dare think of it. That, is how you should fight a war. Until you are willing to do this, you cannot win.
So when the president says we're fighting a "War on terrorism" I say that's bullshit. You can't fight terror. It isn't an enemy. Sure, Terrorists can be an enemy, but terrorism itself is an idea. And you cannot kill an idea. Not in the traditional sense that is. You can't salt the fields of somebody else's mind. The only way to fight an idea is to destroy those who believe it. Utterly destroy, at any, and all costs. If you aren't willing to claw flesh, to bite, scratch, to break bones and mangle sinew, you can't win against an enemy who is. Even if you knock him down, your enemy will stand right back up and come after you again.
We can't afford to fence sit. There is no middle ground. There's no "Kind of" fighting a war. You either Fight with all you've got or you give up and let your enemy walk all over you. But if you can't decide, if you can't stand up for yourself, lend your power to somebody who can.
Give the power to me, because I can.
*You know, Pluto must be SO SAD that it isn't a planet anymore :'(
First of all, I like the imagery and motivational language throughout the speech. Second, I agree with the last paragraph-you don't fence sit in the war. Because if you don't chose a side outright, then you are basically saying "I don't care about what happens" and you are making sure that something drastic will happen. Fence sitting is what prolonged both World Wars-the U.S. wouldn't pick a side, and millions died because of their lack of action. We need to act in order to cause a change, and when we act, there is visible, noticeable change.
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