tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19940731.post7552959666654822184..comments2024-01-13T12:24:09.078-08:00Comments on Karin Friedemann: The Business of Lobbying in American PoliticsKarin Friedemannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18385622231294561950noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19940731.post-2072021317466765512009-10-15T08:17:19.240-07:002009-10-15T08:17:19.240-07:00I think the fundamental flaw in your reasoning is ...I think the fundamental flaw in your reasoning is that the decision-makers in the United States (and that includes Obama) don't care at all about "what's good for America" -- and by that, I take you to mean the vast majority of the population in these 50 United States.<br /><br />So, writing a letter or convincing 50,000 people to write a letter works in some circumstances, but to stop a war? To stop the war in Palestine that essentially the US is actively involved in, even if it isn't portrayed that way in the press?<br /><br />I don't think so and there's no historical precedent that provides evidence that such a strategy would work. No, for a war, you need something much bigger -- news that can't be avoided. Fifty thousand letters can easily go un-noticed. Only the sender and the recipient ever knows that it was sent. <br /><br />But a real, all-out anti-war protest? One that irritates commuters and causes consumer-driven busy-bodies to stop and gawk and wonder what in the hell is going on here -- THAT is something that the establishment media is forced to comment on, even if it is to run damage control. It can't be ignored, whereas many of the ideas you suggest can easily be ignored as if they never even happened and the "America" that we want to communicate with will never hear a word from us. <br /><br />Many U.S. generals believe to this day that domestic unrest was a key factor in pre-maturely ending the war in Viet Nam. I have to agree with their analysis. <br /><br />Unfortunately, inertia is against us. People are inclined to stay at home, not talk to anyone they don't know, not go out into the streets and let 'em have it. And that's why, 8 years into Afghanistan, there's still no end in sight.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03448341843008832276noreply@blogger.com