Wednesday, January 24, 2007

When given a chance...

Last night in his State of the Union Address, President Bush made a statement that I found interesting but I doubt will get punted around much by the various analysts, pundits, politicians and talking heads. The comment provides the philosophical animus for most of Bush’s Iraq policy and strategy:

What every terrorist fears most is human freedom -- societies where men and women make their own choices, answer to their own conscience, and live by their hopes instead of their resentments. Free people are not drawn to violent and malignant ideologies -- and most will choose a better way when they're given a chance.

Is this true? Is it true that, when given the chance, most people will reject “violent and malignant ideologies” and embrace democratic freedom? From whence, then, come totalitarian regimes? From whence come suicide bombers?

6 comments:

cy said...

A complicated question; or a group of questions. From a charitable viewpoint, he is probably referring to the 'little people'. And I suppose their choosing would have a lot to do with their worldview, and what other possibilities they can see to choose between. I would suggest that the totalitarian regimes come more from the leaders who instantiate them than from the mass of society coming to a consensus that it is a good idea.

Anonymous said...

Aaron, I'm impressed. Nice blog. I look forward to your posts.
Barry

Steve Burri said...

Howdy, Aaron,
It seems that you are posting on subjects of great interest to me, so... like it or not, you are bookmarked and I'll be back. Get busy!

How difficult it must be to have a career as a public school educator while holding a Biblical worldview. I'm thankful that there are folks with gifts like yours.

'See' ya next time.

Aaron Snell said...

Barry,
Thanks for stopping by, and the kind words (especially nice to hear from someone who does such a nice job on his own blog). Cheers.

Steve,
Thanks for bookmarking me - I hope you visit often and are not disappointed! The intersection of a Chrisitan worldview and the field of public education as currently practiced in the US is something I've been doing some thinking on lately - expect to see some posts on the subject in the near future. As I see it, the challenge for each of us as Christians who live in a society that has divided the private realm from the public is to think Christianly and bring a consistent worldview shaped by Christ to bear on our respective disciplines, no matter what field in which we work.

Anonymous said...

I'd say GWB is a good case in point.

Suicide bombers are reactionary products of the tremendous inequality in the world, along with the persistent violence in the Middle East, supported by the United States.

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