I've got this great analogy for choice and free will that I'd like to share.
My conception of free will is akin to driving a car. You have a great deal of control over the vehicle and where you want to go. However you have little to no influence over other drivers, the roads, the weather, etc.
And you have many tools to help get where you are going: memory, traffic updates over the radio, maps, cell phones, signposts, etc. But in the end you yourself make your own choices based on the information you have in the conditions you find yourself in, following the highways or going off-roading, whether you get to your destination or just go cruising.
Not a bad analogy. Eventually the car breaks down and you find yourself a new one...
Lurker
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The enemy of my enemy
The USA should make an alliance with Iran.
No really. We had a close relationship with them before the Islamic Revolution. Most of the population is quite young, and fascinated with American culture and actually quite friendly. Plus they are similar to us in that they have a rather diverse coalition of ethnicities and sub-populations. Oh, and they have a long association with India, our largest ally.
But the main reason is implied in the title: Al-Qaeda is made up of Sunnis, and are sworn enemies of Shiite Iran. Yes, this would mean taking sides in a thousand year religious conflict, but that seems almost unavoidable when messing with the middle east.
Iran has a great deal of influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and the rest of the middle east. They might even be able to solve the Israeli/Palestinian situation, although hopefully without violence. My Dad suggested that at the outset of the Iraq war, we could've made a trade with Iran: we give them most of Iraq, and they give up part of their northern territories to create a viable Kurdish state. Perhaps a similar deal can still be made.
Now this proposed Persian alliance has one very difficult question: do we try this team-up with the current radical Iranian administration? The current president (who isn't actually the highest authority) has created his reputation by sticking it to the Americans. Would he, could he be capable of spinning such a 180 in foreign policy? Even if he does, do we try to encourage reforms with carrots, and discourage their sponsorship of terrorist groups like Hezbollah?
Or do we overthrow their government (we've done it before) and put the youth in power, and hope they'll go along with an alliance?
Anyway, the whole point of this is scaring the heck out of the middle east, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, and other Sunni states that sponsor terror in one form or another, and thwart their ideas for world subjugation.
Lurker
(I seem to be doing a lot of political posts)
No really. We had a close relationship with them before the Islamic Revolution. Most of the population is quite young, and fascinated with American culture and actually quite friendly. Plus they are similar to us in that they have a rather diverse coalition of ethnicities and sub-populations. Oh, and they have a long association with India, our largest ally.
But the main reason is implied in the title: Al-Qaeda is made up of Sunnis, and are sworn enemies of Shiite Iran. Yes, this would mean taking sides in a thousand year religious conflict, but that seems almost unavoidable when messing with the middle east.
Iran has a great deal of influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and the rest of the middle east. They might even be able to solve the Israeli/Palestinian situation, although hopefully without violence. My Dad suggested that at the outset of the Iraq war, we could've made a trade with Iran: we give them most of Iraq, and they give up part of their northern territories to create a viable Kurdish state. Perhaps a similar deal can still be made.
Now this proposed Persian alliance has one very difficult question: do we try this team-up with the current radical Iranian administration? The current president (who isn't actually the highest authority) has created his reputation by sticking it to the Americans. Would he, could he be capable of spinning such a 180 in foreign policy? Even if he does, do we try to encourage reforms with carrots, and discourage their sponsorship of terrorist groups like Hezbollah?
Or do we overthrow their government (we've done it before) and put the youth in power, and hope they'll go along with an alliance?
Anyway, the whole point of this is scaring the heck out of the middle east, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, and other Sunni states that sponsor terror in one form or another, and thwart their ideas for world subjugation.
Lurker
(I seem to be doing a lot of political posts)
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