I agree that the USA should no longer be the policeman of the world. They become so because of the historical accident of being on the winning side of WW2 but not having suffer as much as others. They were the richest country in the world, not being occupied or bomb, and having all their assets intact. They saw their job in competing and restrainng the USSR the only other super power. In a sense they won the cold war because they continued to exsist while most of the Communist block and the USSR callapsed..

However today other countries like China and India have advanced in political and economic power. Even the American brand of Capitalism is in trouble. The USA has been attacked on its own soil so feels it is vulnerable. It is about the only Christian major power left but feels its beliefs being attack by another powerful religion Islam. It does not have to fight battles in the War on Terror. Having fail in Iraq why does it want to attack Iran. Even if Iran got nuclear weapons it would not attack the USA. I agree that China and Russia can best handle Iran. Countries like Israel will have to learn to stand on their own feet by making friends with their neighbours

Well Aus, "in a perfect world........" but we both know that it ain't, and never will be. The problem with the world is human nature, and that is the REASON that it ain't . People are gonna scrap, on individual, and national levels. That's just how it is. I don't like it, you don't like it, but you and I can't change it. The world is full of shitheads that say that you and I are wrong. So, we'll just have to kneel and recite the modified Drunks Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to change the things I can,
the patience to accept the things I can't change,
and the wisdom to hide the bodies those I've had to kill
because they pissed me off.......


Works for me. Hand me my twelve guage.

Is the 'problem' with the world 'human nature?' To say that, or anything like that, is to fall into the apathy that infects the world. And that's what's keeping us from doing anything about it!

I, for one, am shitten-hell damned angry about the 'way of the world.' I don't want placebos, or excuses, or any of the other crap we're fed every day. I want something to be done,rather than something to argue about. We've had too much arguement and not enough action!

I will not apologize nor will I back-track. I'm so very angry with platitudes.

Vent is over.

Thank you, Randy for the start of the Prayer of St. Francis; "Oh Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; where there is hatred, let me show love."

By damn, that's so hard to do.

Sorry, Randy, that was the start of the Irish prayer, wasn't it?

Our opinions on what can be done at this point differ. I'm old and cranky, and tired. I do not mean to argue, just state an opinion. I'm glad there are others that know something needs to be done but, as I said, we are the minority. I truely hope there will be a change, but it looks pretty hopeless. I've never been one to succumb to "the sky is falling" way of thought, but could all this be what's been predicted as "the end of times" ofr years? Hope not,....but...
Lizbeth, tell me honestly. With all the punk street gangs, full prisons, drugs, violent home invasions, crime on corperate level, shady government officials, government waste, not to mention the thousands of people out of work-now, and those in the near future-(and that's just in OUR OWN country) and the wars in the Mid East, and the way the U.S is blamed for everything that goes wrong world wide, and then blamed for trying to help, how do you propose to go about this change? Our economy has been based upon money we don't have. Our politicians who, even if they aren't crooks when they enter office, end up throwing in the towel because they can't vote outside party lines. We have the elephant and the jackass parties, either of which would rather eat bark, than agree with the another on anything of importance. We have people in office who should have been removed from office years ago due to agenot to mention dementia. We have people who are PAID, to lobby for, or against anything the special interest groups want to pass, or fail. We have street active gang members among our armed forces, yet good soldiers are often discharged as undesirables, due to their sexual preferances. We are involved in another Vietnam situation, and again not being allowed to win, because we have to play by a set of rules that nobody else recognizes, in order that some piss ant little, nothing, country the size of Rhode Island doesn't get offended. A lot of our jobs have been outsourced for economic gains of the CEO's and high management of the companies. This is, in a way, the fault of the American worker. For decades our workers have been over paid and wanted more and more as time went on. That's not their fault, it's the American way. That's why the price of a car, for example, has gone up so high I could have bought my first and second homes for the price of a mid sized automobile of today. When you buy a new car, you are paying for retirement benefits and HEALTH, DENTAL, AND EYE CARE of all the retired employees of the BIG THREE manufacturers.
Mad, HELL YES I'M MAD, but I am, at this point, too old and too tired to want to do anything but survive, and live out what life I have left in peace. So more power to you if you can make any of this crap change, you have my vote............ rant,rave, etc. There's much more, but I've already probably worn out my welcome.