vision2020
RE: The Truth!
Dearest friends,
Well... I think this is sad! In this great country with all the resources we
have to put each other in little stereotypical cubby holes like "liberal"
and "Conservative" or "Republican" and "Democrat". It is sad that some of us
live on prejudice and are too blind to see it. It is sad that we refuse to
see the truth because we refuse to open our eyes. It is sad that we have
been trained to not see with our own eyes but are willing to let others tell
us what to think.
The fact is that we are not morally decaying. In fact we are much more moral
now than before in many ways. It was moral decay that allowed our ancestors
to rape and pillage the original inhabitants of this country. It was moral
decay that caused slavery. It is this ugly and most challenging past that we
are trying to overcome.
This country has been built on very ugly foundation. We have destroyed much
that was special about this place and at out current rate will leave our
children a legacy of corruption and selfish gluttony just like our parents
and their parents before them. At least now most of us are not sticking our
heads in the sand and making believe that things are all wonderful. Now we
have logic and truth at our disposal.
The American mythology is strong... for years we hid the ugliness. Well...
even this carpet cannot hide any more dirt! Be prepared to pull your head
out and see the Truth. We have manipulated and raped the world just as the
"great" European countries (England, Spain, Portugal) did a couple of
hundred years ago. We have enslaved the whole world so we can be lazy and
gluttonous... this is the Truth.
A day will come when United States of America will be the moral leader of
the world... that day has not come yet. Before we get there we will taste
the humility of Truth and face our shortcomings and eliminate arrogance and
"the most challenging issue" racism and prejudice.
Your brother in arms, and proud to be an outsider!
Shahab...
-----Original Message-----
From: Travis & Julie Tonn [mailto:vart@turbonet.com]
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 10:14 PM
To: Steve Cooke
Cc: Vision2020 Listserver
Subject: Re: The Truth!
It is entirely predictable and sad that whenever someone attempts to point
out how much our society has fallen into moral decay in the last few
decades, those best described as "liberal" feel the need to deride the more
conservative America. Yes, there were economic problems, yes, there was
more overt racism, yes, there was more disease, suffering, etc. But, there
weren't drive-by shootings, There weren't babies dumped in trash bins, there
wasn't Marilyn Manson, there weren't school shootings, people respected
their elders, they didn't need to install car alarms, or lock their doors at
night. Why can't we wise up as a society and learn from the past? Why
can't people with such supposedly "open" minds look to the past and find out
what worked and what didn't?? Why do they feel the need to seek out and
criticize everything that was negative? We should learn to embrace the good
qualities of our post-war American culture and seek to implement them in
today's dysfunctional and politically correct cultural chaos. Why do so
many people that are supposedly educated and "compassionate" have to be so
bitter and spiteful towards a time when life, for the most part, was less
stressful and safer?
Travis Tonn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Cooke" <scooke@uidaho.edu>
To: "Travis & Julie Tonn" <vart@turbonet.com>
Cc: "Vision2020 Listserver" <vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 8:13 AM
Subject: RE: The Truth!
>
> Travis,
> The early 20th century US was a time of wide spread KKK activities, jim
crow
> was the law, and lynching were common place in the South. Businesses
> regularly used paid goon squads to beat and kill striking workers.
> Internationally, it was a time Fascism, Communism, Imperialism, and the
> introduction of the modern style of total warfare including the use of
nerve
> gas and attacks on unarmed civilians. It was also the time of wildly
> fluctuating economic swings w/ extended depressions and hyper-inflation.
> These are the "good old days?" I wonder.
> Steve Cooke
>
> -----Original Message-----t
> From: Travis & Julie Tonn [mailto:vart@turbonet.com]
> Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2001 5:34 PM
> To: Moscow
> Subject: Fw: The Truth!
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
>
>
> > >Return-Path: <tip55@magiclink.com>
> > >From: "T.L. Tipton" <tip55@magiclink.com>
> > >To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
> > >Subject: The Truth!
> > >Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 12:50:14 -0700
> > >X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> > >X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200
> > >
> > >
> > >One evening a boy was talking to his grandfather about current events.
> He
> > >asked what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age,
> and
> > >just things in general.
> > >
> > >The granddad replied, "Well, let me think a minute...I was born before
> > >television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact
lenses,
> > >Frisbees and the pill. There weren't things like radar, credit cards,
> laser
> > >beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, dishwashers,
> > >clothes dryers, electric blankets, air
> > >conditioners, and he hadn't walked on the moon.
> > >
> > >Your Mom and I got married first -- then lived together. Every family
> had a
> > >father and a mother, and every boy over 14 had a rifle that his dad
> taught
> > >him how to use and
> > >respect.
> > >
> > >Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, 'Sir' -- and after I
> turned
> > >25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.' In our
> > >time, closets were for clothes -- not for 'coming out of.' Sundays
were
> set
> > >aside for going to church as a family, helping those in need, and just
> > >visiting with family or neighbors.
> > >
> > >We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare
> centers,
> > >and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments,
good
> > >judgment, and common sense.
> > >
> > >We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to
> stand
> > >up and take responsibility for our actions. Serving your country was a
> > >privilege; living here was a bigger privilege.
> > >
> > >We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a
> meaningful
> > >relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were
> > >people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.
> > >Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and
> > >weekends -- not condominiums.
> > >
> > >We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters,
> yogurt,
> > >or guys wearing earrings. We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and
> the
> > >President's speeches on radio. I don't ever remember any kid blowing
his
> > >brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
> > >
> > >If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk. The term
> > >'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam. Pizza Hut,
> > >McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of. We had 5 & 10-cent
> stores
> > >where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice cream
cones,
> > >phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a
> > >Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could
> spend
> > >your
> > >nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards. You could buy
a
> > >new Chevy Coupe for $600, but who could afford one? Too bad, because
gas
> > >was 11 cents a gallon.
> > >
> > >In my day, 'grass' was mowed, 'coke' was a cold drink, 'pot' was
> something
> > >your mother cooked in, and 'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby.
> > >'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office, 'chip' meant a piece of
> wood,
> > >'hardware' was found in a hardware store, and 'software' wasn't even a
> word.
> > >
> > >And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think a lady
> needed a
> > >husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us old and confused --
and
> say
> > >there is such a generation gap. And I'm only 60 years old.
> > >
> > >
> All I can say is, Amen!!
> >
> Travis Tonn>
> >
>
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