A foolish resolution in Congress
The resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives labelling as "genocide" the killing of over 1 million Armenians by the Turkish military during 1915-17 (House Resolution 106) is, in my opinion, foolish. Certainly it was a terrible event in history, but what is the point of the U.S. Congress taking it up now? Virtually no one involved, as a perpetrator or as a victim, is alive today and, furthermore, it is crassly political. Why needlessly antagonize a friendly nation, Turkey?
Has any resolution been offered in either house of Congress officially designating the Nazi murders or those of the Japanese in China during the 1930's as genocide? I don't know the answer--perhaps such resolutions have been offered and passed; but what is the point? Everyone knows that they were terrible atrocities; we don't need an act of Congress to so define them.
Why stop with the massacre of Armenians? Why not a resolution to deplore the sack of Rome and the attendant raping and killing by the Goths in 410 A.D.?
Or the invasion of Iraq by the Mongols about 1256? (According to The Columbia History of the World, "The Mongols...poured into Iraq and, as they drove toward Baghdad, plundered or destroyed everything in their path..." (p. 278) Sound familiar?)
Or the invasion of Ghana by the Almoravids in 1076? (The Columbia History of the World describes the invaders as "young zealots, the Almoravids...in holy war against all who refused to heed the call to orthodox Islam...(who) overwhelmed Ghana and sacked its capital" (p. 302))
Aren't there more pressing needs for Congress to give attention to?
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A foolish resolution in Congress": Here, Here Mycroft. I could not agree more. Of course would you actually expect more from Nancy Pelosi's "Do Nothing Congress"? I would describe Congress as inept as you would describe the Bush Administration. Unfortunately at the highest levels of American government, our elected officials (on BOTH sides of the aisle) are more interested in pointing fingers, assigning blame and launching probes and investigations into the other's party than actually stepping up to the podium with valid input, ideas and solutions to fix what truly needs fixing. I don't need to know that we now officially recognize an event that took place 100 years ago as genocide any more than I need the government to protect me from trans fats.
Well said, Anonymous.
Mycroft
Has any resolution been offered in either house of Congress officially designating the Nazi murders or those of the Japanese in China during the 1930's as genocide? I don't know the answer--perhaps such resolutions have been offered and passed; but what is the point? Everyone knows that they were terrible atrocities; we don't need an act of Congress to so define them.
Why stop with the massacre of Armenians? Why not a resolution to deplore the sack of Rome and the attendant raping and killing by the Goths in 410 A.D.?
Or the invasion of Iraq by the Mongols about 1256? (According to The Columbia History of the World, "The Mongols...poured into Iraq and, as they drove toward Baghdad, plundered or destroyed everything in their path..." (p. 278) Sound familiar?)
Or the invasion of Ghana by the Almoravids in 1076? (The Columbia History of the World describes the invaders as "young zealots, the Almoravids...in holy war against all who refused to heed the call to orthodox Islam...(who) overwhelmed Ghana and sacked its capital" (p. 302))
Aren't there more pressing needs for Congress to give attention to?
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A foolish resolution in Congress": Here, Here Mycroft. I could not agree more. Of course would you actually expect more from Nancy Pelosi's "Do Nothing Congress"? I would describe Congress as inept as you would describe the Bush Administration. Unfortunately at the highest levels of American government, our elected officials (on BOTH sides of the aisle) are more interested in pointing fingers, assigning blame and launching probes and investigations into the other's party than actually stepping up to the podium with valid input, ideas and solutions to fix what truly needs fixing. I don't need to know that we now officially recognize an event that took place 100 years ago as genocide any more than I need the government to protect me from trans fats.
Well said, Anonymous.
Mycroft
posted by Mycroft Watson at 11:45 PM
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
1 Comments:
Here, Here Mycroft. I could not agree more. Of course would you actually expect more from Nancy Pelosi's "Do Nothing Congress"? I would describe Congress as inept as you would describe the Bush Administration. Unfortunately at the highest levels of American government, our elected officials (on BOTH sides of the aisle) are more interested in pointing fingers, assigning blame and launching probes and investigations into the other's party than actually stepping up to the podium with valid input, ideas and solutions to fix what truly needs fixing. I don't need to know that we now officially recognize an event that took place 100 years ago as genocide any more than I need the government to protect me from trans fats.
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