Why are you so afraid my Republican Friend?

(this was originally posted on my old blog about one year ago, I thought that it was kind of outdated, but reality is, the same fear-mongering machine is still out there and louder than before..., so here is the repost of my old musing on the new blog.)

My dear friend, we have spoken a lot recently about politics and we agree on a lot of things so it seems, but even though we differ politically, I still like you, even though I have problems understanding where you are coming from. You are a die-hard republican, I am a democrat with some conservative ideas. But then again, I am also very liberal in many respects and think that the democratic party at this point in time gives me what I am looking for. Some clearity with regard to what should be done, or much rather, what should not be done.
You tell me that you want your kids to be afraid of terrorists? It is fine and good to be aware of the problem, to be vigilant, but to be afraid and have fear and a mindstate of being fearful on one's mind constantly, isn't that itself creating a state of terror? Are you not terrorising your kids and yourself by being afraid?
You say that you wouldn't do certain things or travel certain places because of "people getting killed there all the time". Well, even if that statement, in this case travel to Israel was true, which it is not, changing your behavior and your life is allowing the real terrorists to win. While Israel has had her share of terrorism, I still think that I will travel there again, with my kids, because overall, it is pretty darn safe. People there don't change their lives around something that might happen at one point in their lives, maybe we all can learn from them. Maybe we can learn from Israel's government that fear is not a way of life, rather, it is state of mind that impedes one's way of life. Their very healthy attitude towards living is amazing, they live every day to the fullest and enjoy without much thinking about where to have pizza or a cup of coffee.
Then again, I challenge you to come up with the per-capita homicide figures for both Israel and the USA, you might find that living here is much more hazardous to your health statistically than you might imagine. I also challenge you to add up the number of people that have died in terrorists acts worldwide and compare them to the number of homicides in this country, and then come up with your own conclusions, but be careful, you mind end up moving to the Maldives for a safer lifestyle :) But then again, if you continue to subscribe to Mr. Bush and his refusal to even accept the concept of global warming, the Maldives might not be a good idea after all, because they will probably be submerged in the Indian Ocean soon due to ocean levels rising secondary to glaciers melting ... oh, also, with the whole global warming stuff that you and yours refuse to admit exists, use sunscream, lots of it, remember that ozone layer that protects us, it might be gone soon too.
You say that being in Iraq made us safer, why on earth are you so afraid of everything then? If you honestly believe that the current adminstration's policies keep you so safe, why are you afraid to take the subway? Travel to London? To Israel? Whilst I agree with you that terrorist acts happen in these places, and have for a long time, I felt pretty darn safe in Israel. Yes, I was careful, yes, I was aware of my surroundings, but I was not afraid. Living in England for combined about 4 years or so, heck, I never locked my car, never locked my house, and went about my own happy ways with other happy folks, who didn't even for a minute thought about "being afraid."
Now, our Secretary of defense tells us that a long war (20 years or so) lies ahead of us to fight the war on terror. Now, here is a misnomer in the first place. Terror is a state of mind, that people in distress, victims of domestic and child abuse and people in gang-ridden neighbourhoods across this country feel. Ask yourself, what does this administration want? Do they want to wage war on our state of mind? Judging for myself, they are doing a really good job at that one, however, they do not fight the war on terrorism correctly. One should never attack a nation-state in order to fight one individual. Get that individual. Don't back off that one, especially not the one who has been responsible for killing at least 3,000 people on 11 September 2001.
You say that we "have to pay a price for freedom" and that "freedom is not free". Would you mind quantifying this one for me please? What is the price to pay? How many more body bags and flag-draped coffins do we need? How many more amputees? How many more with mental problems? How many more with DU poisoning? Plus, explain to me that if freedom is not free and we have to pay for it by sacrificing many ideas and ideals and freedoms set forth in the Bill of Rights, then it is not freedom anymore is it?
Mr. Bush stated at one point that "they hate us for our freedoms." Now, back to some argument I made above, everytime we allow wire tappings of our phones without a warrant for the sake of finding an elusive man with a white turban, we give up a freedom, we give up the protection of illegal 'searches and seizures'. Every time we allow ourselves to be searched without warrant before entering a subway station in New York (just and example), we give up our freedom. Every time we do not dare to speak out loud, we give up our freedom. This is not what this is about. We are not supposed to give up our freedoms, we are supposed to live it. But look now who is really taking our freedoms away? It is not the "wanted-dead-or-alive-bearded-muslim-western-culture-and-their damn-freedom-haters", it is our very own government, the government that you have elected and are so proud of. Is Mr. Usama winning yet?
I am just amazed at people like you. I am reminded of a kool-aid-drinking lemming that is willing to walk to the end of the cliff and jump on command because of fear. I refuse to buy into this mindset. I am not afraid of terrorists, because really, I am not giving up living, I will not give up the liberties that we have been granted by our founding fathers and certainly will not give up my freedom to voice my opinion.
Stop calling me anti-American, I would not live here if I was that. Stop telling me that I am supporting the terrorists or that I am undermining the troops. For anybody to suggest that I am not supporting the troops means that I am not supporting the man that I have chosen to spent the rest of my life with, so, this "argument" on your side is absurd. Actually, it is not even an argument, it is a statement meant to cut off any discussion and honest exchange of ideas, why? Do you have nothing better to offer than insults and the repeating what Mr. Hannity told you?
I challenge you to be open to some ideas from those stupid-do-gooder-long-haired-smelly liberals ... just joking about the smelly part. Maybe you will rethink a bit and will be accepting of other ideas, I am not saying to embrace them right-out, but at least, LISTEN.