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From: phl@drusd.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: GLASS HOUSES
Message-ID: <1117@drusd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 3-Oct-84 16:37:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: drusd.1117
Posted: Wed Oct  3 16:37:50 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 03:46:05 EDT
Lines: 33



Vladimir Posner made an interesting point the other evening on NIGHTLINE.
Answering Ted Koppel's question regarding the lack of freedom in the USSR,
he remarked that the Russian revolution was about 65 years old and when the
American revolution was the same age the American government was just as
brutal.  

After that first shock of indignation I had to admit that the man was right.
During the period to which he was referring we:

	1.  Enslaved the black race

	2.  Practiced genocide on the native American population

	3.  Treated the female half of our population as chattel

	4.  Routinely beat confessions out of criminals

	5.  Annexed a good sized chunk of territory through armed
	    aggression

Posner then expressed the hope that the USSR would not need as much time as
we have taken in establishing basic rights.

Propaganda, probably.  Food for thought, definitely.  Should we not put our
own house in order before we start telling the rest of the world what to do?

If the only way we can lead the world to the "American way of life" is through
subversion, murder and terrorism should we throw any stones at our competition?
Certainly, our past dealings in Chile, Nicaragua, Iran and Viet Nam and our
recent actions in Granada, El Salvador, South Korea and the Philippines are
nothing future generations will look back on with anything but shame.