I found some time.
First and foremost, there is simply no recourse for smsm42's argument, no recourse that that holds reason to a higher degree than nationalism.
Particularly,
nobody cares how they behave once they fulfill that one simple
condition - they don't murder anybody, don't blow up stuff and don't
kidnap and behead people they consider infidels.
This remark doesn't allow for American acts of war to have
any degree of inaccuracy. If you take such an idea as fact, you and I shall never find agreement. While perhaps my insults betray their hasty inception, the idea is so inaccurate as to warrant it's correction being, in my mind, an act of human decency.
Now, let's move to the matter at hand.
The crux of tokenadult's argument is that, above all:
Americans and other people in developed countries get to lead
civilized, advanced lives in the Twenty-First Century.
This is the element with which I find fault, and where you may find the division between myself and those who follow the causality constructed by propaganda. For there is an extreme fallacy here, one that is perpetuated endlessly and has set the tone of our generation.
How, I ask, can we lead civilized lives while actively participating in war?
There is a disconnect between the technologically and socially liberated, wonderfully progressive population of Americans imagined in tokenadult's words and the utter chaos and violence unleashed in the reality of ground invasions and air strikes. The problem with tokenadult's argument is that this break in the chain of causality is a complete illusion.
Now, you may argue, how can a "civilian" be participating in a war they did not decide to enter, and was in fact prompted by a major attack?
To which I would reply, I'm not talking about the conflict in Afghanistan.
I'm talking about the drug war, and all its brutal ramifications from the international to the local. I'm talking about the return of slavery manifested in our prison economy. I'm talking about trade agreements both national and private designed to create entire populations of debtors. I'm talking about the very concept of health care that hinges on salary. There are many more.
These are all wars we fight daily, contribute to endlessly, and support in our very existence. Not only our tax dollars, but our attitudes and opinions are weapons in these wars.
tokenadult looks around and sees a peaceful utopia. I look around and see a society rampaged by violence, racism, sexism, and class warfare. This is not a future I wish for Afghanistan, or anyone at all.
And I certainly don't think we can get anyone anywhere by force.
Time's up. Now let's go write some code and get on with our lives.