Rath said:
Naninho said:
Rath said:
Naninho said:
What still amaze me today is how fast the british struck back. Obviously Thatcher didn’t give a fuck about her people. It seems she wasn't very different from our dictators. Stuff like this, is far more important than any debate we could have about any particular conflict. The sad part is, no matter what we do, it will always happen again...
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I find this bit interesting. How does Thatcher striking back make her alike to a dictator? Even democratic countries have militaries and they often use them at far less provocation than they got.
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We assume that democracies try to avoid getting involved in wars. Democratic leaders must answer to the voters for war, and therefore have an incentive to seek alternatives. Still, this is completely illusory, and serve only to mask the reality of elite rule.
Thatcher's willingness to sacrifice the lives of others is undeniable.
Whilst the Argentineans, under the leadership of Dictator General Galtieri were being whipped up into a patriotic fervor, the UK Government seized at the chance to whip up the same patriotic fervor in there. The media took up the cause, and the Argentineans were portrayed as blood thirsty opportunists who would destroy the British way of life on the Islands. Despite the Islanders having to rely on Argentina for post and supplies, the British were fooled into accepting that they must claim for some islands they never heard of.
Thatcher, was also going through a massive loss of domestic support and elections were looming. She knew the patriotic cheer leading would lead to death, but politicians are more than willing to sacrifice others so that they can hold onto power. She played the same game as Galtieri.
As crazy as it seems, democracy and dictatorship are two faces of the same coin...
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I have no problem with believing that democractic leaders will go to war for votes (modern example - Bush in Iraq). When you think about it the fact that the war won her so much popularity (and essentially the next election) meant that her decision was upheld by democratic principles - she answered to the British voters for the war in the next election and won by a landslide.
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Oh, I totally agree with that. Democratic principles like participation, right? Which means that citizens have an obligation to express their opinions. But governments often induce their own opinion on people, using fear or brainwashing through the media. That way, consensus is easy to achieve...
