berman@ihopb.UUCP (Rational Chutzpah) (11/28/84)
=========================================== Ignorance is bliss. It allows distorted, manipulated thinking. A case in point is a recent posting by T. C. Wheeler: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >I would like to ask a question..... Why is it that the Sandanistas >do not say to the world and the US in particular, "Hey, let's sit down >and talk about this. No pre-conditions, let's just talk about our >differences." The Contra plan is so full of pre-conditions that it >would take a King Solomon to unravel the strings. If the Sandanistas >truely wanted to live and let live, they would be glad to make some >type of overture. >T. C. Wheeler > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now I don't mean to say that I simply disagree with Wheeler's posting. I also don't mean this as a personal attack on Wheeler. But his posting reflects an appalling ignorance of facts and a distortion of reality. Working from a basis of presumptions devoid of reality, ANY conclusions are possible. Where are the departures from reality in Wheeler's article? 1) Not only have the Sandinistas repeatedly requested unconditional talks with the US (most recently Father Miguel D'Escoto, the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister repeated the need for dialogue on our network morning TV news), but in fact SUCH TALKS ARE CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE! Read the papers DAMN IT! It's in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek---all the establishment rags! Don't invent nonsense about no overtures when official talks are actually taking place on a regular basis! 2) The "Contra Plan" ---oy gevalt, this one hurts---. What he means is the Contadora Treaty. (The Contadora Process is an initiative by several Latin American nations to work out a peaceful solution to the crises in Central America. The Reagan regime gave lip service endorsement to the process, until a draft treaty was proposed which Nicaragua promptly agreed to! That effectively shut up Reagan's pious mouthings about the Contadora Process.) Should we forgive Wheeler for confusing "Contadora" with "Contra"? ("Contras" are the CIA-backed rebels trying to overthrow the government of Nicaragua). It could be just a slip of the keyboard. I would hope so, but I tend to doubt it. So much nonsense gets flung out onto the net that is objectively devoid of reality and ignorant of facts. All in the name of justifying a naive and convenient "good guys/bad guys" image of the world. All a convenient excuse for not keeping up with the news. Sigh, --Andy Berman