JOKES

It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.

Thomas Paine

LET US AGREE TO DISAGREE AGREEABLY

It's easier to disseminate trivia and tell jokes than it is to have a dialogue on crucial issues.

It's easier when there is no need for critical and rational thought.

Preoccupation with banalities is a convenient escape from reality.

There is nothing inherently wrong with jokes and trivia.

They are release mechanisms.

It’s healthy to laugh.

But jokes and trivia can also be self-denying and self-serving substitutes for rigorous research, extensive reading, and serious thinking about important social issues.

Funnies are often shared and spread instead of spending more time doing serious research and investigation into more important matters.

Opinions and viewpoints on these more important matters remain in a foggy ether of narrow-mindedness and un-substantiation.

Truth is not convenient or comfortable.

A dialogue on the Iraq war requires more than just cursory searches on the Internet…

More than just pigeon-holed analyses and emotional reactions…

More than just listening to one side of the story...

More than just listening to the same radio talk show hosts who slam the door on finding out the truth…and instead constantly spew their pompous and pernicious denigration and personal attacks…

An authentic and meaningful dialogue on the Iraq war requires more than just giving personal opinions, popular clichés, puffed-up platitudes, and personal put-downs.

We owe it to ourselves and our country to not run away from grim questions about the Iraq War:

Why did the U.S. really invade Iraq?

Who wanted to invade Iraq the most?

What was expected to be gained from this pre-emptive war?

What are the actual results of this war invasion and occupation?

What is the best plan now to remove American soldiers from Iraq?

Jokes and trivia---and the time spent thereof--- should not be substituted for serious discussion and inquiry.

A consensus now exists about the lies and criminality of the Iraq war.

The consensus indicates that global threats of terror increased as a result of our pre-emptive shock and awe bombing and occupation of Iraq.

Deniers will continue to hide behind a comfortable wall of trivia and jokes.

LIFE AND DEATH ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN JOKES.