Week 10 Reading Response

David Rieff's argument questions the assumptions made by Americans and the Bush Administration, such as "people will choose freedom over tyranny and tolerance over extremism every time" and "American ideals should prevail." These assumptions are the reason that we are still at war. We assume and therefore do not take the time to understand the cultural differences and needs. These assumptions need to be questioned, because they follow history. As Rieff says, "History rarely repeats itself." David talks of how Americans have very different ideas of freedom than do those of the Islamic belief. We are different people with different values and backgrounds. He talks of how we are built upon different systems and how because of this, it will be harder to change the Muslims to the Americanized democracy/ideals.
I believe that we need to become less involved in things we do not fully understand. Once we are able to understand the culture, the beliefs, and the history of their religion and where they come from...then we will be able to get involved. Involved in the opposite way the Bush Administration got the U.S. involved. Questioning some one's assumptions is often a useful strategy in constructing an argument, because you can see what their views are and how strong their counter-argument is. We should not just be jumping into a war if we do not have a real in-depth plan. To think that Bush was so inconceivable with the words he chose in addressing the world so many different times. Understanding the opponent and getting in their head, being one step ahead is the only way to beat them.