Originally Posted by
Nixx
I mean if this were a decision I had to make, I'd be consulting with experts on the subject to determine a long term strategy. I know what things I don't consider acceptable–broad expansion of government authority or other things that undermine the very rights and values we're supposedly trying to protect–but I'd hardly claim I have the answer to the problem right now. Similarly, I don't generally believe any random person who wants to play armchair policy expert and I interpret virtually all of these posts as expressions of mere feeling, rather than suggestions based in any even remotely sensible thinking. What I do know is that if people want lasting change, they probably need to make these people prosperous in a more worldly sense, as prosperity makes people fat, lazy, and complacent in a hurry. Blowing yourself up probably seems a lot less enticing when you're leading a life of comfort and convenience.
In the mean time, it's fine to defend yourself, but you can't let fear and hatred cause you to sacrifice the very thing you're afraid of losing. Neither ISIS nor any other terrorist organization is capable of winning a conventional war with the Western world. Terrorism doesn't work because it's good at conquering, but because people are stupid and easily frightened and will give up virtually anything they need to so that they don't have to be. ISIS just has to poke Europe until Europe decides to sacrifice everything that makes Europe worth defending. If people don't keep that in mind, it will just hasten the process.