I was amazed to read that today millions of Spaniards took to the streets in peaceful protest and mourning of the deaths in Madrid. It was a very untypically American response but silly me, they are Europeans, not Americans. In America we cowered at home until the Commander-in-Chief said "go shopping". And we did. Then a few months later we went bombing while all the time the much mocked question "why do they hate us?" went unanswered, ignored and unappeased in our hearts and minds.

What did this teach us? Well absolutely nothing other than kicking butt feels good. But that's entirely in line with the "feel good" philosophy of America which is often inserted to replace "pursuit of life, liberty and happiness" without a second thought. However just how many times must each individual, each society learn that what feels good is often not the best course of events to pursue for overall gain? Isn't this exactly the lesson of team playing vs. individual pursuit of personal gain?

Somewhere along the line it seems to me that the world has to realize and start acting as if it has one common goal. It has to cease and desist with individualistic goals and aspirations and unite as one. Time and time again history has proved to us that you can't unite a nation by force, other than in uniting against that very same force. The world has to stop expending its resources in destructive measures against its own good. Therefore each reactionary tactic without opportunity for future improvement is just another huge self perpetuating step along the road back to the caves, and eventually back to the sea (if the melting icecaps or a giant tidal wave don't get us first of course).

Yes I know, as one of my very rare commentors on TLDTTOTS told me, "you don't half blather on and on don't you". But surely there must be something very profoundly interesting and useful to learn from the difference between the Spanish reaction to the Madrid bombings, and the American reaction to 9/11? So you tell me and I'll post the most interesting theories.