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Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, equality, truth and justice for all.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Not So Brave New World

The only way to defeat terrorism is to not allow it to terrorize you. Now, sitting here in my office in Kaua`i, that's a pretty easy thing to say. So let me premise it by saying that I have travelled all over this beautiful planet and, seemingly, wars, revolutions, and conflicts follow me wherever I go. Thank goodness that hasn't happened here.

I was in Greece, during the height of the resistance, just after (US backed)Papadopoulos' brutal military dictatorship ended. I was in Israel/Palestine/Lebanon/Syria during the 2nd Lebanese invasion. I was in a town in Guatemala hours after they killed every man/boy in the town and dumped them in the volcano, (the women were still washing the blood off the street where the men were lined up and executed). I lived in south central Mexico, where the indigenous people of Chiapas weekly blew up the bridge that bordered Guatemala. In Indonesia, the East Timorese were being slaughtered by the military using coordinates supplied to them by the now current National Security Advisor, Gen. James L. Jones.

I'm from New York City and spent my adolescence in Washington D.C. when the mayor was busted for smoking crack with a whore in a motel in S.E. D.C.. At the time, Washington boasted the highest murder rate in the world, comparable only to Watts in the mid-sixties, when an 18 year old black man had a better chance of living to 19 in the Vietnam War, than he did at home. Also I have been an alternative agricultural specialist for over twenty years. Yes, the last twenty years that have been an openly declared war, in my own country, on me. Big helicopters, big guns, and all my friends constantly having the State come and take their children away because they were growing an herb. In my country.

I watched in horror with the rest of the world as the Israelis were killed in Munich. I watched what seemed like monthly hijacking of planes to Cuba, Libya, Somalia. I watched the French and Israelis storm planes, I watched the Basque Separatists blow up trains, the Georgians (Russians) blow up a school of children. I watched our own FBI, during a democratic presidency, burn 80 people to death in Waco, shoot a woman holding her infant son in Idaho.

As all of you alive today know, we have all seen some serious shit.

So why now are willing to throw away our rights to be more "safe"?

Why?

WHY?

We live in a world today where everything has the dubious task of being better, larger, faster, more horrific than anything else, ever, at any time. The best golfer ever. The best home run hitter ever. The worst tragedy in history. The hottest day on record. Worst recession ever.

What do our schools teach children today? Certainly it is not how to read a newspaper or to use proper discernment when coming across information. Knowing your source is a good start. Newspapers have to sell in order to stay in business. But if there is no breaking news that day, then they have nothing to sell. So they make things important so they have something to talk about. Something to sell you. So it has to be sensational in order to get you to buy their product. In order for them to stay in business.

To be an American, to me, has always meant; fuck what the rest of the world does, we are Americans and we will not be deterred in our willingness to live, and/or die, free. You can pry my civil liberties from my cold dead heart, but don't be surprised if I put up a fight even when I'm dead. There have always been factions of individuals and groups that resent what we have, and there always will be. And if they want to come over here and try and pick a fight with us, we will kick their ass back to the stone age.

And yet, the threat to our freedom, our way of life, our Uniquely American Spirit, isn't from the outside at all. It is coming from the inside, in the form of fear mongering, from our own government. Newspapers sell fear. TV sells fear. The government sells fear. Why? Because fear sells. Period. So, in order for you to feel 'safe', you are going to read every fear mongering newspaper and website to prove that you really need to give up all your rights in order to be truly free.

FORGET THAT. DON'T TREAD ON ME. NOT NOW. NOT EVER.

2 comments:

  1. This is a good One!!!!!! Thanks for doing these, Wether is spelled,wether, not weather. LOL The best to you!!!!!!

    Paul

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  2. Thanks Paul. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. Keep the comments coming and keep looking for new postings.

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