New revelations from Army medical examiners surfaced this past week, detailing another inconsistency in the death of Pat Tillman. According to the report, Army medical examiners tried unsuccessfully to get the Army to open an investigation into Tillman's death after ruling it appeared Tillman had been shot by an M-16 from a distance of merely ten yards, with no evidence of enemy fire or damage in the area. The evidence, they said, did not match the scene of the crime, with murder being the implication from the examiners. The story is linked here below.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070726/ap_on_re_us/tillman_friendly_fire
What are we, the American people, to take from this information? It is very difficult to believe this was accidental friendly fire at this point, especially with the deception this war has been built upon. It's not like Tillman was hit with one bullet, but three, from a short distance of ten yards. That is too close of a distance to not know your target. Only the blind could make such a mistake, and it's a revelation we all should take seriously. The AP report stops just short of charging murder, but considering the Army's inexistent response, and uncovered congratulatory e-mails from army attorneys for keeping investigators at bay as revealed in the report, such an act wouldn't be the worst deception from our government under Bush. And all of this is on top of the cover up that initially followed Tillman's death. Don't forget, Tillman served as a huge marketing machine for this war, with the Army using his image as a professional athlete and selfless patriot to build up enlistment. Could all of this, Tillman's death and subsequent propagandized cover-up, have been part of a bigger deceit, preplanned and intended? Knocking off a professional athlete to help stir resentment for the enemy. It's not out of the realm of what Bush is capable of, not with his lying about weapons of mass destruction, and the intentionally deceptive claims of a connection between Sadaam and Bin Laden which every unbiased individual knew didn't exist. How could the Army not open an investigation into this? This entire war has been one big deceit and the public should be asking such questions. Everything about Tillman's death has been handled wrong, and now even that is in question.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
We are to blame for creating the terror: The U.S. involvement in Afghanistan leading up to 9/11
Truth is not a partisan issue. The United States assumed the role of the victim following the events of 9/11, but such a view is conceited and lacking in accountability. We were wronged, as were all living beings, with the loss of human life that day. But our loss fails to compare with the brutality we as the United States have brought upon Afghanistan through our Capitalistic pursuits, beginning in 1979. It is Capitalism, along with the greed that accompanies it, which has brought upon widespread death of unfathomable toll. In a ten year span from 1979 tom 1989, an estimated one million Afghani’s lost their lives to a war that was of our creation, deceptively invoked to hinder the Soviets, while at the same time expanding our access to Afghanistan oil. If there is one thing we could have learned from 9/11, it’s that the acts of the “terrorists” were invoked, that these weren’t crazed people from a region simply plagued by jealousy or religious fanaticism, but in fact human beings rebelling against the cause of their suffering. We haven’t learned any of this! Instead, we have remained proud of our lifestyle and defiant of any wrongdoing, seemingly beginning the story from September 11th, 2001, ignoring the causes which led up to it. I have supplied a link below which details a history of Afghanistan and the events which led up to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. Please read the account, but I will offer a summary.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Afghanistan,%20the%20United%20States.htm#_ftnref28
To summarize the above report, in seeking to give the USSR “…its Vietnam war”, the United States CIA began secretly giving funds to Afghanistan resistance fighters, the predecessors to the Taliban, in the hopes of invoking the Soviets into war. We armed them and trained them while advancing the carnage in the region. While fact, history has been recorded with a much different account. Until 1998, it had been largely accepted that the Soviets invaded Afghanistan prior to our involvement in the region, and that our actions were in response, but an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security advisor to Jimmy Carter, and admissions from former CIA director Robert Gates, reveals that the U.S. intended to invoke the Soviets into the region, giving them a war they couldn’t win that took place far away from American soil, which wouldn‘t cost American life. In essence, Afghanistan became a pawn in the Cold War, a battle which ultimately pitted Capitalism against a distorted version of Socialism, amid loads of false propaganda. A link to the Brzezinski interview is below.
http://www.counterpunch.org/brzezinski.html
So, what had begun as a civil war in Afghanistan escalated into a battle of economic systems between two super powers. We armed and trained the predecessors to the Taliban and escalated their war, only to retreat from the region once the Soviet Union and Cold War were no more, no longer of interest to us. We did nothing to clean up a region we ravaged, and offered no foreign aid to help them rebuild. And now, perhaps worst of all, is the knowledge that all of this was intended and created for our own political and economic purposes. A whole region torn apart by war, fueled from our selfish deceit.
Put yourself into the shoes of the people of Afghanistan and you too will understand the resentment they hold towards the United States. Imagine another country fueling a war in our land which didn’t have to be, and finding out later that the side you thought was your ally was actually the cause of your war. Imagine finding out that the ten years of brutality and hell your country experienced, followed by the subsequent years of unaided rebuilding, was the direct result of an outside force misrepresenting themselves to you, using the lives of your citizens to fight their war. We were the terrorists long ago, much worse than the terrorists which struck on 9/11. Our terrorism was deceitful, widespread and of much further harm than anything experienced on 9/11. And worst of all, this is largely unknown.
And now we’re in Iraq, doing it again, involving ourselves in a region we have no business being. Our government clearly won’t learn, so it’s up to the people to seize back control and do what is right. Protests and voting are not enough. In a sick twist to the story, it was our actions back in 1979 which led directly to the opportunity for Bush to capitalize off of 9/11 and proliferate the war in Iraq, again through deception and misleading the truth. Because of the mindset inherent in Capitalism, greed amid the unyielding desire to profit with little to hold it in check, our desire to defeat the Soviets took life from a region we had no place being. Capitalism wants to defeat all opposing economic systems. It knows that Communist and Socialist economies are difficult to trade with and harder to profit off of, due to their great regulations restricting free trade. It’s the same reason we were in Vietnam, ravaging another region guilty of threatening the interests of our elite. When will this stop? When will the masses be able to see the ways they were fooled and hustled? When will the American citizens realize that their government been high jacked, their freedoms stolen and their will deceived? It is our gluttonous lifestyle, one afforded through our abuses of Capitalism, which has allowed these great injustices to proliferate. I have read that we as a nation account for 5% of the world’s population, but consume 25% of it’s resources. Our Capitalism has exhausted the resources within our own country, and to continue the rapid growth our nation has become addicted to, we must invade the economies of other countries and initiate wars to produce our excessive profit. We are the terrorists, not the Taliban. We are the extremists, not Al-Qaeda. When will the American people realize this? Probably not until we’ve invaded Iran.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Afghanistan,%20the%20United%20States.htm#_ftnref28
To summarize the above report, in seeking to give the USSR “…its Vietnam war”, the United States CIA began secretly giving funds to Afghanistan resistance fighters, the predecessors to the Taliban, in the hopes of invoking the Soviets into war. We armed them and trained them while advancing the carnage in the region. While fact, history has been recorded with a much different account. Until 1998, it had been largely accepted that the Soviets invaded Afghanistan prior to our involvement in the region, and that our actions were in response, but an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security advisor to Jimmy Carter, and admissions from former CIA director Robert Gates, reveals that the U.S. intended to invoke the Soviets into the region, giving them a war they couldn’t win that took place far away from American soil, which wouldn‘t cost American life. In essence, Afghanistan became a pawn in the Cold War, a battle which ultimately pitted Capitalism against a distorted version of Socialism, amid loads of false propaganda. A link to the Brzezinski interview is below.
http://www.counterpunch.org/brzezinski.html
So, what had begun as a civil war in Afghanistan escalated into a battle of economic systems between two super powers. We armed and trained the predecessors to the Taliban and escalated their war, only to retreat from the region once the Soviet Union and Cold War were no more, no longer of interest to us. We did nothing to clean up a region we ravaged, and offered no foreign aid to help them rebuild. And now, perhaps worst of all, is the knowledge that all of this was intended and created for our own political and economic purposes. A whole region torn apart by war, fueled from our selfish deceit.
Put yourself into the shoes of the people of Afghanistan and you too will understand the resentment they hold towards the United States. Imagine another country fueling a war in our land which didn’t have to be, and finding out later that the side you thought was your ally was actually the cause of your war. Imagine finding out that the ten years of brutality and hell your country experienced, followed by the subsequent years of unaided rebuilding, was the direct result of an outside force misrepresenting themselves to you, using the lives of your citizens to fight their war. We were the terrorists long ago, much worse than the terrorists which struck on 9/11. Our terrorism was deceitful, widespread and of much further harm than anything experienced on 9/11. And worst of all, this is largely unknown.
And now we’re in Iraq, doing it again, involving ourselves in a region we have no business being. Our government clearly won’t learn, so it’s up to the people to seize back control and do what is right. Protests and voting are not enough. In a sick twist to the story, it was our actions back in 1979 which led directly to the opportunity for Bush to capitalize off of 9/11 and proliferate the war in Iraq, again through deception and misleading the truth. Because of the mindset inherent in Capitalism, greed amid the unyielding desire to profit with little to hold it in check, our desire to defeat the Soviets took life from a region we had no place being. Capitalism wants to defeat all opposing economic systems. It knows that Communist and Socialist economies are difficult to trade with and harder to profit off of, due to their great regulations restricting free trade. It’s the same reason we were in Vietnam, ravaging another region guilty of threatening the interests of our elite. When will this stop? When will the masses be able to see the ways they were fooled and hustled? When will the American citizens realize that their government been high jacked, their freedoms stolen and their will deceived? It is our gluttonous lifestyle, one afforded through our abuses of Capitalism, which has allowed these great injustices to proliferate. I have read that we as a nation account for 5% of the world’s population, but consume 25% of it’s resources. Our Capitalism has exhausted the resources within our own country, and to continue the rapid growth our nation has become addicted to, we must invade the economies of other countries and initiate wars to produce our excessive profit. We are the terrorists, not the Taliban. We are the extremists, not Al-Qaeda. When will the American people realize this? Probably not until we’ve invaded Iran.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Rebuilding the power of the people: A call for revolution
This is the second piece I will be featuring by Tyler Norman. His message is moving. Pass it on.
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Rebuilding New Orleans is another step on our long, arduous, but ever-more fruitful and ever-less lonely path toward a new world...
A world in which peace and justice beat in every heart and love and hope shine on every face.
A world in which environmental and human degradation and oppression exist only in history books.
A world in which violence, greed, hatred, and the capitalism and consumerism which breed them are relegated to their proper place as mortal sins.
A world in which the impending social, political, spiritual, and moral revolution has swept through the human race like a wildfire wind and delivered us to a higher, more enlightened state of being and growing together.
Rebuilding New Orleans is not merely about gutting flooded houses or distributing canned goods and water. Rebuilding New Orleans is not only about attracting tourism or putting pressure on FEMA. Rebuilding New Orleans is not about maintaining the status quo.
People need houses, jobs, and food and water, yes - they also need dignity, self-determination, and compassion. Rebuilding New Orleans is about a complete overhaul of our racist, classist, sexist, morally decrepit society and all of the depression and decay it perpetuates - and we're gonna get it right this time.
And we're gonna make ripples, that turn into waves, that turn into storm surges of power, in the hands of the people, washing away ill-established institutions of the violent, greedy, hateful, self-centered and anti-democratic ruling class.
Yes, you heard me: we're gonna get it right this time.
The people of New Orleans and those that support them are heart-sick and dead-tired of giving in...
Sick and tired of watching their menfolk randomly rounded up like stray dogs, their youth leeched away by concrete and steel.
Sick and tired of watching their womenfolk sacrifice all for their families, to be thanked only by objectification, insult, and abuse.
Sick and tired of watching their children sell their souls to drug-and blood-soaked pop culture.
Sick and tired of watching, and waiting, and ultimately giving in.
Rebuilding New Orleans is about so much more than relief and restoration. It's about re-establishing our rights. It's about re-discovering our history. It's about re-imagining our future. It's about revolutionizing our people, here and now, around this avoidable and utterly inexcusable tragedy.
Hurricane Katrina whisked away the curtain of encouraged ignorance hiding deliberate and calculated injustices in this city. And they are not unique to this city. No... environmental and human degradation and oppression exist worldwide, and it is high time that we all join the ranks of those standing and shouting against them!
But, we must have long vision. The romantic image of the revolutionary as fiery poet dying young at the hands of the enemy is a treacherously false one, a spectacular Trojan Horse bearing the soldiers of the consumerist machine who so eagerly recuperate our outcries for their profit, soldiers who have already co-opted the life-affirming messages of Che Guevara, Malcolm X, and so many others, to be repackaged and sold back to us cleansed of all historical and cultural meaning.
The true revolutionary is one who keeps her ear to the ground, learns from her people, leads by example, and inspires by invoking the power we wield in our unity. The true revolutionary beckons us all to follow her to the social, political, spiritual, and moral high ground, that common ground which no tides of ignorance and deceit can overtop.
The true revolutionary must have long vision. She does not fight only for herself, she does not struggle only for her people. She fights and she struggles for her children and the children of her people, the next generation and all who will follow, because she knows that in spite of all seemingly insurmountable injustices, to live and to share life is an unfathomable blessing, one which must never be forsaken. She knows that though she may bear witness to seemingly endless grief and pain, in time we will overcome!
We in this country must mentor, fight and struggle for our children, and the children of our people, making the most of our step along the path by encouraging and educating the next generation to make theirs a great leap. We must fight and struggle alongside the youth of New Orleans, who are the brightest, dearest treasure we have, and not allow them to be snatched away from us by the willfully neglectful and insidiously deceptive ruling class, who seek to inject the fatal virus of self-loathing and self-destruction in these children, as they have all who have come before them. We must fight and struggle hand in hand with the next generation of New Orleans to ensure that they learn all of the mistakes and successes of past generations, to ensure that they have confidence in themselves and in their communities, to ensure that they have the ability and the will to harness the power we wield in our unity.
We must motivate and assist in improving upon basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills, to revitalize the innate joy for learning and critical analysis, and to foster the development of social skills, civic responsibility, and community leadership potential.
We must educate. Rudimentary logical skills such as literacy and mathematics are gateways to higher learning, as well as vitally important tools for navigating today's complex and often highly oppressive world, and mastery of these skills builds confidence and self-respect. Instinctive curiosity and desire to understand one's experiences often must be rekindled in children whose school and community experiences have been so frustrating that they have lost the will to educate and challenge themselves and their peers. Students who know that the lessons they learn have real-world applicability, and can dramatically enhance their ability to control, organize, and improve their lives and their environments, are eager to learn and prepare themselves for those challenges. We need to inspire.
We must recognize the need to be flexible. Children learn by many different methods, and many have been parented and schooled in ways which have been somewhat destructive to their development. Depending on the needs and abilities of the children, we must employ group discussion-based learning, one-on-one adult mentorship, peer-to-peer tutoring and skill sharing, or free play and exploration, always trying to adapt quickly and positively to the changing dynamics.
Above all, we need to encourage and empower our children to pursue a path of self-improvement for the good of all.
We must begin radicalizing and revolutionizing our children, arming them with the weapons of knowledge to challenge those that try to isolate them and push them down, as they have isolated and pushed down their parents and ancestors. We must arm them with the weapons of knowledge to cry "Enough!" and take their world back into their own hands, to be reshaped for the benefit of their communities and reinvigorated with the enthusiastic and life-affirming vitality of self-empowered youth.
We must fight for our children, so that they may see a brighter day, so that they may continue fighting for their children, so that they may make the next crucial step along that most divine path that is seeking our new world.
Rebuilding New Orleans is not about anything as simple as rebuilding houses and businesses and public services. It is about rebuilding the power of the people. It is about rebuilding our common ground and our common love and hope. It is about rebuilding our world more beautiful than it has ever been, for our children and all who come after.
And yes, we're definitely gonna get it right this time.
And we can do it, undoubtedly, if we come together to unify our struggles and share our resources, if we come together to merge our diverse wisdoms. If we can recognize the innate, divine oneness between ourselves and our seemingly disparate worlds, if we can recognize the great value of solidarity, we can overcome the parasitic ruling class.
But we must have long vision. It will take generations to spread the good word of peace and justice. But many generations precede us. We have inherited a great lineage of revolutionaries and visionaries, and through them, we know we cannot ever give up the fight. Through them, we see the ever-greater value of the ongoing struggle, we see the trajectory of our inherited long vision. We see that our lives bridge one crucial step on a long, arduous path that is steadily bringing our people to a new world. We see that our mission, our goals, our most basic philosophy must ensure that our step is not the last and not the longest, that our step is momentum for our children's great leap. We see ourselves, and our children, as learners and teachers and builders and seekers. We see ourselves, and our children, as true revolutionaries.
For our ancestors, for ourselves, for our children and all who come after -
Peace and Justice -
Love and Hope -
Tyler Norman..
http://www.commongroundrelief.org/
Thank You.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebuilding New Orleans is another step on our long, arduous, but ever-more fruitful and ever-less lonely path toward a new world...
A world in which peace and justice beat in every heart and love and hope shine on every face.
A world in which environmental and human degradation and oppression exist only in history books.
A world in which violence, greed, hatred, and the capitalism and consumerism which breed them are relegated to their proper place as mortal sins.
A world in which the impending social, political, spiritual, and moral revolution has swept through the human race like a wildfire wind and delivered us to a higher, more enlightened state of being and growing together.
Rebuilding New Orleans is not merely about gutting flooded houses or distributing canned goods and water. Rebuilding New Orleans is not only about attracting tourism or putting pressure on FEMA. Rebuilding New Orleans is not about maintaining the status quo.
People need houses, jobs, and food and water, yes - they also need dignity, self-determination, and compassion. Rebuilding New Orleans is about a complete overhaul of our racist, classist, sexist, morally decrepit society and all of the depression and decay it perpetuates - and we're gonna get it right this time.
And we're gonna make ripples, that turn into waves, that turn into storm surges of power, in the hands of the people, washing away ill-established institutions of the violent, greedy, hateful, self-centered and anti-democratic ruling class.
Yes, you heard me: we're gonna get it right this time.
The people of New Orleans and those that support them are heart-sick and dead-tired of giving in...
Sick and tired of watching their menfolk randomly rounded up like stray dogs, their youth leeched away by concrete and steel.
Sick and tired of watching their womenfolk sacrifice all for their families, to be thanked only by objectification, insult, and abuse.
Sick and tired of watching their children sell their souls to drug-and blood-soaked pop culture.
Sick and tired of watching, and waiting, and ultimately giving in.
Rebuilding New Orleans is about so much more than relief and restoration. It's about re-establishing our rights. It's about re-discovering our history. It's about re-imagining our future. It's about revolutionizing our people, here and now, around this avoidable and utterly inexcusable tragedy.
Hurricane Katrina whisked away the curtain of encouraged ignorance hiding deliberate and calculated injustices in this city. And they are not unique to this city. No... environmental and human degradation and oppression exist worldwide, and it is high time that we all join the ranks of those standing and shouting against them!
But, we must have long vision. The romantic image of the revolutionary as fiery poet dying young at the hands of the enemy is a treacherously false one, a spectacular Trojan Horse bearing the soldiers of the consumerist machine who so eagerly recuperate our outcries for their profit, soldiers who have already co-opted the life-affirming messages of Che Guevara, Malcolm X, and so many others, to be repackaged and sold back to us cleansed of all historical and cultural meaning.
The true revolutionary is one who keeps her ear to the ground, learns from her people, leads by example, and inspires by invoking the power we wield in our unity. The true revolutionary beckons us all to follow her to the social, political, spiritual, and moral high ground, that common ground which no tides of ignorance and deceit can overtop.
The true revolutionary must have long vision. She does not fight only for herself, she does not struggle only for her people. She fights and she struggles for her children and the children of her people, the next generation and all who will follow, because she knows that in spite of all seemingly insurmountable injustices, to live and to share life is an unfathomable blessing, one which must never be forsaken. She knows that though she may bear witness to seemingly endless grief and pain, in time we will overcome!
We in this country must mentor, fight and struggle for our children, and the children of our people, making the most of our step along the path by encouraging and educating the next generation to make theirs a great leap. We must fight and struggle alongside the youth of New Orleans, who are the brightest, dearest treasure we have, and not allow them to be snatched away from us by the willfully neglectful and insidiously deceptive ruling class, who seek to inject the fatal virus of self-loathing and self-destruction in these children, as they have all who have come before them. We must fight and struggle hand in hand with the next generation of New Orleans to ensure that they learn all of the mistakes and successes of past generations, to ensure that they have confidence in themselves and in their communities, to ensure that they have the ability and the will to harness the power we wield in our unity.
We must motivate and assist in improving upon basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills, to revitalize the innate joy for learning and critical analysis, and to foster the development of social skills, civic responsibility, and community leadership potential.
We must educate. Rudimentary logical skills such as literacy and mathematics are gateways to higher learning, as well as vitally important tools for navigating today's complex and often highly oppressive world, and mastery of these skills builds confidence and self-respect. Instinctive curiosity and desire to understand one's experiences often must be rekindled in children whose school and community experiences have been so frustrating that they have lost the will to educate and challenge themselves and their peers. Students who know that the lessons they learn have real-world applicability, and can dramatically enhance their ability to control, organize, and improve their lives and their environments, are eager to learn and prepare themselves for those challenges. We need to inspire.
We must recognize the need to be flexible. Children learn by many different methods, and many have been parented and schooled in ways which have been somewhat destructive to their development. Depending on the needs and abilities of the children, we must employ group discussion-based learning, one-on-one adult mentorship, peer-to-peer tutoring and skill sharing, or free play and exploration, always trying to adapt quickly and positively to the changing dynamics.
Above all, we need to encourage and empower our children to pursue a path of self-improvement for the good of all.
We must begin radicalizing and revolutionizing our children, arming them with the weapons of knowledge to challenge those that try to isolate them and push them down, as they have isolated and pushed down their parents and ancestors. We must arm them with the weapons of knowledge to cry "Enough!" and take their world back into their own hands, to be reshaped for the benefit of their communities and reinvigorated with the enthusiastic and life-affirming vitality of self-empowered youth.
We must fight for our children, so that they may see a brighter day, so that they may continue fighting for their children, so that they may make the next crucial step along that most divine path that is seeking our new world.
Rebuilding New Orleans is not about anything as simple as rebuilding houses and businesses and public services. It is about rebuilding the power of the people. It is about rebuilding our common ground and our common love and hope. It is about rebuilding our world more beautiful than it has ever been, for our children and all who come after.
And yes, we're definitely gonna get it right this time.
And we can do it, undoubtedly, if we come together to unify our struggles and share our resources, if we come together to merge our diverse wisdoms. If we can recognize the innate, divine oneness between ourselves and our seemingly disparate worlds, if we can recognize the great value of solidarity, we can overcome the parasitic ruling class.
But we must have long vision. It will take generations to spread the good word of peace and justice. But many generations precede us. We have inherited a great lineage of revolutionaries and visionaries, and through them, we know we cannot ever give up the fight. Through them, we see the ever-greater value of the ongoing struggle, we see the trajectory of our inherited long vision. We see that our lives bridge one crucial step on a long, arduous path that is steadily bringing our people to a new world. We see that our mission, our goals, our most basic philosophy must ensure that our step is not the last and not the longest, that our step is momentum for our children's great leap. We see ourselves, and our children, as learners and teachers and builders and seekers. We see ourselves, and our children, as true revolutionaries.
For our ancestors, for ourselves, for our children and all who come after -
Peace and Justice -
Love and Hope -
Tyler Norman..
http://www.commongroundrelief.org/
Thank You.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The truth of Katrina, nearly two years removed
The response to and recovery from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is a prime illustration of what the disparity of wealth means in the United States. We constantly hear how prosperous our economy is, though that story is always told from the perspective of the wealthy, not from the perspective of the majority in this nation who are predestined to suffer through the systemic injustices they are born into. The sad reality is that our society is setup to favor the elite, whom are quick to ignore the disadvantaged, who capitalize off of them however possible whenever opportunity arises. The response in New York by our government following 9/11 was immediate, unlike in New Orleans and the surrounding areas following Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita in 2005. The reason is simple: money.
Nearly two years removed from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, little progress has been made in the recovery efforts. Our government’s response has been less than stellar, and the tragedy of the moment is slowly fading from the public conscience. State Farm Insurance has come to profit like a bandit off of the tragedy, refusing to cover thousands of homeowners who lost everything, manipulating the system to serve in their favor citing technicalities that have been refuted by even their own engineers. The fact that such a lackadaisical response would never happen to a wealthy and predominately white area has been largely forgotten. There are lessons we need to learn from this tragedy and apply in reforming our society.
I would like to make available the unique experiences of an acquaintance I have had the fortune of meeting in the last year named Tyler Norman. Tyler has helped assist in the recovery efforts of New Orleans and was a member of Common Ground Collective, a volunteer group assisting in the rebuilding efforts of hurricane ravaged areas. Below is a portion of an open letter he wrote to his community following his return from New Orleans. He offers a unique perspective, one unmatched by the media. I cannot help but stress the role that economics have played in this tragedy, and note how wrong it is in this day and age to have money preside over life, especially in a country as “wealthy” as ours. I will follow this letter in a few days with another piece written by Tyler emphasizing the hope that we need to create from this tragedy.
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... We are working with lawyers, construction workers, computer geeks, doctors, business professionals, college students, hippies, anarchists, black nationalists, ‘illegal’ immigrants, white, black, brown, whatever (hence the name Common Ground).Interestingly, the massive majority of people who have volunteered their time have been 'alternative' white college students. Unfortunately, for the most part, these people have been unskilled, ignorant, and arrogant. Many have come to New Orleans because they want something to put on their resumes - their 'virtue' resumes, or in some cases, they even get college credit. Many come because they want to prove that they are hip enough to reject their ruling class status and go hang with 'those fascinating, gritty, black folk.’Many of them just don’t understand that it’s not a freak accident that the poor areas of town got flooded with up to 15ft of toxic water, while the rich areas got 2 ft or less. Many of them don’t understand the fact that rebuilding efforts are being deliberately slowed down, and jobs are being deliberately taken away from New Orleanians who wish to return, and given to Latino immigrant workers who have been scammed into getting H-2B visas which basically make them slaves to the companies which brought them in.Many of them do not understand that the elite in New Orleans are thrilled by this hurricane, as it has been a chance to destroy the public housing projects (5500 undamaged units are being torn down), the medical support nets (the only low-income hospital in the city is still closed), the public schools and the teachers union (the largest union in the state of Louisiana, it was also the only union led by black women, its membership represented the highest percentage of college educated black folk, home-owning black folk, and voters in the city; now they are basically blacklisted). They do not understand that the entire school system is being wrenched out of the grip of the public and turned over to businesses, to run 'charter schools' which are funded by, but not accountable to, taxpayers. One public high school in New Orleans (with nearly 100% black population, as are nearly all public schools - nearly all white folks have enough money to get into private schools, or live in the suburbs where public schools actually work) is being transformed into a 'career school' where only three 'careers' are offered – general construction, food service, and data entry. The racist cynicism of this is disgustingly obvious.
We’ve been trying to educate these volunteers, while at the same time working like mad to try to first prevent things from going to hell, and second to try to assist people in getting back on their feet and seizing control over their lives and their city once again. We all hope that this kind of effort is something which can grow into, or feed, a larger movement, so we encourage volunteers to return home, if they have opened their eyes and gained knowledge of the true state of affairs, and educate others.
So after spending countless hours working to get rudimentary kids programs running in neighborhoods where they have very little (ie free breakfast, after school programs, sports, summer programs), I badly needed to take a break and go home to relax briefly, process my thoughts, and prepare to jump back in at full energy. And what did I find when I got here?
Neo-Nazis rallying on the steps of the Wisconsin state capitol building (the National Socialist Movement, or NSM, is the fastest growing white power organization in the United States - still not as big as the KKK, but they send all of their members through paramilitary training, so they at least hope to pose a major threat).Of course, about 1200 people came hoping to drive them away. But the state brought in300 police, in riot gear, on horses, with mace and tear gas, surveilling from the rooftops, undercovers creeping around, etc, just to protect the Nazis, who were taunting the jeering crowd by laughing and waving, doing 'Heil Hitler' salutes constantly, and pointing and shouting insults at any non-white members of the crowd (which were few. Nazis are relatively strong in this area because the population is something like 90% white, most of that being German or Scandinavian – in other words, 'Aryan'). The police even lined up shoulder-to- shoulder, pushing through the crowd to provide a protective barrier as the Nazis entered the capitol building from the back, walked through the middle and completely shut things down in there, stood on their stage protected by a specially-constructed 10 ft high fence and separated from the crowd by a 300 ft lawn and rank upon rank of police, and went out the same way once they were finished. All of these police were there because this exact same group of Nazis incited a riot in Toledo, Ohio a few months ago, and politicians were afraid the same thing would happen here. But they didn’t revoke their demonstration permit, they gave them protection as they shouted horrible things like 'We need a ‘Final Solution’ for this illegal immigrant problem!' and nonsensical things like 'We don’t hate Jews and Mexicans and Black people because we are racist – we hate them because they are conspiring to destroy the white master race!'The focus of the half-dozen speeches conducted during their 2 hour rally was the fact that the United States government should bring its troops home because stomping Black and Brown folks here is more important than doing it elsewhere...
Unfortunately I do not have the ability to bring this all together into some sort of really conclusive deeper truth. I do, however, feel that the contradictions and conflicts present in these stories provide an interesting anecdotal glimpse into the insanity that is the society of the United States. While a strong and very influential sector of we, the people, are more than willing to organize ourselves for the betterment of all, governments spend massive amounts of money, strong-armed out of hard-working citizens, to protect hateful racists, while doing next to nothing to educate our children.The time for idleness and apathy is long past. I implore you all to demand better.
In Solidarity,
Tyler Norman..
http://www.commongroundrelief.org/
Nearly two years removed from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, little progress has been made in the recovery efforts. Our government’s response has been less than stellar, and the tragedy of the moment is slowly fading from the public conscience. State Farm Insurance has come to profit like a bandit off of the tragedy, refusing to cover thousands of homeowners who lost everything, manipulating the system to serve in their favor citing technicalities that have been refuted by even their own engineers. The fact that such a lackadaisical response would never happen to a wealthy and predominately white area has been largely forgotten. There are lessons we need to learn from this tragedy and apply in reforming our society.
I would like to make available the unique experiences of an acquaintance I have had the fortune of meeting in the last year named Tyler Norman. Tyler has helped assist in the recovery efforts of New Orleans and was a member of Common Ground Collective, a volunteer group assisting in the rebuilding efforts of hurricane ravaged areas. Below is a portion of an open letter he wrote to his community following his return from New Orleans. He offers a unique perspective, one unmatched by the media. I cannot help but stress the role that economics have played in this tragedy, and note how wrong it is in this day and age to have money preside over life, especially in a country as “wealthy” as ours. I will follow this letter in a few days with another piece written by Tyler emphasizing the hope that we need to create from this tragedy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
... We are working with lawyers, construction workers, computer geeks, doctors, business professionals, college students, hippies, anarchists, black nationalists, ‘illegal’ immigrants, white, black, brown, whatever (hence the name Common Ground).Interestingly, the massive majority of people who have volunteered their time have been 'alternative' white college students. Unfortunately, for the most part, these people have been unskilled, ignorant, and arrogant. Many have come to New Orleans because they want something to put on their resumes - their 'virtue' resumes, or in some cases, they even get college credit. Many come because they want to prove that they are hip enough to reject their ruling class status and go hang with 'those fascinating, gritty, black folk.’Many of them just don’t understand that it’s not a freak accident that the poor areas of town got flooded with up to 15ft of toxic water, while the rich areas got 2 ft or less. Many of them don’t understand the fact that rebuilding efforts are being deliberately slowed down, and jobs are being deliberately taken away from New Orleanians who wish to return, and given to Latino immigrant workers who have been scammed into getting H-2B visas which basically make them slaves to the companies which brought them in.Many of them do not understand that the elite in New Orleans are thrilled by this hurricane, as it has been a chance to destroy the public housing projects (5500 undamaged units are being torn down), the medical support nets (the only low-income hospital in the city is still closed), the public schools and the teachers union (the largest union in the state of Louisiana, it was also the only union led by black women, its membership represented the highest percentage of college educated black folk, home-owning black folk, and voters in the city; now they are basically blacklisted). They do not understand that the entire school system is being wrenched out of the grip of the public and turned over to businesses, to run 'charter schools' which are funded by, but not accountable to, taxpayers. One public high school in New Orleans (with nearly 100% black population, as are nearly all public schools - nearly all white folks have enough money to get into private schools, or live in the suburbs where public schools actually work) is being transformed into a 'career school' where only three 'careers' are offered – general construction, food service, and data entry. The racist cynicism of this is disgustingly obvious.
We’ve been trying to educate these volunteers, while at the same time working like mad to try to first prevent things from going to hell, and second to try to assist people in getting back on their feet and seizing control over their lives and their city once again. We all hope that this kind of effort is something which can grow into, or feed, a larger movement, so we encourage volunteers to return home, if they have opened their eyes and gained knowledge of the true state of affairs, and educate others.
So after spending countless hours working to get rudimentary kids programs running in neighborhoods where they have very little (ie free breakfast, after school programs, sports, summer programs), I badly needed to take a break and go home to relax briefly, process my thoughts, and prepare to jump back in at full energy. And what did I find when I got here?
Neo-Nazis rallying on the steps of the Wisconsin state capitol building (the National Socialist Movement, or NSM, is the fastest growing white power organization in the United States - still not as big as the KKK, but they send all of their members through paramilitary training, so they at least hope to pose a major threat).Of course, about 1200 people came hoping to drive them away. But the state brought in300 police, in riot gear, on horses, with mace and tear gas, surveilling from the rooftops, undercovers creeping around, etc, just to protect the Nazis, who were taunting the jeering crowd by laughing and waving, doing 'Heil Hitler' salutes constantly, and pointing and shouting insults at any non-white members of the crowd (which were few. Nazis are relatively strong in this area because the population is something like 90% white, most of that being German or Scandinavian – in other words, 'Aryan'). The police even lined up shoulder-to- shoulder, pushing through the crowd to provide a protective barrier as the Nazis entered the capitol building from the back, walked through the middle and completely shut things down in there, stood on their stage protected by a specially-constructed 10 ft high fence and separated from the crowd by a 300 ft lawn and rank upon rank of police, and went out the same way once they were finished. All of these police were there because this exact same group of Nazis incited a riot in Toledo, Ohio a few months ago, and politicians were afraid the same thing would happen here. But they didn’t revoke their demonstration permit, they gave them protection as they shouted horrible things like 'We need a ‘Final Solution’ for this illegal immigrant problem!' and nonsensical things like 'We don’t hate Jews and Mexicans and Black people because we are racist – we hate them because they are conspiring to destroy the white master race!'The focus of the half-dozen speeches conducted during their 2 hour rally was the fact that the United States government should bring its troops home because stomping Black and Brown folks here is more important than doing it elsewhere...
Unfortunately I do not have the ability to bring this all together into some sort of really conclusive deeper truth. I do, however, feel that the contradictions and conflicts present in these stories provide an interesting anecdotal glimpse into the insanity that is the society of the United States. While a strong and very influential sector of we, the people, are more than willing to organize ourselves for the betterment of all, governments spend massive amounts of money, strong-armed out of hard-working citizens, to protect hateful racists, while doing next to nothing to educate our children.The time for idleness and apathy is long past. I implore you all to demand better.
In Solidarity,
Tyler Norman..
http://www.commongroundrelief.org/
Monday, July 16, 2007
Forget about impeachment, lets see them indicted
The court of public perception is finally beginning to see through the deception that has been the Bush/Cheney Presidency. You have to be pretty wealthy and economically minded at this point to be a believer in Bush and the ways he has sidestepped the law, in lue of the many factual wrongs he has committed and passed off on others. These wrongs include lying about the existence of weapons of mass destruction, the creation of a link between Sadaam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden which never existed, coercing the nation to accept his war through fear and false propaganda, the pardoning of Lewis Libby amid Bush’s attempt to cover up the truth in the CIA leak and the order of Harriet Miers to defy a congressional summons pertaining to Bush’s involvement in the dismissal of eight federal judges, to name just a few. There has never been a bigger act of fraud committed on the American people than the war that we currently find ourselves in. The fact is every loss of human life, (both American and the enemy, whomever that may be) is the direct result of the lies and deceptions of Bush and Cheney. We simply wouldn’t be where we are had the public been told the truth, rather than misled, following 9/11. Impeachment isn’t enough, we need greater action.
Bush has held no regard for the law during his Presidency, doing as he pleases and simply threatening national security the moment anyone has attempted to hold him in check. He has capitalized, disturbingly, off of the biggest act of terrorism to ever hit American soil, using 9/11 as a rallying cry for the war in Iraq, despite no connection to Afghanistan. This is treasonous in the sense that our nation has been betrayed and our government undermined. Our image has been shattered, and our global standing weakened. It is treason because our government has lost it's credibility among world powers, all through the betrayal of trust and confidence Bush has parleyed onto our country through his reckless wagings of war, profiting off of the oil he selfishly covets. He has internationally destroyed the legitimacy of our government and continues to do this unchecked. We as American citizens are the enemy of the free world, no longer the envy we once prided ourselves to be. How can we claim to be the defenders of freedom when we continue to dictate the outcomes of others, such as in Vietnam and Iraq, along with the third world economic trade market we continue to impoverish? We must assume responsibility over ourselves before another decides to again. This starts with our admission of guilt to our actions since 9/11 and a change to our international ways.
Convicting Bush and Cheney of their numerous crimes, backed with stiff sentences, while vowing to change our international policies, would go along way in restoring our credibility among the international community. We cannot fight fire with fire and assume that our actions will continue to go unchecked. Never once was there any attempt to understand the enemy’s position. Both Bush and Cheney are guilty of fraud, treason, international terrorism, murder and obstruction of justice, in viewing the ways they created and proliferated this war. It is imperative that we not allow the damage that Bush and Cheney have caused to go unpunished. All I hear are cries for impeachment, but there are far bigger issues at stake. We must set a precedent that these types of irresponsible actions will not be tolerated, and that nobody in this nation is above the law or their own social responsibilities. We need to bring justice to our leaders who have brought great injustices to so many. We need to refrain from the self righteous attitude our economical prosperity has created, and respect the interests of others all around the globe. We need to recognize that the war on terror begins on American soil. We need to convict Bush and Cheney. The truth is there for all to see.
Bush has held no regard for the law during his Presidency, doing as he pleases and simply threatening national security the moment anyone has attempted to hold him in check. He has capitalized, disturbingly, off of the biggest act of terrorism to ever hit American soil, using 9/11 as a rallying cry for the war in Iraq, despite no connection to Afghanistan. This is treasonous in the sense that our nation has been betrayed and our government undermined. Our image has been shattered, and our global standing weakened. It is treason because our government has lost it's credibility among world powers, all through the betrayal of trust and confidence Bush has parleyed onto our country through his reckless wagings of war, profiting off of the oil he selfishly covets. He has internationally destroyed the legitimacy of our government and continues to do this unchecked. We as American citizens are the enemy of the free world, no longer the envy we once prided ourselves to be. How can we claim to be the defenders of freedom when we continue to dictate the outcomes of others, such as in Vietnam and Iraq, along with the third world economic trade market we continue to impoverish? We must assume responsibility over ourselves before another decides to again. This starts with our admission of guilt to our actions since 9/11 and a change to our international ways.
Convicting Bush and Cheney of their numerous crimes, backed with stiff sentences, while vowing to change our international policies, would go along way in restoring our credibility among the international community. We cannot fight fire with fire and assume that our actions will continue to go unchecked. Never once was there any attempt to understand the enemy’s position. Both Bush and Cheney are guilty of fraud, treason, international terrorism, murder and obstruction of justice, in viewing the ways they created and proliferated this war. It is imperative that we not allow the damage that Bush and Cheney have caused to go unpunished. All I hear are cries for impeachment, but there are far bigger issues at stake. We must set a precedent that these types of irresponsible actions will not be tolerated, and that nobody in this nation is above the law or their own social responsibilities. We need to bring justice to our leaders who have brought great injustices to so many. We need to refrain from the self righteous attitude our economical prosperity has created, and respect the interests of others all around the globe. We need to recognize that the war on terror begins on American soil. We need to convict Bush and Cheney. The truth is there for all to see.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The power of special interests
We no longer have a democracy in the United States of America. We are closer to a bureaucracy at this point, one kept in check and run by the elite, feeding off of a trusting and ignorant public. Special interests from the elite continue to influence congressional decisions, impact the direction and outcome of our economy, sway the opinions of the general public and continue to destroy our once functioning democracy. While the uncapped potential fanaticized about in the American Dream sounds appealing, the reality is far darker than often spoken. We have proven as a society unable to manage ourselves ethically in an unregulated manner. We now are managed by the elite.
A fitting example of this is found in the world of student loans. I was unaware but unsurprised to learn of the influence that special interests have had on the financial aid process. It is a glaring illustration of our economy gone wrong, as the article by Liz Pulliam Weston details, linked at the end of the paragraph. How can we allow businesses and individuals to pay for special privileges, to sidestep the competitive balance this nation was founded on, in the name of their own personal profit? College students, ones already financially challenged, are falling prey to lurking corporate money mongers who provide no societal worth, who are capitalizing off of a system meant as a public service. Student loan officers have admitted receiving special gifts, stock options and consulting fees from private lenders to steer students towards private loans, when subsidized federal loans with a lower interest rate were available. This is the result of an unregulated market: each for themself with no care for another.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/SavingForCollege/HowDidStudentLoansGetSoSleazy.aspx
This is just another example among many of how special interests are destroying our society and democracy. Our congressmen are continually showered with gifts and donations from various groups, which directly impact their congressional decisions. Entire campaigns are funded by outside forces hoping to cash in once that candidate is in power. Innocent citizens are taken of their money through deceptive, under the table business practices. This is collusion. If we allow our economy to continue unregulated, these types of abuses will continue to occur. We need a regulated economy. I'm not talking communism, but there are numerous markets that need to be taken out of the private sector and nationalized for the public good. We need to forcefully lessen the gap between the rich and the rest, creating an environment in which special interests cannot thrive. Higher taxes for the elite are a must. We need the court of law to become the court of common sense, to recognize and punish individuals who are attempting to manipulate the system for their own personal good. We need a complete overhaul of the American mindset. The fact is, money and elitism have stolen Democracy.
A fitting example of this is found in the world of student loans. I was unaware but unsurprised to learn of the influence that special interests have had on the financial aid process. It is a glaring illustration of our economy gone wrong, as the article by Liz Pulliam Weston details, linked at the end of the paragraph. How can we allow businesses and individuals to pay for special privileges, to sidestep the competitive balance this nation was founded on, in the name of their own personal profit? College students, ones already financially challenged, are falling prey to lurking corporate money mongers who provide no societal worth, who are capitalizing off of a system meant as a public service. Student loan officers have admitted receiving special gifts, stock options and consulting fees from private lenders to steer students towards private loans, when subsidized federal loans with a lower interest rate were available. This is the result of an unregulated market: each for themself with no care for another.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/SavingForCollege/HowDidStudentLoansGetSoSleazy.aspx
This is just another example among many of how special interests are destroying our society and democracy. Our congressmen are continually showered with gifts and donations from various groups, which directly impact their congressional decisions. Entire campaigns are funded by outside forces hoping to cash in once that candidate is in power. Innocent citizens are taken of their money through deceptive, under the table business practices. This is collusion. If we allow our economy to continue unregulated, these types of abuses will continue to occur. We need a regulated economy. I'm not talking communism, but there are numerous markets that need to be taken out of the private sector and nationalized for the public good. We need to forcefully lessen the gap between the rich and the rest, creating an environment in which special interests cannot thrive. Higher taxes for the elite are a must. We need the court of law to become the court of common sense, to recognize and punish individuals who are attempting to manipulate the system for their own personal good. We need a complete overhaul of the American mindset. The fact is, money and elitism have stolen Democracy.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Libby and Bush own the law
The pardon of Scooter Libby represents much more than a breach of our legal system. It represents the degradation of our eroded state of democracy, the numerous holes in our legal system, and the special privileges the elite receive which allow them to do as they please. More troubling, it represent how powerless the citizens of the most powerful nation in the world are in seeing justice served over their land. It represents the complete breakdown in our system of checks and balances, with the Press and our culture equally to blame. Who are we kidding? There is no law when the Commander in Chief holds such a blatant disregard for the system, doing no wrong as he wishes and pleases with nothing to hold him in check.
We have come a long way from our once functioning system of checks and balances, though the true reason for this is often unrecognized and attributed elsewhere. There is such a large amount of money in the hands of so few people in this country, that the elite can simply afford to buy their way, using special interests and gifts to sidestep the law. The fact that there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor, coupled with the ever shrinking middle class, assures that the power of the wealthy is greater now than ever. At no other point in United States history have such a few people possessed as much power, and it all has to do with our unregulated economic system.
Consider the Press. Originally intended to keep the elite in our country in check, it has been overrun with special interests in our profit driven culture, and now is essentially run by the elite. Glenn Greenwald's article, linked at the end of this paragraph, provides an accurate snapshot of the role that the Press has played during Bush's Presidency. What is ignored, however, is the role that economics have played in the process. If the Press were strictly functioning out of design, the public opinion never would have bought into the President's initial claims of a link between Sadaam and Bin Laden had the proper research been done and reported. There would have been no great patriotic movement after 9/11. The public would have been informed of our role in the Taliban's history and aware of our true motives for going to war, aware of the reasons that we were attacked in the first place. The public would have known that we have been the terrorists to that region for quite some time. But that is no longer the goal of our Press. It strictly has shifted to profit, where money determines what news will be told.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/07/03/libby/index.html
Back to Bush's pardon of Libby. He knows that the mainstream press is powerless, unwilling to publish such radical critiques out of fear of offending it's readers. This is economically sanctioned. He knows too that he has the money and connections to rise above the law, and that pardoning Libby was a good way to ensure this continues. The reason Bush was able to rise to the Presidency was through large donations from numerous wealthy individuals, all of whom are Republican, who are adamant in defending Libby. Knowing he has the power to pardon, Bush no doubt urged Libby to lie, guaranteeing his freedom regardless of the law. Bush knows he's above the law and has the fortune to stay there.
So where to place blame? You cannot blame the individuals running the system when the system is what's running them. The problem is too widespread to point to a single source for this injustice we as Americans face, aside from our economic philosophy. Unregulated Capitalism, the free market glorified in the American Dream, does not work in a Democracy. It is not a system that serves the people, but a system that serves those who have what is sought: Money. It is a fact that special interests from the elite have shifted the tax laws into their favor, allowing the fortunes of the elite to balloon since the Reagan administration. It is a fact that with money comes power, and with power: corruption. Perhaps if we all were a bit more equal, we wouldn’t be bullied with ease. Until then, Bush and Libby are above the law.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Imagine what caused this mindset?
I was sitting down after a softball game last night I had played in, enjoying a beer and a brat (3 for 3 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI‘s, 13-3 in five), when a conversation I overheard between my teammates left me speechless. They were discussing the fireworks show this past Friday that took place at the Springfield Bar softball diamond. The show was wonderful, the best I have ever seen only trumping last years, and opened with a patriotic moment of silence honoring those who have served in the name of our country. The Iraq war was on the minds of all those in the crowd no doubt, as the moment of silence was quickly segued into a stirring rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine, no accident by whomever arranged the music I would think. I felt the song was timely, and the message more important now than ever, which was why the impact on the conversation I overheard was so profound on myself. Our team had gathered in the stands behind home plate after the game, when a man in his early 30’s whom I didn’t know began conversing with a few others on my team, obviously on familiar terms with them. He said the show was great, but really questioned the playing of Imagine, for as we all know Imagine is a Communist song, and not really appropriate considering the Fourth of July and our war in Iraq. I was shocked. A song about peace, Humanism and a brotherhood of Man, likened to the propagandized misunderstanding of Communism so many in this country have taken to. Imagining nothing to kill or die for, as somehow, a negative.
John Lennon claimed the song was “an anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song” and even likened it to the Communist Manifesto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_(song), but that doesn‘t lessen the message of the song. What fascinates me is the application to patriotism the one man claimed in denouncing the lyrics outright, as if one is more American by rejecting these values. As a refresher:
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
Now if that’s being a Communist then count me in, though I hardly consider myself one. I am fascinated however with the mindset of the man who made this Communist jab, and what it says about the Dream that he and many of us are living in this country. There are many deceptions put forth by our ruling class that we all need to beware of and take action against. To begin with, Communism isn’t defined in this country as being an economic system which guarantees that the basic needs of a society are met over the wants and the greed of the elite, it is defined as a failed oppressive economic model, which just so happens to threaten the interests of the Capitalist elite. It is the same as with Socialism, both often claimed to be great in theory but failures in life. Very few understand that neither of these two models have ever been tested by a legitimate democratic government, as our government claims to be, and that the negative stigma each one possesses is due strictly to the propaganda funded by the elite in our country, who are personally threatened by such economic systems. It simply has become common knowledge in our country that Communism and Socialism are bad while Capitalism is good, which makes sense considering how black and white we’ve become philosophically.
I want to point out that all opinions are influenced, and that there is a basic responsibility we all have in researching the roots of our influences. John Lennon’s message may have been Communist in nature, but what that means to the man at the softball diamond is the issue at stake. Blanketed stereotypes have replaced education in so many cases of public debate. Fact is no longer an important part of opinion, where money has funded great false propaganda campaigns. This is the Dream that I speak of, the deceptive impressions our government has worked to create which favor the already prosperous. It has truly become a bad Dream when such an ‘abstraction and release from reality’ causes one to denounce Imagine for it‘s Communist, and therefore, harmful message.
Imagine that!
John Lennon claimed the song was “an anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song” and even likened it to the Communist Manifesto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_(song), but that doesn‘t lessen the message of the song. What fascinates me is the application to patriotism the one man claimed in denouncing the lyrics outright, as if one is more American by rejecting these values. As a refresher:
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
Now if that’s being a Communist then count me in, though I hardly consider myself one. I am fascinated however with the mindset of the man who made this Communist jab, and what it says about the Dream that he and many of us are living in this country. There are many deceptions put forth by our ruling class that we all need to beware of and take action against. To begin with, Communism isn’t defined in this country as being an economic system which guarantees that the basic needs of a society are met over the wants and the greed of the elite, it is defined as a failed oppressive economic model, which just so happens to threaten the interests of the Capitalist elite. It is the same as with Socialism, both often claimed to be great in theory but failures in life. Very few understand that neither of these two models have ever been tested by a legitimate democratic government, as our government claims to be, and that the negative stigma each one possesses is due strictly to the propaganda funded by the elite in our country, who are personally threatened by such economic systems. It simply has become common knowledge in our country that Communism and Socialism are bad while Capitalism is good, which makes sense considering how black and white we’ve become philosophically.
I want to point out that all opinions are influenced, and that there is a basic responsibility we all have in researching the roots of our influences. John Lennon’s message may have been Communist in nature, but what that means to the man at the softball diamond is the issue at stake. Blanketed stereotypes have replaced education in so many cases of public debate. Fact is no longer an important part of opinion, where money has funded great false propaganda campaigns. This is the Dream that I speak of, the deceptive impressions our government has worked to create which favor the already prosperous. It has truly become a bad Dream when such an ‘abstraction and release from reality’ causes one to denounce Imagine for it‘s Communist, and therefore, harmful message.
Imagine that!
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