A terrible, terrible tragedy struck Norway on July 22nd, 2011. My heartfelt condolences go out to all that lost someone in those terrorist attacks. It is a horrible thing to lose a loved one in such a violent manner. I cannot express enough my dismay when I heard the news. Norway is perhaps one of the last places on earth one would expect such a tragedy to strike. Of course when one hears about such tragedy, it is only natural to scratch one's head and wonder why.
That said, it may be important to remember that tragedies occur on nearly a daily basis in other parts of the world. How many innocent children have been killed in Iraq since the United States and their allies began hostilities in that nation? How many innocents have died in Afghanistan? How many innocents have died in Pakistan? Libya? Is it somehow better because they have died at the hands of generals and the soldiers who obey their orders rather than at the hands of a lone gunman? Is it somehow less shocking? Is it any less terrible? Does the loss of a loved one hurt less because it happened as the result of a military operation? My heartfelt condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones in those terrorist attacks, for what is a full scale military attack if not terrifying?
It seems that we as a species have a strange need to excuse behaviors in supposed authoritarian figures that we find abhorrent, frightening and inhuman in individuals that hold no air of authority. It's almost as if such excuses are psychological bandages or salves applied to the karmic wounds suffered when one somehow identifies himself with another who is obviously engaging in evil doings. I think it would be better if we endeavor to prevent such psychic injury from occurring rather than trying to treat it after the fact.
Why do such tragedies occur? Perhaps it has to do with the lessons such violent people have learned in their lives. Perhaps they have learned that violence works when it comes to solving problems. I'm not talking about overt lessons where one sits and listens to a teacher who tells them violence is the way. I'm talking about more subtle lessons. After all, what is life but an inundation of lessons day in and day out from birth until death? People are constantly and consistently learning and evolving. Perhaps they've seen from childhood that violent means are the means most often utilized when it comes to bringing about social change one wishes to see in the world, or at least that's what they believe they've learned. Perhaps they think that if they truly wish to change the world, the only option they have is through violence. For them, violence works.
I agree that this point of view is misguided, but let's look through history and see why someone might come to think this way. Ancient empires like the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, and even the Chinese profited greatly from violence. Even the Bible tells stories of genocide committed by those who are supposedly God's favorite people. They stole natural resources and made slaves from the other human beings they conquered. In more modern times, the British empire rose and it's people became very prosperous through violence. The American nation was birthed in violence and won its independence through violent means. It grew and morphed into an empire the likes of which the world has never seen. It continues to use violence to maintain its empire and though it has its problems and its standard of living has fallen precipitously over the last couple of decades, it is still viewed as a prosperous and successful nation.
Closer to home, governments have shown how successful people and organizations can be through violence. The tax system proves this. Though nearly everyone complains about taxes and how their money is spent by government, people still tend to defend the system and fail to see the violence inherent in it. Simply put, the only reason people pay taxes is because of the threat of violence hanging over their heads should they refuse. That's extortion. Taxes are theft. Even if you are one of those who claim that they don't believe this to be true and use mental gymnastics to make excuses for the government, I believe that the vast majority of people understand this in their emotional heart and moral spirit if not in their logical mind.
Even though government constantly fails, it is quite successful at stealing money and convincing the masses that such theft is a necessity to societal well being. Central banks are also very adept at this. They steal money in the form of government bailouts and they steal purchasing power in the form of inflation. It's difficult to say who learned from whom, the central banks from government or government from central banks, but it is clear to see the collusion between the two types of institutions. Even today we can see subtle threats of violence coming out of the central banking institutions who claim that we will all suffer great economic calamity if we don't continue to feed the central banking monster.
Take a look at politicians, especially in Washington DC, but likely worldwide, and you will see wealth and success. Most likely don't know what it's like to actually work and be productive for a living, they only know how to finagle and play the system. They know how to lie and manipulate. They know how to be coercive and use enforcers, violence and threats of violence to get what they want. There are none who are more financially successful than the central bankers and they have consistently been the driving force behind most of the violence and wars for centuries. Their fraud and manipulations have caused more harm, death and violence than any measure of good they may have accidentally or incidentally caused. The long and short of it is, whether one knows it or not, one learns the lesson that violence works in the system as it is set up. Is it really any wonder when some so called nutcase decides to act on such knowledge, even when those lessons may be subconscious in nature?
I'm afraid that tragedies like the one that occurred in Norway will continue to occur even in places one would not expect until we start to teach people that peace and non violence work. When the masses begin to learn the lesson that peaceful means of change lead to peace and prosperity, then peace and prosperity will be rewarded and our society will become more peaceful and prosperous. When violence becomes shunned by the masses and more and more people refuse to take part in the violence of the state, there will be fewer incidents of violence. Unfortunately, I don't believe that time has yet arrived, but I do believe the path to that time is open and has been revealed to more people and they are deciding to tread upon it.
I'm fairly certain that the mainstream mass media is not going to look at this incident in the same way. I'm fairly certain they are not going to talk about the violence of the state and how its wars are leading to more people deciding to act out in ways abhorrent to the nature of mankind. Instead, they are going to try to demonize certain political groups and views that they want to squelch. They are going to try to divide and conquer rather than pointing to the root cause of the violence. They want to analyze the problem in a way that will increase the power of centralized government (and its centralized banking cartel) rather than pointing out the huge faults in the system. Watch out for that. Keep your eye out for the propaganda which will seek to perpetuate the violence through violating individual rights rather than alleviate the problem through decentralization.
We have had socialistic systems in place for quite some time now. It just seems to get worse. It just seems to consistently reward failure. It just seems to consistently punish those who seek a better way. Perhaps the time has come to try a better, more voluntary societal model. Make taxes voluntary and allow those who wish to withhold taxes do so with impunity when government funds projects with which they disagree. Allow competition in currency and other services government currently monopolizes. Allow those who use such services to pay for them so that a fair price can be established for such services. Make sure that people engaging in the economy need to be productive to succeed and have something of their own to lose should they fail. In this way, perhaps those who currently believe that violence is their only choice will see other, more positive options.
Don't get me wrong, I don't believe this man should be excused for his actions. He has harmed others and should be held accountable. I am simply making suggestions for how to avoid such tragedies in the future. I am simply suggesting that we examine with great vigor the true nature of how our governments work. I don't believe that any society will ever be a perfect utopia, but I do believe that the only way to become a less violent society is to build less violent governmental systems. The socialists seem to believe that a utopia can be built by violence, but I don't buy that. Fear is the poison that causes hatred. Hatred leads to anger and violence. Violence achieves only death and destruction for both the physical and the spiritual. Because these things are part of humanity, there can never be a utopia, but we can get close if we learn to recognize how concentrating power over others causes human emotion and morality to become corrupt. When we reach that point, perhaps war and such tragedies will be but nightmares remembered upon the wakening of humanity.
My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there and make a donation to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.
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