This post was originally posted on November 12th, 2006 at americanchronicle.com. It was written just after the Democrats won the 2006 elections.
I don’t like to wake up in the morning. I wake up as a progression, hitting the snooze button after the alarm goes off, rolling over and going back to sleep for a few more minutes. I do this a couple of times. It’s psychological, I suppose. It gets me ready for the day. Problem is, every once in a while I hit the snooze button one too many times and end up rushing through or skipping some of my morning routine so I won’t be late for work. There are times when hitting the snooze button is appropriate and times when it is not. Now is not the time for America to hit the snooze button.
A few days ago the American people spoke at the voting polls. They sent a loud and clear message to their representatives that they wanted a change in leadership, they wanted an end to the war in Iraq, they wanted investigations into corruption and they wanted the unconstitutional laws that have been recently passed repealed. They gave the Democrats the reigns of power and a mandate to do something with them. Time to celebrate, right? I don’t think so. What has happened in the interim is less than encouraging. Perhaps we popped the corks a bit too soon. The Democratic Party has more or less already told the American people in no uncertain terms “Up yours.” They have said “We don’t give a rat's behind what you want, we are going to cooperate with the Republican party and continue our corrupt ways.”
Pelosi has said impeaching Bush is off the table. Off the table? An MSNBC poll says 87% of the people want to see Bush impeached. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904
87%. That’s a lot. Why is it that Ms. Pelosi does not care what 87% of the people think? What about Dean and Conyers? They are also stating there will be no impeachment, there will be no investigations, there will be no repealing of laws that do away posse comitatus and habeas corpus, there will be no change in the conduct of the war in Iraq and they may even send more troops into the firestorm. Why have the Democrats turned their backs on the people that put them into office so soon after the election? It’s because, as I have said all along, they are the same party and they protect each other’s backs. They are the Dempublicans or the Republicrats, however you want to look at it. They are all controlled by the same interests. They are all corrupt.
It is a good thing, however, that the people have spoken. The American people have woken up and understand that something needs to be done. Now is not the time to hit the snooze button. Now is not the time to go back to sleep. We must fully awaken, hop out of bed, take our shower, eat our breakfast and get to work. We need to shake off our apathy and get involved in the political process. It starts at the local level. On election day, there were about a dozen offices in my district that were uncontested. You could vote for the Republican incumbent or you could vote for a write in. These were positions on the school board, the county board, county offices, and the sheriff. If you are an honest person and you can, find out if any of these local officers in your district are going to be up for re-election in the spring and if they are make sure it is not uncontested. Run yourself. We need honest people in government and it starts at the local level. From there you can go to the state and national levels. Also, write your congressperson, especially if you’re a Democrat. Tell them not to vote for Nancy Pelosi for the speaker position and to vote for someone with the guts to impeach Bush and Cheney. Keep the pressure on your representatives to do what’s right.
One thing I learned long ago, if you want something done you have to do it yourself. Nothing has changed. We the people have to learn that we are going to have to clean up government ourselves. We need to get involved. We need to protest. We need to write letters. We need to elect honest officials into office that are not affiliated with either the Dempublicans or Republicrats. Now that they realize we want change, they need to know we demand change and we will not let them get away with not changing things. We cannot hit the snooze button any more.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
A Proclamation Demanding Reclamation of the Rights of Man
This article was originally published on Sept. 8th, 2006 at americanchronicle.com
As events unfold in this time of Man, driven by forces seen and unseen, spawned by the minds of those who would govern the masses and nourished by those who would benefit from the suffering of others, it sometimes becomes necessary to remind the few that they are given their power by the good graces of the many. It may become necessary to remind those who sit on the lofty perches atop the power structure of civil government that it is not for the masses to serve them; rather it is for them to serve the masses. Those who would lead a nation of free human beings would do well to remember that they were not ordained by God to lead or placed in such a position by birthright, nor were they given such power by God or Man as to make their word law or their will the will of the people. Rather, they were placed in such a position by people, in good faith, so that they would, as confirmed by their oath, protect and preserve the freedoms and rights bestowed upon all human beings by that force which created all of nature, all of the universe, known and unknown. When those in whom the people’s trust was placed abuse that trust, when they seek to deny those inalienable rights to the people they serve through legislation, trickery or deception, it falls to every free human to do their best to voice a demand for the restoration of such rights that have been incarcerated and to remind those seeking to seduce free humans into relinquishing said rights that these rights are indeed God given and therefore non-negotiable.
As we have evolved in nature we have stepped out of the darkness of instinct and fear and into the light of discipline and reason. In doing this, we have created societies in order to better care for one another. As societies evolved, mankind lost its way. At some point in time, due to war and fear, the common man abdicated his rights to a class of elites, a king and his court, in exchange for a measure of security. This gave birth to tyranny. As the centuries passed, mankind began to yearn for his lost liberty, freedoms and rights. The age of enlightenment and the rise of the American republic married human rights and societal security. We now find our rights under assault from an over zealous leader and inept, out of touch representation. We must not take the steps backwards into tyranny. We must demand and, if necessary, reclaim our rights.
It was stated long ago that man is endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are further defined in the first ten amendments of the document known as the Constitution of the United States of America. These rights are as basic, necessary and pertinent today as they were when they were first written two hundred and twenty years ago. They include the right to free speech, to petition the government for a redress of grievances (in other words, the right to dissent and ask for a change in policy), the right to a free press, the right to bare arms and maintain militias, the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable (warrantless) searches and seizures, the right to a speedy trial, the right to be punished justly, not cruelly, among others. These rights have been slowly eroded in this country by a de-facto aristocracy that has become more brazen and enabled as time has passed. This abuse is not what the founders had in mind when they framed this constitution, this law of the land meant to protect and empower even the poorest and weakest of the free citizens of this country. It is now for the common man to raise his voice and demand restoration of his God given rights in full. It is time for the people to reclaim the rights that have been taken from them. In addition, in the course of our social and technical evolution, changes have occurred our forefathers likely did not envision. Due to this evolution, a necessity has developed to more clearly define and iterate certain rights which may or may not be implied in the body of the constitution. I submit the following list of rights we the people must demand of our government in order to maintain and enjoy the freedoms our Creator so graciously granted to us upon our ascension.
We have the right to open and transparent governance. The business of the government is the business of the people. We have every right to inspect for ourselves how our business is run, how our money is spent and how much money is brought in. Secrecy suggests deception or fear of being caught doing something one shouldn’t. No employee of the people should be allowed to practice the art of secrecy against his or her employer.
We have the right to live free of foreign interests and sovereigns and to have governance free from foreign interests. As free human beings we have created a nation with equal opportunities for all citizens living within its borders. It is the solemn duty of our representatives to protect these citizens and opportunities from the designs of other nations and sovereigns whose interests may conflict with ours. We have the right to defend our borders against those, foreign or domestic, who may wish us harm or may wish to degenerate the system of opportunities we have set up for our citizens. We have the right to refuse payment or tribute to foreign interests or sovereigns if they offer no goods or services for that payment regardless of any past or future claims they may level against our great nation.
We have the right to governance without the undo influence of corporations. Corporations are not living beings. They are not individuals with thoughts, feelings and emotions. They are businesses. As such, they should not be treated with the same rights as individuals. They are set up to provide goods and/or services to the multitude of free people residing within the borders of this great nation. It should be their honor to be allowed to serve the people, and they should never expect the people to serve them. It is in conflict of the interests of the people of this great nation for any corporation or group of corporations to wield too much influence over our government or any of its representatives.
We have the right to create our own money and run our own banking system based on something of value rather than debt. This right was originally the solemn duty of our congress, a power which they stupidly and without the permission of the people gave away to private interests when the Federal Reserve was created. We have the right to take our money system back and re-create it so that cash has real value. We have the right to conduct our own business in our own manner and in private with no one logging such transactions onto databases. We have the right to privacy.
We have the right to fair, transparent and verifiable elections. For far too long there has been a duopoly of political influence that has shut out the voices of many good people. Many good ideas have been lost to history due to this disenfranchisement. As time has passed and technology improved, it has become worse rather than better. The voting booth is no longer a sacred destination as citizens become frustrated by the perception that it doesn’t matter who is voted in, nothing changes. No longer is your vote kept secret to be counted in an unbiased fashion by several judges making sure each and every voter’s voice is heard. Instead, votes are exposed to any hacker with the wherewithal to break into the electronic voting system. The people can no longer be certain their votes are accurately tallied as there is no documentation to prove the count accurate or flawed.
We have the right to a free and independent press. A free society can not remain free forever if its people are not informed in an honest and unbiased manner. The press must remain free of foreign and corporate influence just as the government must. The press can be considered a fourth arm of the government, another watchdog, another check in the checks and balances of our representative system. While it is still possible to find such unbiased press, it is not widely known, available or taken advantage of. We need to create and maintain a trustworthy press which the people can have faith in.
We have the right to choose our own medical care. The health care system and health care information has been overly regulated and overly censored by those who have the most to gain, and to lose. We have the right to do our own research and decide for ourselves what treatments we would like to try. We have the right to try for ourselves drugs and treatments that are denied to us. We have the right to make our own mistakes.
We have the right to be free of censorship. Knowledge, arts and sciences that are suppressed must be made available to the public. We have the right to decide for ourselves which knowledge, literature or arts are appropriate for us and which are not.
We have the right to think for ourselves. We have the right to dissent. We have the right to battle against those who would try to enslave us or take our God given rights from us in any manner we deem necessary.
We have the right to control our destiny. The question is, do we have the will?
As events unfold in this time of Man, driven by forces seen and unseen, spawned by the minds of those who would govern the masses and nourished by those who would benefit from the suffering of others, it sometimes becomes necessary to remind the few that they are given their power by the good graces of the many. It may become necessary to remind those who sit on the lofty perches atop the power structure of civil government that it is not for the masses to serve them; rather it is for them to serve the masses. Those who would lead a nation of free human beings would do well to remember that they were not ordained by God to lead or placed in such a position by birthright, nor were they given such power by God or Man as to make their word law or their will the will of the people. Rather, they were placed in such a position by people, in good faith, so that they would, as confirmed by their oath, protect and preserve the freedoms and rights bestowed upon all human beings by that force which created all of nature, all of the universe, known and unknown. When those in whom the people’s trust was placed abuse that trust, when they seek to deny those inalienable rights to the people they serve through legislation, trickery or deception, it falls to every free human to do their best to voice a demand for the restoration of such rights that have been incarcerated and to remind those seeking to seduce free humans into relinquishing said rights that these rights are indeed God given and therefore non-negotiable.
As we have evolved in nature we have stepped out of the darkness of instinct and fear and into the light of discipline and reason. In doing this, we have created societies in order to better care for one another. As societies evolved, mankind lost its way. At some point in time, due to war and fear, the common man abdicated his rights to a class of elites, a king and his court, in exchange for a measure of security. This gave birth to tyranny. As the centuries passed, mankind began to yearn for his lost liberty, freedoms and rights. The age of enlightenment and the rise of the American republic married human rights and societal security. We now find our rights under assault from an over zealous leader and inept, out of touch representation. We must not take the steps backwards into tyranny. We must demand and, if necessary, reclaim our rights.
It was stated long ago that man is endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are further defined in the first ten amendments of the document known as the Constitution of the United States of America. These rights are as basic, necessary and pertinent today as they were when they were first written two hundred and twenty years ago. They include the right to free speech, to petition the government for a redress of grievances (in other words, the right to dissent and ask for a change in policy), the right to a free press, the right to bare arms and maintain militias, the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable (warrantless) searches and seizures, the right to a speedy trial, the right to be punished justly, not cruelly, among others. These rights have been slowly eroded in this country by a de-facto aristocracy that has become more brazen and enabled as time has passed. This abuse is not what the founders had in mind when they framed this constitution, this law of the land meant to protect and empower even the poorest and weakest of the free citizens of this country. It is now for the common man to raise his voice and demand restoration of his God given rights in full. It is time for the people to reclaim the rights that have been taken from them. In addition, in the course of our social and technical evolution, changes have occurred our forefathers likely did not envision. Due to this evolution, a necessity has developed to more clearly define and iterate certain rights which may or may not be implied in the body of the constitution. I submit the following list of rights we the people must demand of our government in order to maintain and enjoy the freedoms our Creator so graciously granted to us upon our ascension.
We have the right to open and transparent governance. The business of the government is the business of the people. We have every right to inspect for ourselves how our business is run, how our money is spent and how much money is brought in. Secrecy suggests deception or fear of being caught doing something one shouldn’t. No employee of the people should be allowed to practice the art of secrecy against his or her employer.
We have the right to live free of foreign interests and sovereigns and to have governance free from foreign interests. As free human beings we have created a nation with equal opportunities for all citizens living within its borders. It is the solemn duty of our representatives to protect these citizens and opportunities from the designs of other nations and sovereigns whose interests may conflict with ours. We have the right to defend our borders against those, foreign or domestic, who may wish us harm or may wish to degenerate the system of opportunities we have set up for our citizens. We have the right to refuse payment or tribute to foreign interests or sovereigns if they offer no goods or services for that payment regardless of any past or future claims they may level against our great nation.
We have the right to governance without the undo influence of corporations. Corporations are not living beings. They are not individuals with thoughts, feelings and emotions. They are businesses. As such, they should not be treated with the same rights as individuals. They are set up to provide goods and/or services to the multitude of free people residing within the borders of this great nation. It should be their honor to be allowed to serve the people, and they should never expect the people to serve them. It is in conflict of the interests of the people of this great nation for any corporation or group of corporations to wield too much influence over our government or any of its representatives.
We have the right to create our own money and run our own banking system based on something of value rather than debt. This right was originally the solemn duty of our congress, a power which they stupidly and without the permission of the people gave away to private interests when the Federal Reserve was created. We have the right to take our money system back and re-create it so that cash has real value. We have the right to conduct our own business in our own manner and in private with no one logging such transactions onto databases. We have the right to privacy.
We have the right to fair, transparent and verifiable elections. For far too long there has been a duopoly of political influence that has shut out the voices of many good people. Many good ideas have been lost to history due to this disenfranchisement. As time has passed and technology improved, it has become worse rather than better. The voting booth is no longer a sacred destination as citizens become frustrated by the perception that it doesn’t matter who is voted in, nothing changes. No longer is your vote kept secret to be counted in an unbiased fashion by several judges making sure each and every voter’s voice is heard. Instead, votes are exposed to any hacker with the wherewithal to break into the electronic voting system. The people can no longer be certain their votes are accurately tallied as there is no documentation to prove the count accurate or flawed.
We have the right to a free and independent press. A free society can not remain free forever if its people are not informed in an honest and unbiased manner. The press must remain free of foreign and corporate influence just as the government must. The press can be considered a fourth arm of the government, another watchdog, another check in the checks and balances of our representative system. While it is still possible to find such unbiased press, it is not widely known, available or taken advantage of. We need to create and maintain a trustworthy press which the people can have faith in.
We have the right to choose our own medical care. The health care system and health care information has been overly regulated and overly censored by those who have the most to gain, and to lose. We have the right to do our own research and decide for ourselves what treatments we would like to try. We have the right to try for ourselves drugs and treatments that are denied to us. We have the right to make our own mistakes.
We have the right to be free of censorship. Knowledge, arts and sciences that are suppressed must be made available to the public. We have the right to decide for ourselves which knowledge, literature or arts are appropriate for us and which are not.
We have the right to think for ourselves. We have the right to dissent. We have the right to battle against those who would try to enslave us or take our God given rights from us in any manner we deem necessary.
We have the right to control our destiny. The question is, do we have the will?
Propaganda, Truth and the Mass Media
This article was originally published on Sept. 6th, 2006 at americanchronicle.com
Tired of the propaganda yet? I know I am. Watch the news on TV. CNN, Fox, MSNBC, it doesn’t matter. They’re all broadcasting propaganda. They all have their agenda to fill. I’m tired of reading and hearing how the “liberal left” own the media. When I watch TV news, especially Fox, I see and hear nothing but the neo-conservative viewpoint and agenda. It’s the same with reading the papers. Everything seems so one sided. One really has to work in order to find the many sides of a story these days. Once you do find the different sides, it’s difficult to figure out who to believe, and sometimes you may need to believe more than one point of view.
“How can one determine what is propaganda and what is truth?” one may ask.
Although I am no expert and do not claim to be, I have a few ways to tell what is propaganda and what is fact. These things, in my opinion, have more to do with common sense than anything else.
First, watch out for emotion. I don’t mean to say that anything emotional is automatically propaganda, but if someone feels very emotional one way or another on a given issue, they are more likely to accept, believe and/or repeat propaganda that supports their position. This seems especially true if the emotion spewing forth is hate. Anyone taking a hateful stance against any kind of specific ethnicity or religious group is likely to spew propaganda. Be especially careful and double check any kind of “fact” given if someone is labeling any group (political, ethnic, religious or other) of people with hateful names or epithets. Someone who is calm and cites statistics or other types of scientific studies and is part of the group may still be spouting propaganda, but is more likely to be telling the truth. Still, the facts should be double checked and validated before taking such facts at face value.
Beware of anyone taking such a stance as to be immovable in their opinion. These advocates will not change their stance no matter what evidence is presented to them to the contrary. This seems especially true of political parties and defenders of the government. Such statements as “The government is always right and can always be trusted,” and “Anyone who questions authority must be a traitor,” may be uttered by such people. These types of reporters, journalists or public personalities are oft times expressing their own personal beliefs and not simply facts. If they do report facts, they will often “spin” these facts to fit in with their worldview. Spin in and of itself is a type of propaganda. So are op-ed pieces like this one. This article is actually propaganda against propaganda. But I digress. The professional propagandist who is paid by networks and mass media outlets will not think twice about using facts out of context or misrepresenting facts to support their point of view. This uncertainty makes it necessary to check up on the facts presented and make sure they are framed in their proper context.
One thing that is disturbing to me, and I see this quite often, is when an anchor person or news host on TV, commonly known as a talking head, refuses to let a guest fully explain his or her point of view if that point of view is divergent from the host’s. If you are watching a show where someone is presenting a point of view or stating factual information and that person is cut off in the middle of an explanation and then the whole thing breaks down into a shouting match, you are not watching news, you are watching propaganda. You are not seeing two divergent points of view being expressed; you are watching one point of view trying to bully the other into submission.
Another tactic used to try to drive home the propaganda is to not allow the guest to speak on the aspect of the issue he wishes to present. This is usually cleverly disguised by allowing a person to come onto a program to talk about a specific issue, then the host, or a team of hosts and other guests, will turn on him or her and ask questions that may appear to have significance but in effect have nothing to do with the heart of the matter. I have often found myself shouting at the TV to let someone express his point of view only to be frustrated as the host continues to block the guest from saying what needs to be said and will change the channel or turn off the TV in disgust.
It has been my experience that catching a story at the beginning will usually give one an accurate picture of what really happened. I remember more than one occasion where I’ve seen reports on major disasters where a reporter will interview an eye witness who will say something and then that aspect of the story will not be mentioned again. After the first few minutes or hours, the spin masters get a hold of the story and they won’t allow any reporting that goes contrary to their worldview or party line. If you find this happening, as I have, then you may begin to understand that someone behind the scenes in these media conglomerates want your worldview to be the same as their worldview. Whether this is done as a way to sensationalize a story or is done for more nefarious reasons is a matter for debate, but there is no denying that it is a practice that should not be accepted by a society that wishes to remain objective and informed.
I have spoken about several ways to determine what propaganda is, but what about being able to tell if something is truth? Much is obvious and much is subtle. One way I use to determine if a story is true is to take note if the readers/viewers are invited to check the facts for themselves. The journalist reporting the truth will not be afraid of the facts. He may say something to the effect of “Don’t take my word for it, look up the facts for yourself.” The propagandist, on the other hand, will insist that his view is the truth even in the face of contradicting facts. He may say something to the effect of “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about,” or some such thing. He is counting on you not checking the facts or looking further into the details of the issue or story.
One other thing to consider when trying to determine the truth of a story is to look at who benefits from a given event. Even ancient man realized that someone who benefits from a given event is more likely to try to make that event happen. This can be especially true if a lot of blinding emotion can be attached to the event.
I grew up with television. I watched a war on the nightly news at a tender, pre-teen age. I grew up believing the media could be trusted. We were told the truth. It was the Russians, the Cubans and the Chinese people with their communist systems who were lied to, who believed the propaganda their governments told them. It was their state owned media that lied. I came to find out years later how wrong I was. Talking to colleagues from former communist states, I have come to discover it is I who had believed propaganda all those years ago. We were lied to all those years back and we continue to be lied to. Our own government documents and admissions prove this. The mass media has been complicit in this. It is sad to say that I no longer trust any news without documentation, and I especially do not trust the mass media conglomerates. I never take a story at its surface. Even though it takes time, I dig and read many sources in an effort to evaluate and determine for myself what the truth is. I don’t always like what I find, but I feel it is worth it if the story is important. After all, the truth will set you free, and propaganda was created to enslave.
Tired of the propaganda yet? I know I am. Watch the news on TV. CNN, Fox, MSNBC, it doesn’t matter. They’re all broadcasting propaganda. They all have their agenda to fill. I’m tired of reading and hearing how the “liberal left” own the media. When I watch TV news, especially Fox, I see and hear nothing but the neo-conservative viewpoint and agenda. It’s the same with reading the papers. Everything seems so one sided. One really has to work in order to find the many sides of a story these days. Once you do find the different sides, it’s difficult to figure out who to believe, and sometimes you may need to believe more than one point of view.
“How can one determine what is propaganda and what is truth?” one may ask.
Although I am no expert and do not claim to be, I have a few ways to tell what is propaganda and what is fact. These things, in my opinion, have more to do with common sense than anything else.
First, watch out for emotion. I don’t mean to say that anything emotional is automatically propaganda, but if someone feels very emotional one way or another on a given issue, they are more likely to accept, believe and/or repeat propaganda that supports their position. This seems especially true if the emotion spewing forth is hate. Anyone taking a hateful stance against any kind of specific ethnicity or religious group is likely to spew propaganda. Be especially careful and double check any kind of “fact” given if someone is labeling any group (political, ethnic, religious or other) of people with hateful names or epithets. Someone who is calm and cites statistics or other types of scientific studies and is part of the group may still be spouting propaganda, but is more likely to be telling the truth. Still, the facts should be double checked and validated before taking such facts at face value.
Beware of anyone taking such a stance as to be immovable in their opinion. These advocates will not change their stance no matter what evidence is presented to them to the contrary. This seems especially true of political parties and defenders of the government. Such statements as “The government is always right and can always be trusted,” and “Anyone who questions authority must be a traitor,” may be uttered by such people. These types of reporters, journalists or public personalities are oft times expressing their own personal beliefs and not simply facts. If they do report facts, they will often “spin” these facts to fit in with their worldview. Spin in and of itself is a type of propaganda. So are op-ed pieces like this one. This article is actually propaganda against propaganda. But I digress. The professional propagandist who is paid by networks and mass media outlets will not think twice about using facts out of context or misrepresenting facts to support their point of view. This uncertainty makes it necessary to check up on the facts presented and make sure they are framed in their proper context.
One thing that is disturbing to me, and I see this quite often, is when an anchor person or news host on TV, commonly known as a talking head, refuses to let a guest fully explain his or her point of view if that point of view is divergent from the host’s. If you are watching a show where someone is presenting a point of view or stating factual information and that person is cut off in the middle of an explanation and then the whole thing breaks down into a shouting match, you are not watching news, you are watching propaganda. You are not seeing two divergent points of view being expressed; you are watching one point of view trying to bully the other into submission.
Another tactic used to try to drive home the propaganda is to not allow the guest to speak on the aspect of the issue he wishes to present. This is usually cleverly disguised by allowing a person to come onto a program to talk about a specific issue, then the host, or a team of hosts and other guests, will turn on him or her and ask questions that may appear to have significance but in effect have nothing to do with the heart of the matter. I have often found myself shouting at the TV to let someone express his point of view only to be frustrated as the host continues to block the guest from saying what needs to be said and will change the channel or turn off the TV in disgust.
It has been my experience that catching a story at the beginning will usually give one an accurate picture of what really happened. I remember more than one occasion where I’ve seen reports on major disasters where a reporter will interview an eye witness who will say something and then that aspect of the story will not be mentioned again. After the first few minutes or hours, the spin masters get a hold of the story and they won’t allow any reporting that goes contrary to their worldview or party line. If you find this happening, as I have, then you may begin to understand that someone behind the scenes in these media conglomerates want your worldview to be the same as their worldview. Whether this is done as a way to sensationalize a story or is done for more nefarious reasons is a matter for debate, but there is no denying that it is a practice that should not be accepted by a society that wishes to remain objective and informed.
I have spoken about several ways to determine what propaganda is, but what about being able to tell if something is truth? Much is obvious and much is subtle. One way I use to determine if a story is true is to take note if the readers/viewers are invited to check the facts for themselves. The journalist reporting the truth will not be afraid of the facts. He may say something to the effect of “Don’t take my word for it, look up the facts for yourself.” The propagandist, on the other hand, will insist that his view is the truth even in the face of contradicting facts. He may say something to the effect of “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about,” or some such thing. He is counting on you not checking the facts or looking further into the details of the issue or story.
One other thing to consider when trying to determine the truth of a story is to look at who benefits from a given event. Even ancient man realized that someone who benefits from a given event is more likely to try to make that event happen. This can be especially true if a lot of blinding emotion can be attached to the event.
I grew up with television. I watched a war on the nightly news at a tender, pre-teen age. I grew up believing the media could be trusted. We were told the truth. It was the Russians, the Cubans and the Chinese people with their communist systems who were lied to, who believed the propaganda their governments told them. It was their state owned media that lied. I came to find out years later how wrong I was. Talking to colleagues from former communist states, I have come to discover it is I who had believed propaganda all those years ago. We were lied to all those years back and we continue to be lied to. Our own government documents and admissions prove this. The mass media has been complicit in this. It is sad to say that I no longer trust any news without documentation, and I especially do not trust the mass media conglomerates. I never take a story at its surface. Even though it takes time, I dig and read many sources in an effort to evaluate and determine for myself what the truth is. I don’t always like what I find, but I feel it is worth it if the story is important. After all, the truth will set you free, and propaganda was created to enslave.
Dealing With Addiction
This article was originally published on August 7th, 2006 at americanchronicle.com
I used to smoke. In fact, I smoked quite a bit. I smoked two, sometimes three packs a day. For fifteen years I smoked. Experts might say I was addicted to cigarettes. Well, on the outside it certainly may appear that way. Even I have to admit the urge to smoke is powerful. But addicted? I don’t think I’ve ever been addicted to anything except food, water and breathing. Of course, that doesn’t mean others don’t suffer addictions.
I quit smoking ten years ago. I did it cold turkey. I think the key was that I really wanted to quit. At the time it was more a financial than a health issue, but ten years later I believe my lungs are grateful. Many people I know seemed quite impressed by this feat. In fact, some people had bet that I couldn’t quit. I was told it must have taken tremendous willpower. To me it was no big deal. I had decided to quit and by God I was going to do it.
I remember taking out a cigarette, staring it down, realizing it was only a weed wrapped in paper and it had no power over me, and saying out loud to it, “You’re not going to beat me. I don’t have to smoke you.” Ten years later I still haven’t taken another puff on a cigarette.
A few months back President Bush made the statement that America was “addicted” to oil. Addictions are not a good thing. They are horrendous wants that feel like needs. The body believes it needs something it does not, in fact, need. For myself, personally, convincing my body that I didn’t need something (such as nicotine or alcohol) is not that hard. I suppose, however, judging from what others have told me, that I am the exception rather than the rule. Society, as a whole, is having an extremely difficult time convincing itself it doesn’t really need oil. Since the time Mr. Bush made his declaration of oil addiction, exactly nothing has been done to help end the addiction and at times it may seem that we’ve actually fostered the addiction. It may be better for us to quit cold turkey, better for our economy, better for the environment. We need to collectively look at a barrel of oil and say, “You’re not going to beat us. We don’t need to burn you.” I doubt this is going to happen. I don’t think we as a society have the willpower to take such a drastic step.
I stated earlier that my decision to quit smoking was more a financial issue rather than a health issue. I decided I had better things to spend my money on. Golf, for instance. As the cost of gas increases and most people’s salaries remain the same, we start to ask ourselves is it worth giving all our money to the oil and fossil fuel companies to maintain an addiction? Remember, once we set up our homes with solar and/or wind power, we wouldn’t have to pay the electric companies for our power, or at least our bills would be greatly reduced. I don’t know about any of you, but for me that would save $150 monthly. If we begin using electric zero emission vehicles or hydrogen made from solar or wind power, then I could add to that the $250 per month (soon to be higher) I pay for gasoline. That's a savings of nearly $5,000 per year. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather give the $400 a month to companies that care about the environment and for the future of Mother Earth than to the oil and power companies who continue to pollute and exploit her.
Yet, are we really addicted to oil? I feel addicted is the wrong word. In our modern society, it would seem we genuinely need oil. Not true. What we do need in order to run our modern society is energy. Energy powers our vehicles. Energy heats and cools our homes and lights up our nights. Energy powers our entertainments. It operates our modern appliances and conveniences. Without energy, modern culture could not exist and we’d have to go back to living as we did in simpler times. Oil provides that energy, for now.
So, if we’re addicted to anything, we’re addicted to energy. And, since energy is necessary for the growth and survival of modern culture, I would compare it to food, a real need, more than to an addiction. The trick here is not to try to rid ourselves of an addiction that is not really an addiction, but rather to see if we can switch to a healthier diet.
Oil and other fossil fuels are like candy. They give us a quick energy fix that runs out quickly and forces us to consume more to maintain our energy level. When they finally run out once and for all we’ll be in for quite a crash. As we consume too much, we risk making the earth sick, much as we risk certain diseases in our own bodies as we consume too much candy. Solar, wind and other renewable energy sources can be compared to breads, fruits and vegetables. These energies will last a long, long time, as long as the sun and the earth last. They are also healthier for our bodies and our earth.
It has become more than clear that burning fossil fuels is quickly becoming an inefficient, expensive and dangerous habit. Even President Bush, an oil man, has stated as much, if not in so many words. The time for talk is over. We are already far too gluttonous and fat. We need to take action. We need to change our diet now. If we are all determined, if we all start spending our money on solar and wind systems, we can all start feeling better about ourselves, and the earth will feel better about us too. If we start moving toward that goal then maybe the future will start looking bright again. If we start now, in ten years we may all have grateful lungs.
Szandor Blestman welcomes email. He can be reached at sblestman@yahoo.com
I used to smoke. In fact, I smoked quite a bit. I smoked two, sometimes three packs a day. For fifteen years I smoked. Experts might say I was addicted to cigarettes. Well, on the outside it certainly may appear that way. Even I have to admit the urge to smoke is powerful. But addicted? I don’t think I’ve ever been addicted to anything except food, water and breathing. Of course, that doesn’t mean others don’t suffer addictions.
I quit smoking ten years ago. I did it cold turkey. I think the key was that I really wanted to quit. At the time it was more a financial than a health issue, but ten years later I believe my lungs are grateful. Many people I know seemed quite impressed by this feat. In fact, some people had bet that I couldn’t quit. I was told it must have taken tremendous willpower. To me it was no big deal. I had decided to quit and by God I was going to do it.
I remember taking out a cigarette, staring it down, realizing it was only a weed wrapped in paper and it had no power over me, and saying out loud to it, “You’re not going to beat me. I don’t have to smoke you.” Ten years later I still haven’t taken another puff on a cigarette.
A few months back President Bush made the statement that America was “addicted” to oil. Addictions are not a good thing. They are horrendous wants that feel like needs. The body believes it needs something it does not, in fact, need. For myself, personally, convincing my body that I didn’t need something (such as nicotine or alcohol) is not that hard. I suppose, however, judging from what others have told me, that I am the exception rather than the rule. Society, as a whole, is having an extremely difficult time convincing itself it doesn’t really need oil. Since the time Mr. Bush made his declaration of oil addiction, exactly nothing has been done to help end the addiction and at times it may seem that we’ve actually fostered the addiction. It may be better for us to quit cold turkey, better for our economy, better for the environment. We need to collectively look at a barrel of oil and say, “You’re not going to beat us. We don’t need to burn you.” I doubt this is going to happen. I don’t think we as a society have the willpower to take such a drastic step.
I stated earlier that my decision to quit smoking was more a financial issue rather than a health issue. I decided I had better things to spend my money on. Golf, for instance. As the cost of gas increases and most people’s salaries remain the same, we start to ask ourselves is it worth giving all our money to the oil and fossil fuel companies to maintain an addiction? Remember, once we set up our homes with solar and/or wind power, we wouldn’t have to pay the electric companies for our power, or at least our bills would be greatly reduced. I don’t know about any of you, but for me that would save $150 monthly. If we begin using electric zero emission vehicles or hydrogen made from solar or wind power, then I could add to that the $250 per month (soon to be higher) I pay for gasoline. That's a savings of nearly $5,000 per year. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather give the $400 a month to companies that care about the environment and for the future of Mother Earth than to the oil and power companies who continue to pollute and exploit her.
Yet, are we really addicted to oil? I feel addicted is the wrong word. In our modern society, it would seem we genuinely need oil. Not true. What we do need in order to run our modern society is energy. Energy powers our vehicles. Energy heats and cools our homes and lights up our nights. Energy powers our entertainments. It operates our modern appliances and conveniences. Without energy, modern culture could not exist and we’d have to go back to living as we did in simpler times. Oil provides that energy, for now.
So, if we’re addicted to anything, we’re addicted to energy. And, since energy is necessary for the growth and survival of modern culture, I would compare it to food, a real need, more than to an addiction. The trick here is not to try to rid ourselves of an addiction that is not really an addiction, but rather to see if we can switch to a healthier diet.
Oil and other fossil fuels are like candy. They give us a quick energy fix that runs out quickly and forces us to consume more to maintain our energy level. When they finally run out once and for all we’ll be in for quite a crash. As we consume too much, we risk making the earth sick, much as we risk certain diseases in our own bodies as we consume too much candy. Solar, wind and other renewable energy sources can be compared to breads, fruits and vegetables. These energies will last a long, long time, as long as the sun and the earth last. They are also healthier for our bodies and our earth.
It has become more than clear that burning fossil fuels is quickly becoming an inefficient, expensive and dangerous habit. Even President Bush, an oil man, has stated as much, if not in so many words. The time for talk is over. We are already far too gluttonous and fat. We need to take action. We need to change our diet now. If we are all determined, if we all start spending our money on solar and wind systems, we can all start feeling better about ourselves, and the earth will feel better about us too. If we start moving toward that goal then maybe the future will start looking bright again. If we start now, in ten years we may all have grateful lungs.
Szandor Blestman welcomes email. He can be reached at sblestman@yahoo.com
The Best Self Defense
This article was originally published on August 2nd, 2006 at americanchronicle.com
I wasn’t a big kid. In fact, I was a pretty small kid. When I was in grade school, as I recall, I was the smallest kid in my class. I was also quite sickly, being afflicted with asthma. I was not very athletic or strong. As a result, I was often teased or picked on.
Before I start to sound like I’m going to cry and moan about what a terrible childhood I had, let me say that it wasn’t that bad. I had a good number of friends and I feel I had a normal and joyous childhood. I did, however, have some experiences in my life when I was bullied. I use these experiences to gain empathy for those who were less fortunate than I. There was at least two other kids in my class who were constantly tormented by the rest of the kids. I always felt sorry for those kids and got along with them quite well, but there was nothing I could do to stop the others from bullying them. I was too small and weak. The couple of fights I did get involved with I lost miserably.
When I got into high school, things changed. My asthma cleared up. I joined the gymnastics team. My short stature was actually a positive in gymnastics. I gained discipline and strength as I practiced and worked out every day five days a week. After I joined the gymnastics team no one picked on me, but I don’t think that was from my new build alone. I think most of us matured a little upon entering high school back then, and mature people tend not to fight.
After high school I needed a way to maintain my physique, so I took karate lessons. It was exciting to know I was going to learn to defend myself. The very first day, the very first lesson, I learned the best way to defend myself.
“The best way to win a fight,” my instructor said, “Is to walk away. If you can walk away from a fight, everyone wins.”
Truer words were never spoken. Even after I learned to defend myself, even after gaining the knowledge and confidence that comes from learning a form of the marshal arts, I remembered those words. I have never let myself be taunted or goaded into a fight, no matter how sure I was I could win, even though some have tried. I’ve even taken a couple of punches from people and not retaliated. Why? Well, partially because I was trained to hit people’s weak spots. I was trained to kill or maim once a fight begins. If you’re going to defend yourself, make sure your opponent is put down and he’s not going to get back up. I find it hard to bring myself to do that to another human being, no matter how big an asshole he may be. Fortunately, I’ve never felt so threatened by another that I felt it necessary to take such drastic action. Also, you never know what your opponent might know or do, especially in desperation. You should never underestimate an opponent. If you get involved in a fight, no matter how weak an opponent might seem, there’s always a chance you could get hurt, and hurt badly. There’s even a chance, no matter how remote, that you could lose the fight, or even wind up dead. Finally, I don’t like bullies and I don’t want to become one.
When you walk away from a fight, everyone wins. It’s a lesson I learned long ago. It’s a lesson of confidence. It’s a lesson of maturity. It’s a lesson that perhaps would be good for a couple of countries to learn.
I wasn’t a big kid. In fact, I was a pretty small kid. When I was in grade school, as I recall, I was the smallest kid in my class. I was also quite sickly, being afflicted with asthma. I was not very athletic or strong. As a result, I was often teased or picked on.
Before I start to sound like I’m going to cry and moan about what a terrible childhood I had, let me say that it wasn’t that bad. I had a good number of friends and I feel I had a normal and joyous childhood. I did, however, have some experiences in my life when I was bullied. I use these experiences to gain empathy for those who were less fortunate than I. There was at least two other kids in my class who were constantly tormented by the rest of the kids. I always felt sorry for those kids and got along with them quite well, but there was nothing I could do to stop the others from bullying them. I was too small and weak. The couple of fights I did get involved with I lost miserably.
When I got into high school, things changed. My asthma cleared up. I joined the gymnastics team. My short stature was actually a positive in gymnastics. I gained discipline and strength as I practiced and worked out every day five days a week. After I joined the gymnastics team no one picked on me, but I don’t think that was from my new build alone. I think most of us matured a little upon entering high school back then, and mature people tend not to fight.
After high school I needed a way to maintain my physique, so I took karate lessons. It was exciting to know I was going to learn to defend myself. The very first day, the very first lesson, I learned the best way to defend myself.
“The best way to win a fight,” my instructor said, “Is to walk away. If you can walk away from a fight, everyone wins.”
Truer words were never spoken. Even after I learned to defend myself, even after gaining the knowledge and confidence that comes from learning a form of the marshal arts, I remembered those words. I have never let myself be taunted or goaded into a fight, no matter how sure I was I could win, even though some have tried. I’ve even taken a couple of punches from people and not retaliated. Why? Well, partially because I was trained to hit people’s weak spots. I was trained to kill or maim once a fight begins. If you’re going to defend yourself, make sure your opponent is put down and he’s not going to get back up. I find it hard to bring myself to do that to another human being, no matter how big an asshole he may be. Fortunately, I’ve never felt so threatened by another that I felt it necessary to take such drastic action. Also, you never know what your opponent might know or do, especially in desperation. You should never underestimate an opponent. If you get involved in a fight, no matter how weak an opponent might seem, there’s always a chance you could get hurt, and hurt badly. There’s even a chance, no matter how remote, that you could lose the fight, or even wind up dead. Finally, I don’t like bullies and I don’t want to become one.
When you walk away from a fight, everyone wins. It’s a lesson I learned long ago. It’s a lesson of confidence. It’s a lesson of maturity. It’s a lesson that perhaps would be good for a couple of countries to learn.
We Won the War. Time to Get Our People Home
This article was originally published on July 26th, 2006 at americanchronicle.com
What’s all this talk about cut and run? We’ve won the war with Iraq. We’ve accomplished all the objectives the president laid out when he made his case for invading Iraq in the first place.
First, we beat the snot out of their armed forces, at least the few of them that were willing to stick around to do battle with us. Of course, did anyone ever really think they’d be able to put up much of a fight, let alone defeat us? Second, we destroyed all the weapons of mass destruction they were supposed to have had. Oh, wait. We never found those. Well, anyway, any programs they may have had aimed at creating such weapons have been completely dismantled. I think Iraqi WMDs are no longer a threat. Third, we completed the regime change by killing Saddam’s sons and capturing him. He is no longer a threat, yet the Republicans think if we leave now we’ve lost? Nope. We won this war big time. The Iraqi people totally capitulated. They laid down and screamed UNCLE so loud the world could hear. They’re still screaming. They even lined up by the millions and voted, just to show us that they were indeed a democracy. All objectives met.
We won the war, let’s bring our troops home. There’s no reason for them to be there. Unless, of course, there’s something in Iraq that we want. But wait, one might say, what about Iraq’s security? We want to prevent a civil war. Too late. Civil war has already started, whether we like it or not, whether we call it that or an insurgency. And our presence just exacerbates the problem. First we attack a few Sunni strongholds, then a few Shi’ites. It’s really none of our business if they want to kill each other. An Iraqi civil war does not equate to an American defeat any more than an American civil war would equate to a German or a French defeat. What about fighting terrorists and protecting Americans from that scourge? I’ve heard many experts say the war in Iraq is creating more terrorists than it is killing. I agree with them. As my buddy Valentine always reminds me, “What would you do if there was a foreign army occupying our lands?” If we really want to prevent foreign terror attacks in the USA, we should bring our troops back home, close up our borders, find all the illegal immigrants in this country and either document them or ship them out depending on their individual circumstances. Those moves alone should change the terror alert level in this country to green. Once we start minding our own business we shouldn’t have anything to worry about terrorists. They have a tendency to bother only those who are oppressing or otherwise abusing them.
The only reason our troops are still deployed in Iraq is to protect the oil. They are there to make sure those who are already too rich become richer. That is yet another reason to convert our energy infrastructure to renewable energy systems. If all the money and resources pumped into the Iraq war had been used to convert our energy systems to renewable sources, we would be completely oil independent by now and no one would have had to die. Of course, then the oil companies would not have earned record profits last year.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that leaving now would be “cutting and running” or would equate into losing the war. We won that war hands down. Don't let anyone tell you different. If we continue with this occupation it will simply lead to more brutalization of the Iraqi people. We should leave now while we still have a modicum of decency and dignity left. Our people won that war and brought democracy to Iraq. Let them come home while they can still be proud of their accomplishments.
What’s all this talk about cut and run? We’ve won the war with Iraq. We’ve accomplished all the objectives the president laid out when he made his case for invading Iraq in the first place.
First, we beat the snot out of their armed forces, at least the few of them that were willing to stick around to do battle with us. Of course, did anyone ever really think they’d be able to put up much of a fight, let alone defeat us? Second, we destroyed all the weapons of mass destruction they were supposed to have had. Oh, wait. We never found those. Well, anyway, any programs they may have had aimed at creating such weapons have been completely dismantled. I think Iraqi WMDs are no longer a threat. Third, we completed the regime change by killing Saddam’s sons and capturing him. He is no longer a threat, yet the Republicans think if we leave now we’ve lost? Nope. We won this war big time. The Iraqi people totally capitulated. They laid down and screamed UNCLE so loud the world could hear. They’re still screaming. They even lined up by the millions and voted, just to show us that they were indeed a democracy. All objectives met.
We won the war, let’s bring our troops home. There’s no reason for them to be there. Unless, of course, there’s something in Iraq that we want. But wait, one might say, what about Iraq’s security? We want to prevent a civil war. Too late. Civil war has already started, whether we like it or not, whether we call it that or an insurgency. And our presence just exacerbates the problem. First we attack a few Sunni strongholds, then a few Shi’ites. It’s really none of our business if they want to kill each other. An Iraqi civil war does not equate to an American defeat any more than an American civil war would equate to a German or a French defeat. What about fighting terrorists and protecting Americans from that scourge? I’ve heard many experts say the war in Iraq is creating more terrorists than it is killing. I agree with them. As my buddy Valentine always reminds me, “What would you do if there was a foreign army occupying our lands?” If we really want to prevent foreign terror attacks in the USA, we should bring our troops back home, close up our borders, find all the illegal immigrants in this country and either document them or ship them out depending on their individual circumstances. Those moves alone should change the terror alert level in this country to green. Once we start minding our own business we shouldn’t have anything to worry about terrorists. They have a tendency to bother only those who are oppressing or otherwise abusing them.
The only reason our troops are still deployed in Iraq is to protect the oil. They are there to make sure those who are already too rich become richer. That is yet another reason to convert our energy infrastructure to renewable energy systems. If all the money and resources pumped into the Iraq war had been used to convert our energy systems to renewable sources, we would be completely oil independent by now and no one would have had to die. Of course, then the oil companies would not have earned record profits last year.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that leaving now would be “cutting and running” or would equate into losing the war. We won that war hands down. Don't let anyone tell you different. If we continue with this occupation it will simply lead to more brutalization of the Iraqi people. We should leave now while we still have a modicum of decency and dignity left. Our people won that war and brought democracy to Iraq. Let them come home while they can still be proud of their accomplishments.
Who's Wasting Their Vote?
This article was original published on July 21st, 2006 at americanchronicle.com
I’ve always enjoyed Matt Groenig’s work. I remember before "The Simpsons" were on TV he did a cartoon called “Life in Hell”. What I really like about Matt’s work is how he uses his characters to express his own viewpoints. Sometimes he is subtle, sometimes not.
I remember a particular episode of “The Simpsons” where Bob Dole and Bill Clinton were kidnapped by aliens. The aliens then replaced them and campaigned for president as if they were regular humans. When Homer exposed them as aliens one of them said something to the effect of:
“So what? We won the primaries. We’re your candidates. You have to vote for one of us.”
To which a gentleman in the crowd answered:
“I could vote for a third party candidate.”
Upon hearing that, the aliens laughed and one of them said:
“What? And waste your vote?”
It was funny and poignant at the same time.
It seems that most people today actually and seriously believe if they do not vote for a Republican or a Democrat that they are wasting their vote. Nearly everyone I talk to when confronted with reality will admit that they don’t like either candidate running and they’re voting for the “lesser of two evils.” I’ve personally never felt right voting for an evil of any kind. I have only once voted for a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate and that was Reagan in 1984. Even the first time I voted, in 1980, I voted for John Anderson, an independent candidate. I’ve been “wasting” my vote ever since.
A few years back I was at my in-laws’ having dinner. A family friend joined us. I don’t know how the subject came up, but she asked me who I had voted for in the last election. I told her Browne. She looked shocked. She asked me “Who?” I don’t think she realized there were other candidates to vote for.
“Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party candidate,” I told her.
“Shame on you,” she scolded me.
Shame on me? I’m proud that I haven’t voted for any of the corrupt officials that now operate our government. Shame on me? I don’t think so. I want to keep my freedoms, thank you very much. I’m proud of our constitution and I want to see its integrity upheld. As angry and upset as I was that I had been shamed by this woman who refused to study the reality of politics and what interests her representative really stood for, I didn’t say a word. She’d simply voted for the party she’d voted for all her life. She was so set in her ways and so brainwashed by years of apathy and propaganda that nothing I could have said would have changed her mind. Some people just aren’t worth arguing with.
I saw an interesting poll on one of the major news channels, I think it was MSNBC. I don’t remember the exact date, but I’m certain it was late May or early June of 2004 because of certain circumstances I was undergoing in my life. The poll (it was web based) asked those that responded whether they felt the federal government represented them. An amazing 99% of the respondents answered no. I wonder which 1% of the population feels the government represents them. Just as amazing to me is that an almost equally high percentage of people continue to vote for the same people, the same two parties, which they feel don't represent them.
My son took a class on politics in high school. He was taught the main differences in the philosophies of the Republicans and the Democrats, which wasn’t much. Being from an informed home, he asked his teacher about the Libertarian party. His teacher explained to him that because of where the money for the class came from, he couldn’t teach him about Libertarians (even though the teacher himself professed to being one). Huh? Imagine that. Could the Republicans and Democrats be that afraid of third parties that they will not allow our children to learn about them in a class on politics? Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Whatever happened to informed decision making? It’s no wonder I’ve had to work so hard to find candidates I can be proud of voting for. No one wants to allow any other party equal access to the hearts and minds of the people. I think the more educated we become, the more informed, the more likely we are to “waste” our votes. Unfortunately, it seems we’re becoming less educated and less informed as a society. I suppose we have the classes like the one my son took and the mass media unwilling to give equal time to third parties to blame for that.
Before the 2004 presidential election, my older brother and I got into a debate of sorts. Neither one of us liked Bush and he was trying to convince me to vote for Kerry. I explained to him that I didn’t like Kerry anymore than I liked Bush and I planned on voting for an independent candidate. My bother insisted that we needed to vote against Bush, that he needed to be kicked out of office. I told him that I would not compromise my values, my integrity, by voting for corrupt, corporate bought officials. I was going to vote FOR someone worthy of holding the office of President of the United States of America, not against someone who shouldn’t have been put there in the first place. A couple months after the election my brother told me he felt I was right and neither the Republicans or the Democrats have the best interests of the people at heart.
Most people I talk to about it don’t like what’s happened to our government. It’s not hard to see that our representatives are bought and paid for by corporations and special interests. They have no will to stand up to an executive branch usurping their power. Yet we don’t seem to have the will to hold our representatives accountable. Every two years we are asked to cast a vote for the representative of our district and every two years the usual suspects are put back into office. Every six years we get a chance to tell our senators what we think about their performance and again every six years the same people, the same parties, Republicans and Democrats, continue to be re-elected to a job they fail at miserably. Why do so many people continue to vote for someone who doesn’t represent them? Many seem afraid to “waste” their vote. Only the people of Vermont seem to have the intestinal fortitude to put someone in office who will actually represent them.
I don’t believe I’ve been wasting my votes for the last 26 years. On the contrary, I’ve been spending my votes wisely. I’ve been voting for change. I’ve been voting for accountability. I’ve been voting for transparency, for honesty, for adherence to our constitution, for a less intrusive government and for my personal God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those who have voted for Republicans or Democrats have voted for the status quo. They’ve voted for corruption. They told the politicians it’s OK to screw us, that they’re not going to be held accountable. Democrats and Republicans are the same. They are all rich elitists that belong to the same exclusive club. They are one party with two faces and most people waste their votes by voting for them.
Perhaps it’s time we as a people band together, rise up, and yell “Enough is enough!” Perhaps it is finally time we the people exert our will and hold our representatives accountable. If we all stop wasting our votes on Republicans and Democrats and spend our votes wisely on third parties, on all levels of government, Federal, state and local, they’ll get the message. That is, of course, if they don't manage to steal those elections.
I’ve always enjoyed Matt Groenig’s work. I remember before "The Simpsons" were on TV he did a cartoon called “Life in Hell”. What I really like about Matt’s work is how he uses his characters to express his own viewpoints. Sometimes he is subtle, sometimes not.
I remember a particular episode of “The Simpsons” where Bob Dole and Bill Clinton were kidnapped by aliens. The aliens then replaced them and campaigned for president as if they were regular humans. When Homer exposed them as aliens one of them said something to the effect of:
“So what? We won the primaries. We’re your candidates. You have to vote for one of us.”
To which a gentleman in the crowd answered:
“I could vote for a third party candidate.”
Upon hearing that, the aliens laughed and one of them said:
“What? And waste your vote?”
It was funny and poignant at the same time.
It seems that most people today actually and seriously believe if they do not vote for a Republican or a Democrat that they are wasting their vote. Nearly everyone I talk to when confronted with reality will admit that they don’t like either candidate running and they’re voting for the “lesser of two evils.” I’ve personally never felt right voting for an evil of any kind. I have only once voted for a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate and that was Reagan in 1984. Even the first time I voted, in 1980, I voted for John Anderson, an independent candidate. I’ve been “wasting” my vote ever since.
A few years back I was at my in-laws’ having dinner. A family friend joined us. I don’t know how the subject came up, but she asked me who I had voted for in the last election. I told her Browne. She looked shocked. She asked me “Who?” I don’t think she realized there were other candidates to vote for.
“Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party candidate,” I told her.
“Shame on you,” she scolded me.
Shame on me? I’m proud that I haven’t voted for any of the corrupt officials that now operate our government. Shame on me? I don’t think so. I want to keep my freedoms, thank you very much. I’m proud of our constitution and I want to see its integrity upheld. As angry and upset as I was that I had been shamed by this woman who refused to study the reality of politics and what interests her representative really stood for, I didn’t say a word. She’d simply voted for the party she’d voted for all her life. She was so set in her ways and so brainwashed by years of apathy and propaganda that nothing I could have said would have changed her mind. Some people just aren’t worth arguing with.
I saw an interesting poll on one of the major news channels, I think it was MSNBC. I don’t remember the exact date, but I’m certain it was late May or early June of 2004 because of certain circumstances I was undergoing in my life. The poll (it was web based) asked those that responded whether they felt the federal government represented them. An amazing 99% of the respondents answered no. I wonder which 1% of the population feels the government represents them. Just as amazing to me is that an almost equally high percentage of people continue to vote for the same people, the same two parties, which they feel don't represent them.
My son took a class on politics in high school. He was taught the main differences in the philosophies of the Republicans and the Democrats, which wasn’t much. Being from an informed home, he asked his teacher about the Libertarian party. His teacher explained to him that because of where the money for the class came from, he couldn’t teach him about Libertarians (even though the teacher himself professed to being one). Huh? Imagine that. Could the Republicans and Democrats be that afraid of third parties that they will not allow our children to learn about them in a class on politics? Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Whatever happened to informed decision making? It’s no wonder I’ve had to work so hard to find candidates I can be proud of voting for. No one wants to allow any other party equal access to the hearts and minds of the people. I think the more educated we become, the more informed, the more likely we are to “waste” our votes. Unfortunately, it seems we’re becoming less educated and less informed as a society. I suppose we have the classes like the one my son took and the mass media unwilling to give equal time to third parties to blame for that.
Before the 2004 presidential election, my older brother and I got into a debate of sorts. Neither one of us liked Bush and he was trying to convince me to vote for Kerry. I explained to him that I didn’t like Kerry anymore than I liked Bush and I planned on voting for an independent candidate. My bother insisted that we needed to vote against Bush, that he needed to be kicked out of office. I told him that I would not compromise my values, my integrity, by voting for corrupt, corporate bought officials. I was going to vote FOR someone worthy of holding the office of President of the United States of America, not against someone who shouldn’t have been put there in the first place. A couple months after the election my brother told me he felt I was right and neither the Republicans or the Democrats have the best interests of the people at heart.
Most people I talk to about it don’t like what’s happened to our government. It’s not hard to see that our representatives are bought and paid for by corporations and special interests. They have no will to stand up to an executive branch usurping their power. Yet we don’t seem to have the will to hold our representatives accountable. Every two years we are asked to cast a vote for the representative of our district and every two years the usual suspects are put back into office. Every six years we get a chance to tell our senators what we think about their performance and again every six years the same people, the same parties, Republicans and Democrats, continue to be re-elected to a job they fail at miserably. Why do so many people continue to vote for someone who doesn’t represent them? Many seem afraid to “waste” their vote. Only the people of Vermont seem to have the intestinal fortitude to put someone in office who will actually represent them.
I don’t believe I’ve been wasting my votes for the last 26 years. On the contrary, I’ve been spending my votes wisely. I’ve been voting for change. I’ve been voting for accountability. I’ve been voting for transparency, for honesty, for adherence to our constitution, for a less intrusive government and for my personal God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those who have voted for Republicans or Democrats have voted for the status quo. They’ve voted for corruption. They told the politicians it’s OK to screw us, that they’re not going to be held accountable. Democrats and Republicans are the same. They are all rich elitists that belong to the same exclusive club. They are one party with two faces and most people waste their votes by voting for them.
Perhaps it’s time we as a people band together, rise up, and yell “Enough is enough!” Perhaps it is finally time we the people exert our will and hold our representatives accountable. If we all stop wasting our votes on Republicans and Democrats and spend our votes wisely on third parties, on all levels of government, Federal, state and local, they’ll get the message. That is, of course, if they don't manage to steal those elections.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)