Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Time to Wake Up













"Fear's a powerful thing, it'll turn your heart black you can trust....
It'll take your God filled soul, and fill it with Devils and Dust"

- Devils and Dust - Bruce Springsteen

In my extended travels since being flushed out of New Orleans by Katrina, I recently found myself wandering the back roads of southern Georgia on a humid June morning. I was flipping through the lower end of the FM dial in an attempt to find NPR. I had burned myself out on the plethora of modern country stations that saturate the airwaves in that part of the country. Unfortunately, all I could find was a Christian talk radio station being rebroadcast out of Yazoo City, Mississippi. I figured I'd give it a shot as I couldn't stand to hear "Whiskey Girl" for the upteenth time.

As with most evangelical rhetoric, Satanic forces were threatening the righteous souls of America in a surreptitious plot . Today it was in the form of the super highway being built from Mexico to Canada that will run right through the heart of the American heartland, Kansas City. The hosts speculated, ad nauseum, on all the evil that would be traveling unchecked, not subject to American laws, on this abominable highway to hell.

After squeezing the last drop of diabolic conspiracy out of the issue, they moved on to the master plan of the prince of darkness...globalization, aka. "The New World Order". Few were spared in this plot: W himself was a conspirator, "Philosophy and philosphers" (manifestations of philosophy weren't important...it was just one big evil thing..Nietzsche and Jung were both in cohoots and practiced "magic") had laid the groundwork, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet were implicated for donating their wealth to global charity, and even Brangelina was guilty for pulling American money away from Americans.

After about 45 minutes of unadulterated psychobabble, I had to hit the scan button, where I landed on yet another Christian talk radio show. The two morons here were battling the sinister forces of "multiculturalism" and believe it or not "tolerance". Apparently at some point in the evolution of American Christian dogma, it has become a sin to show tolerance to other human beings who don't follow a pre-determined path of Christianity as described by.....well.....some really righteous, southern, white guys who just happen to know what that path is.

I glanced in the rearview mirror at myself....I looked worried.
I was.
I am.
Here's why.

About two months ago my mother forwarded me a piece of propaganda spam that was a narrative discussing a speech given by Dick Lamm, former Governor of Colorado, at an overpopulation conference in D.C. The header in the email was entitled, "This is chilling, but worse....true! Please read and pass on", which of course my mother did.

I really hate to take up people's time but you're gonna have to stop and just read it...here.

Amazing, isn't it? This is how it starts...like a distant rumbling of thunder on the horizon, followed by a single raindrop...then before you know it, the tempest swells and rips you a new one.

Tolerance is bad...multiculturalism is evil... the "cult of diversity" must be eliminated....People who don't speak like us, look like us, or believe what we believe must be enemies of the state (whatever the state is).

Lunatic Fringe? I don't think so. I think these are the deeper manifestations of a fear obsessed, middle America.

Rule by fear is effective. We've seen just how effective it can be in the past few years. But there's a price to pay for that....the cumulative effect it has on the human psyche....paranoia, depression, hostility, confusion....hatred. The aggregate effect of these sentiments on a society can be manipulated...refocused...and abused. Fear is the prime mover....just ask the Prime Minister of propaganda.

We're in desperate need of a wake up call. I don't think this grand social experiment we call America is as stable as we would like to believe. We've taken some very bad turns in the past few years. To get back on track we have to wake up and realize the very real dangers facing not just us, but the world as a whole.

I love this country. I love the Constitution. I love the men and women who sacrificed and are sacrificing their lives for this country...I would do the same. But I don't believe the integrity of "America" is more important than the human beings which constitute America.

A government should only exist for the sole purpose of serving the people...if it fails that singular goal at any time, it should be corrected or abolished immediately. We were warned to gaurd against this possibility numerous times by the brilliant men who founded this country. In fact the Constitution itself was designed to ensure we have the ability to correct our government should the need arise.

It has arisen.

Not only have we failed to correct it but those who have abused this country's power in our name are now attacking the Constitution itself...on issues of "morality" or "national security". I can assure you the "powers" pushing this agenda have little morality and what they are attempting to secure is not our nation...they are simply securing their power to control this nation.

I believe the most critical element of the Constitution is the 1st Amendment...freedom of speech. It is the foundation on which the 4th Estate sits...and I believe the 4th Estate is what sets us apart from every attempt at a social democracy before us. No matter how bad things get in this country, we have the right to stand up and tell the truth, no matter who you are... blogger from Idaho or NYT reporter. Because of this right, our system of government is kept in check and has the ability to correct itself at any moment. I think Ben Franklin was keenly aware of this as he, above all the founding fathers, understood the power of the press.

The 1st is under attack...it has never been targeted as much as it has in the past 6 years, and not only the messages but the messengers are under fire.

The current threat of criminal prosecution of the NYT is abhorrent.

I believe that as a patriot and one who loves this country, the best way I can honor it is to exercise the 1st as much as possible. And perhaps to recognize that what we really have to fear, is those who would spread fear and manipulate it to their own end. The truth will set us free...I would like to find it.

To that end...I start this blog to help myself wake-up.

1 comment:

Oberon said...

.....oh god....tell me about it.....don't get me started.