I will be out fishing for most of the next month and will rarely have the time or focus to blog. I do have a lot more to say, but it might be awhile until I can post my thoughts. But I will be back.
Peace and love. All things in moderation.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Everyone Is Right
...to a certain extent, everyone is right to believe what they believe, to be the hero in their own story, the victim of other wrongs, and I think in most minds, everyone believes what they believe at that moment in their life is the right way to spend this precious thing we call life.
So why do we hate each other so much? Why have cultures clashed? Why have so many humans lives throughout history have been destroyed by war? Murdered for their beliefs or for the resources they possess in the area of land they inhabit at the time. When the Pilgrims came to America, they barely survived the first winter, most of them perished. Then Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe came in peace. They showed them ways to grow food in the poor, sandy area they built their houses, taught them how to survive in this new land. In return, they wanted the Pilgrims and their guns, amazing weapons, to help them attack an enemy tribe. I don't understand why Christian (or any other religion) people justify murder, when Christ cleary states, several times, that humans should never, ever harm other humans. No revenge, no aggressive war, no slaughtering strangers in the middle of the night with guns, and not even in defense of your very person. People shouldn't throw stones. People rarely have the ability to turn the other cheek. But it makes me happy to know that at least the Pilgrims and Wampanoags enjoyed each other's culture and company, neither wanting to force a belief system on the other, both realizing the value of tolerance and friendship and the human individual's right to freedom.
Today it seems most Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with family, a turkey or ham, potatoes...a "traditional" Thanksgiving feast that doesn't really resemble those original celebratitions. And it wasn't a family get together, but they were truely friends with each other, these different cultures. It would be nice to share Thanksgiving with the community, more than just family, but to get together with different cultures, to share stories and friendship, not trade bullets and bombs.
We are always the good guys, America. And if you try to point out that some of our actions are crossing the line into evil, most Americans get angry, view the critic as a tratior, and if they don't like the good ol' US of A, they should get the hell out. But what exactly is America? Our country today doesn't resemble the model of a modest federal government, of no acts of war on other nations, unless in defense of our homeland, no taxes. Some times the president or the military leaders do make bad decisions. I have no doubt that they are doing what they really believe is important and the right thing to do, but we can't ignore the fact that power corrupts, that we give the Pentagon half of our tax budget, sometimes a bit more, and other arms of the government, like NASA, uses money for building weapons or other military aspects, so the direct amount this year is over $700 billion, not including the billions hidden in other departments. A lot of people will point out that yeah, it is a shame that adults and children are dying of starvation in alarming numbers every day, but we need to support our troops. The Pentagon budget doesn't all go to the troops. $60 billion might go to the war effort in Iraq, but even that doesn't all go to the troops or to armor and other things that would help protect them. There is no one watching where these hundreds of billions are being spent, so corrupt companies scam that money, and this current Iraq war and occupacion is a mistake, motivated by greed for the oil and perhaps other, more long term and sinister reasons. We don't want to be the bad guys, but we can't blindly support powerful people, established system, and a long history of political corruption. That isn't the American philosophy. That isn't the behaviour of the good guy.
If you are offended by things I've said so far, but are still reading at this point, I suggest you investigate the military actions of the past 20 years, starting with president Clinton, the amount of countries we've taken military action, dropped bombs, supplied weapons, gave billions of dollars in aid. At this point, people might want to tell me that this modern world is more dangerous, that there are people who hate America so much that they want to attack us with weapons of mass destruction, yet we are the ones doing these acts, murdering humans with our powerful weapons. We are actually doing this thing we fear others would do to us. Murdering millions of humans every year.
And I ask you, if one country was dropping bombs in American cities all over the country, sending troops into our cities with tanks and machines guns, smashing into homes, year after year, would Americans be grateful? Would we thank them for this, or would we want to defend ourselves and stop this attack upon our soil? This is what we do, all over the world, fueling hate towards our government, which makes people stand in the streets and chant death to America. So if we stopped our agreesive actions, how many enemies would we have? Our government recently dropped the meager $158 million of our peace budget to help reduce our out of control spending, yet at the same time added $60 billion to the Pentagon budget, adding $59,842,000,000 instead of reducing, adding that money towards war efforts, while ending our attempt for finding peace. I've heard the rumors on the internet that this war on terror will be an endless effort, a growing campaign, and this seems to be the path we are on. We gave up on peace. I believe in that the warning Eisenhower gave in his last speech about the out of control military industrial complex is a serious threat to our way of life and it needed to be reduced. Today it absorbs over half our country's money every year. We've lost our way.
I also want to remind you of my freedom of speech and the dream that people of different belief system can ignore the differences of their cultures that clash in ideology and recognize that they mostly have the same desire to be happy and raise their families in peace. Since I am able to write these words and anyone in America can read them proves that it isn't too late to take the power back. Before the Declaration of Indepence was written, the militia was born by people who loved the freedom they found in America. They fought against a vastly superior enemy, as these militia men were similar to volunteer firefighters today. People with normal jobs, that got together, ready to defend their freedom. No government, neighbors helping each other, doing what they could for the community, for the sake of making life as awesome as possible. For America. The colonies united, overthrew our tyrant overlords, created an amazing Constitution. We were the good guys, blended cultures standing side by side to defend their right to live their life the way they want to live.
Taken as written, the Constitution is brilliant. Yet, we the people no longer govern each other. Politians were supposed to serve short terms, to do real work that they campaigned on that represents the interests of their community. Now they make false promises and seem motivated by greed. Our great nation has become corrupted by an established order that no longer represents the Constitution. We have seriously lost our way. We have the technology to end poverty, to create an energy abundance, a food abundance, and advanced medical techniques...to elevate the quality of life to a way we always dream of, free of nonsense stresses such as debt, free of hate and war.
Deep inside, most Americans love our country. I absolutely do. I've read old writings from unfamous people as well as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, etc. I love the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I love the peaceful philosophy of our founding fathers coupled with the bravery and intelligence to defend ourselves and the rights of other cultures to exist within our borders. They were willing to stand up and die to defend us, and they clearly told us to be alert, to never allow an established system, to make sure that the people are in charge, but today, we can't even notice the need to stand up and get control of our freedom again. These are dangerous times we live in today and I know most Americans, most humans on our shared planet Earth, desire a peaceful existance. In the 1960s, people recognized the corruption within the establishment and millions embraced social revolutions. The people ended a horrible war. But they didn't quite complete their dream. The establishment found more ways to distract, the media no longer reported honestly, subtle propaganda has made us apathetic or even brainwashed to the point that no matter what actual horrors are commited by us, we are always the good guys.
I strongly believe we are at a moment in time where another revolution is needed. To tear down the corrupt systems, to evolve past the foolish concept of money and greed, to end war, poverty and starvation. We can be the best good guys history has ever seen. We can give our children the best society ever imagined. All we need to do is take the power back, to stop spending billions on war efforts and instead investing that money into the American dream of a good life for all.
To try to connect the beginning to the end, America is supposed to be the land where everyone has the right to live their life how they see fit. In America, a Christian is "right" a Muslim is "right" and an atheist is "right." As long as children aren't being abused, harm isn't done to others, and the rights of others aren't being oppressed, everyone is right. Everyone can be the good guy. No one has to be forced into a certain set of beliefs. Corrupt government workers is not right, endless wars with nations that haven't attacked us is not right. A right to life doesn't translate into murdering others with different beliefs or important resources. Letting our leaders lie and cheat and steal isn't right, it is unAmerican. And it is our responsibility as citizens to make our leaders do what is right, to be the good guys we have been so often in the past (minus the genocide of the natives, slavery, etc).
Happy 4th of July!
So why do we hate each other so much? Why have cultures clashed? Why have so many humans lives throughout history have been destroyed by war? Murdered for their beliefs or for the resources they possess in the area of land they inhabit at the time. When the Pilgrims came to America, they barely survived the first winter, most of them perished. Then Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe came in peace. They showed them ways to grow food in the poor, sandy area they built their houses, taught them how to survive in this new land. In return, they wanted the Pilgrims and their guns, amazing weapons, to help them attack an enemy tribe. I don't understand why Christian (or any other religion) people justify murder, when Christ cleary states, several times, that humans should never, ever harm other humans. No revenge, no aggressive war, no slaughtering strangers in the middle of the night with guns, and not even in defense of your very person. People shouldn't throw stones. People rarely have the ability to turn the other cheek. But it makes me happy to know that at least the Pilgrims and Wampanoags enjoyed each other's culture and company, neither wanting to force a belief system on the other, both realizing the value of tolerance and friendship and the human individual's right to freedom.
Today it seems most Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with family, a turkey or ham, potatoes...a "traditional" Thanksgiving feast that doesn't really resemble those original celebratitions. And it wasn't a family get together, but they were truely friends with each other, these different cultures. It would be nice to share Thanksgiving with the community, more than just family, but to get together with different cultures, to share stories and friendship, not trade bullets and bombs.
We are always the good guys, America. And if you try to point out that some of our actions are crossing the line into evil, most Americans get angry, view the critic as a tratior, and if they don't like the good ol' US of A, they should get the hell out. But what exactly is America? Our country today doesn't resemble the model of a modest federal government, of no acts of war on other nations, unless in defense of our homeland, no taxes. Some times the president or the military leaders do make bad decisions. I have no doubt that they are doing what they really believe is important and the right thing to do, but we can't ignore the fact that power corrupts, that we give the Pentagon half of our tax budget, sometimes a bit more, and other arms of the government, like NASA, uses money for building weapons or other military aspects, so the direct amount this year is over $700 billion, not including the billions hidden in other departments. A lot of people will point out that yeah, it is a shame that adults and children are dying of starvation in alarming numbers every day, but we need to support our troops. The Pentagon budget doesn't all go to the troops. $60 billion might go to the war effort in Iraq, but even that doesn't all go to the troops or to armor and other things that would help protect them. There is no one watching where these hundreds of billions are being spent, so corrupt companies scam that money, and this current Iraq war and occupacion is a mistake, motivated by greed for the oil and perhaps other, more long term and sinister reasons. We don't want to be the bad guys, but we can't blindly support powerful people, established system, and a long history of political corruption. That isn't the American philosophy. That isn't the behaviour of the good guy.
If you are offended by things I've said so far, but are still reading at this point, I suggest you investigate the military actions of the past 20 years, starting with president Clinton, the amount of countries we've taken military action, dropped bombs, supplied weapons, gave billions of dollars in aid. At this point, people might want to tell me that this modern world is more dangerous, that there are people who hate America so much that they want to attack us with weapons of mass destruction, yet we are the ones doing these acts, murdering humans with our powerful weapons. We are actually doing this thing we fear others would do to us. Murdering millions of humans every year.
And I ask you, if one country was dropping bombs in American cities all over the country, sending troops into our cities with tanks and machines guns, smashing into homes, year after year, would Americans be grateful? Would we thank them for this, or would we want to defend ourselves and stop this attack upon our soil? This is what we do, all over the world, fueling hate towards our government, which makes people stand in the streets and chant death to America. So if we stopped our agreesive actions, how many enemies would we have? Our government recently dropped the meager $158 million of our peace budget to help reduce our out of control spending, yet at the same time added $60 billion to the Pentagon budget, adding $59,842,000,000 instead of reducing, adding that money towards war efforts, while ending our attempt for finding peace. I've heard the rumors on the internet that this war on terror will be an endless effort, a growing campaign, and this seems to be the path we are on. We gave up on peace. I believe in that the warning Eisenhower gave in his last speech about the out of control military industrial complex is a serious threat to our way of life and it needed to be reduced. Today it absorbs over half our country's money every year. We've lost our way.
I also want to remind you of my freedom of speech and the dream that people of different belief system can ignore the differences of their cultures that clash in ideology and recognize that they mostly have the same desire to be happy and raise their families in peace. Since I am able to write these words and anyone in America can read them proves that it isn't too late to take the power back. Before the Declaration of Indepence was written, the militia was born by people who loved the freedom they found in America. They fought against a vastly superior enemy, as these militia men were similar to volunteer firefighters today. People with normal jobs, that got together, ready to defend their freedom. No government, neighbors helping each other, doing what they could for the community, for the sake of making life as awesome as possible. For America. The colonies united, overthrew our tyrant overlords, created an amazing Constitution. We were the good guys, blended cultures standing side by side to defend their right to live their life the way they want to live.
Taken as written, the Constitution is brilliant. Yet, we the people no longer govern each other. Politians were supposed to serve short terms, to do real work that they campaigned on that represents the interests of their community. Now they make false promises and seem motivated by greed. Our great nation has become corrupted by an established order that no longer represents the Constitution. We have seriously lost our way. We have the technology to end poverty, to create an energy abundance, a food abundance, and advanced medical techniques...to elevate the quality of life to a way we always dream of, free of nonsense stresses such as debt, free of hate and war.
Deep inside, most Americans love our country. I absolutely do. I've read old writings from unfamous people as well as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, etc. I love the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I love the peaceful philosophy of our founding fathers coupled with the bravery and intelligence to defend ourselves and the rights of other cultures to exist within our borders. They were willing to stand up and die to defend us, and they clearly told us to be alert, to never allow an established system, to make sure that the people are in charge, but today, we can't even notice the need to stand up and get control of our freedom again. These are dangerous times we live in today and I know most Americans, most humans on our shared planet Earth, desire a peaceful existance. In the 1960s, people recognized the corruption within the establishment and millions embraced social revolutions. The people ended a horrible war. But they didn't quite complete their dream. The establishment found more ways to distract, the media no longer reported honestly, subtle propaganda has made us apathetic or even brainwashed to the point that no matter what actual horrors are commited by us, we are always the good guys.
I strongly believe we are at a moment in time where another revolution is needed. To tear down the corrupt systems, to evolve past the foolish concept of money and greed, to end war, poverty and starvation. We can be the best good guys history has ever seen. We can give our children the best society ever imagined. All we need to do is take the power back, to stop spending billions on war efforts and instead investing that money into the American dream of a good life for all.
To try to connect the beginning to the end, America is supposed to be the land where everyone has the right to live their life how they see fit. In America, a Christian is "right" a Muslim is "right" and an atheist is "right." As long as children aren't being abused, harm isn't done to others, and the rights of others aren't being oppressed, everyone is right. Everyone can be the good guy. No one has to be forced into a certain set of beliefs. Corrupt government workers is not right, endless wars with nations that haven't attacked us is not right. A right to life doesn't translate into murdering others with different beliefs or important resources. Letting our leaders lie and cheat and steal isn't right, it is unAmerican. And it is our responsibility as citizens to make our leaders do what is right, to be the good guys we have been so often in the past (minus the genocide of the natives, slavery, etc).
Happy 4th of July!
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