Hi !
This will be my first attempt at a diary. I have been a user at KOS for almost a year and have learned quite a bit in that time. I consider myself a socialist libertarian, extremely anti-war , semi religious , left handed dyslexic.
I am enjoying participating in the Reality Based Community . Every day here is a challenging battle of logic and emotion . May Markos and his site Live Long and Prosper. (oops showing my age)
America Divided
Americans today are being divided by the American government through use of propaganda campaigns
specifically designed to divide its citizens into several very polarized camps.. This is done using a very simple technique known as the" straw man" argument.
The two main fronts of this propaganda campaign are the war on "Terrorism" and the war on "Drugs" .
" Terrorism" and " Drugs" being the "straw men" in that they are easy to knock down and they are not
"real" men.
Terrorism is a concept of projecting fear or terror for some sort of personal gain against a civilian individual or group of individuals. This would have to include acts of aggression and war . By using "Terrorism" as the "straw man" or the Objective in a war, you create a perpetual war , because the straw man can never be eliminated as long as war continues. The instigator commits "Terrorism" through aggression and the defender commits "terrorism" through retaliation . With both parties guilty of acts of "Terrorism" there can be no winner , which perpetuates the activity.
Terrorists are not countries or societies , they are individuals or groups of individuals who are guilty of acts of physicsl assault causing injury to others and must be prosecuted through legal means. Terrorism cannot be prosecuted through military actions against entire countries of peoples , simply because any group of people contains both the innocent as well as the guilty. Prosecuting the innocent civilians is an act of terrorism in itself!!
This paradox divides our country into three main camps , (1) those in favor of dominating the world through intimidation (war) ,(2) those blindly seeking revenge against anybody our government says is the enemy and (3) those who seek honest justice through the rule of law and honestly want to see the world as a place where ALL are truly endowed with certain rights.
Modern warfare is a massive jobs program !! Thus the need to have perpetual war is to have perpetual jobs!!
This brings us to our second "Straw man" ,the War on Drugs !!
Drugs are inanimate objects !! War cannot be waged on such objects!! We as a nation must admit that there is no such thing as a drug free society, drugs are used by the vast majority of people in the world in various forms. therefore there is no such thing as a war on drugs !!! By declaring that there is a war to create a drug free society which is physically impossible to obtain , the government has created a perpetual situation behind which it can hide a vast array of controls on society . This is a war or police action against certain segments of the population that use substances that other segments of the population have demonized. Through the use of propaganda , half truths , sensationalism and outright lies , our own government uses
this issue to divide the citizens into many camps.
The abuse of any drug is a social and medical problem ,not a criminal one , thereby creating a myriad of social problems. Creating a criminal prohibition on this type of behavior has created a huge police and prison industrial complex allowing our government to suppress large segments of minorities by imprisoning them , stripping them of the right to vote , denying them a method of voting to oppose such policies. It has also created a huge criminal enterprise out of dealing in illicit substances creating massive organized crime, violence and money laundering. Large financial institutions profit from this activity and the governments both federal and local generate huge budget requirements by sustaining this un-winnable perpetual war.
Now take every thing you have ever read or heard about CRACK COCAINE and replace it with the word OIL. Now take the word CRACKHEAD and replace it with the word AMERICANS.
Imagine a city where there is severely limited amount of crack and the supply is dwindling.
Who do you think is going to cause the greatest problems , the big guy with all the guns or the thief looking for what he needs to feed his habit?
Both are most certainly bad , but what would you do ?
The CIVILIZED people must convince the addicts to participate in a program of slow detox ,
as the OIL is limited and as the supply of OIL runs out the violence will most certainly escalate.
DRUGS ARE KEPT ILLEGAL TO CREATE HUGE PROFITS (500 BILLION ANNUALLY) TO FUND THE WARS FOR THE REMAINING OIL.
I promise you that neither the Democrat or Republican leadership in our government wish this situation to end. Their desire is to perpetuate this lie and continue on the path of reforming the United States into a police state controlled by multinational corporations.
My greatest fear is that the average american will remain ignorant of this until it is too late!!
The only hope I see is to educate every person I come in contact with and hope that there are others like me who are committed to do the same.