Another Fourth of July that rings hollow.
Let's run it down:
A man is living like a hunted animal in an airport across the world because he exposed a secret. The secret is that our government is spying on us. The Russians say he can stay in Russia if he agrees not to release any more secrets and he refuses. A traitor or a brave patriot? I say he's a patriot.
Lt. Bradley Manning exposed, among other things, that our own military committed crimes. His reward? Prison and torture.
Men and women like you are going to their government meetings, waiting for hours for the three minutes allotted to them for public comments, and speaking the truth to their 'representatives.' Those representatives sit like tin gods in judgement and do not respond. Why? Because they themselves are managed by large organizations like the National Association of Regional Governments, and the League of Cities, and the International Association of Cities and Counties, and the National Association of Counties. All of these groups work with ICLEI. They provide the statutes and laws and ordinances that you struggle against, and tell corrupt city attorneys to fight you.
The joke's on us, isn't it? We pay for it. We vote for it. We support it. Those of us who just can't believe that our government would do a thing like that. Or who think that the bureaucrats are just too stupid to know what they're doing. Or who figure that no conspiracy could be possible that involves so many people.
In a way, that's true. Because people who are willing to go along to get along are in the majority and they always will be. These are people who are trained from kindergarten right through graduate school in Sustainable Development principles. They think they're doing the right thing. When we encounter them at government meetings we're always told that we are afraid of change or we're anti-government. They grow up working in consensus, always surrounded by people who agree with them. They can't take the stress of rejection and dissent. Their world is simple; black and white, right and wrong, hot and cold. Going against the consensus means loss of 'community' for people who have been working in a cohort since they were in pre-school. They don't see it as a conspiracy--to them it's just working together on a common goal. Communitarianism.
As you watch nations devolving in the Middle East and see millions in squares risking their lives ask yourself when it's alright for one nation to arm the citizens of another in order to overthrow a government. What if that happened here?
On Independence Day we ask ourselves what it means to be free. We ask ourselves what 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' means when our nation moves into $17 trillion in debt. We speak out as all around us our cities and counties are forming regional alliances that are destroying our representative form of government and erasing jurisdictional boundaries.
Those of us who are conscious and aware must be the brave ones who inform the rest. What does this mean: "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave"? To me it means keeping a republican form of government. Adhering to the Constitution. Fighting for what is right, for the individual's rights.
We are snowed in on the Fourth of July but we'll dig ourselves out. Every day we expand awareness and dispel the fog of lies that surrounds us. Being free takes work. It's not fireworks and hot dogs. It's long hours, public meetings, and flyering, and speeches, and lawsuits, and yes, bravery. It's been a long time since 1776 and we have slipped. Let's get it back. Stand with us.
AWARENESS IS THE FIRST STEP IN THE RESISTANCE.
Let's run it down:
A man is living like a hunted animal in an airport across the world because he exposed a secret. The secret is that our government is spying on us. The Russians say he can stay in Russia if he agrees not to release any more secrets and he refuses. A traitor or a brave patriot? I say he's a patriot.
Lt. Bradley Manning exposed, among other things, that our own military committed crimes. His reward? Prison and torture.
Men and women like you are going to their government meetings, waiting for hours for the three minutes allotted to them for public comments, and speaking the truth to their 'representatives.' Those representatives sit like tin gods in judgement and do not respond. Why? Because they themselves are managed by large organizations like the National Association of Regional Governments, and the League of Cities, and the International Association of Cities and Counties, and the National Association of Counties. All of these groups work with ICLEI. They provide the statutes and laws and ordinances that you struggle against, and tell corrupt city attorneys to fight you.
The joke's on us, isn't it? We pay for it. We vote for it. We support it. Those of us who just can't believe that our government would do a thing like that. Or who think that the bureaucrats are just too stupid to know what they're doing. Or who figure that no conspiracy could be possible that involves so many people.
In a way, that's true. Because people who are willing to go along to get along are in the majority and they always will be. These are people who are trained from kindergarten right through graduate school in Sustainable Development principles. They think they're doing the right thing. When we encounter them at government meetings we're always told that we are afraid of change or we're anti-government. They grow up working in consensus, always surrounded by people who agree with them. They can't take the stress of rejection and dissent. Their world is simple; black and white, right and wrong, hot and cold. Going against the consensus means loss of 'community' for people who have been working in a cohort since they were in pre-school. They don't see it as a conspiracy--to them it's just working together on a common goal. Communitarianism.
As you watch nations devolving in the Middle East and see millions in squares risking their lives ask yourself when it's alright for one nation to arm the citizens of another in order to overthrow a government. What if that happened here?
On Independence Day we ask ourselves what it means to be free. We ask ourselves what 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' means when our nation moves into $17 trillion in debt. We speak out as all around us our cities and counties are forming regional alliances that are destroying our representative form of government and erasing jurisdictional boundaries.
Those of us who are conscious and aware must be the brave ones who inform the rest. What does this mean: "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave"? To me it means keeping a republican form of government. Adhering to the Constitution. Fighting for what is right, for the individual's rights.
We are snowed in on the Fourth of July but we'll dig ourselves out. Every day we expand awareness and dispel the fog of lies that surrounds us. Being free takes work. It's not fireworks and hot dogs. It's long hours, public meetings, and flyering, and speeches, and lawsuits, and yes, bravery. It's been a long time since 1776 and we have slipped. Let's get it back. Stand with us.
AWARENESS IS THE FIRST STEP IN THE RESISTANCE.
RSS Feed