Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Preacherman, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
Half the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!
Bob Marley
I am in serious need of help. I wish to call upon the vast knowledge of the many minds of internet readers who are outraged enough by this needless and obscenely expensive war to help me find ways to motivate more people into standing up and speaking out.
I reside in a moderately sized college town that seems to be Bush heaven. It is home to the GHW Bush Presidential Library, the Barbara Bush Parenting Center and has renamed one of the major streets George Bush Drive.
Needless to say our local coalition for peace rallies are, shall we say, somewhat megerly attended.
What I find interesting is that the majority of people I talk to either don't actively support the war or else they are amazingly ignorant of the facts about the war. Usually, at our rallies, the overwhelming percentage of people who respond (either by a thumbs-up signal or encouraging words) are supportive of what we are doing. Sure, we get some one-fingered peace signs as well as the "Get-a-job-hippie" and "Go-back-to-Iraq" and "Nuke-em-all" type of feedback, but generally, these are getting fewer as time progresses.
That said, I am amazed that the vast majority, by far the largest number of folks passing the busy intersection during peak traffic hours do......nothing. Bear in mind, these citizens have nothing else to do but wait at the traffic lights and still, nothing; except try very hard not to make eye contact. God, never make eye contact.
Rarely a day goes by that the following conversation does not take place in my home:
Me: "Holy crap! Guess what outrageous violation of the Constitution-civil rights-human decency those power-hungry bastards have done today?!"
Family/Friends: "Yawn. Of course they did because they are the government-city hall-police-religious leaders-experts. Why on earth do you sound so surprised?"
Me: "What?!"
And why should I be surprised? I'm no Pollyanna; I've lived through Viet Nam, Watergate, Iran-Contra, S&L bailouts, Wall Street insider trading and the Supreme Court presidential "election".
Hey, I'm a jaded, mistrustful, incredulous, paranoid, cynical, watchful, leery and worldly voter.
And I still get pissed.
And I still seethe and make signs, I write letters and make calls, I have documentary showings in my home and forward links-but mostly I feel lonely and impotent.
Below are some of the most frequently heard reasons for not getting involved that have been expressed to me personally as well as my personal opinion of those reasons.
Don't have time/Too busy
You know who doesn't have time? The 4,098 coalition military dead or the 73,922 or 80,560 dead Iraqi citizens (depending on who's figures you believe).
Those are some folks who seriously don't have any time. If you're breathing and going about your day-to-day life, you have time. How some choose to use it is the issue; the television says millions of our fellow citizens watch American Idol, tune into the latest on O.J. Simpson or Brittney saga- so reason might suggest there is some downtime available.
Doesn't really affect me
You pay taxes, you buy gas or groceries, you know or work with someone who has children of military age; then it affects you. From budget cuts to police states, this war affects everyone here.
I personally support the war
Great, sign up; I hear all branches of the military are having trouble meeting their quotas and I'm sure you will be welcomed with open arms. And while you're at it, could you possibly convince your cheerleaders- Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Michele Malkin and Ann Coulter, to please join up also and move to the front lines? I think this would be way more effective than a yellow magnetic sticker.
It's unpatriotic to protest
Really? Some folks need to re-read (or read for the first time) their Constitution. The founding fathers were protesters; they just managed to back their words with action.
So, can anyone out there help me? I know I'm not alone and I truly believe that most ordinary Americans care not only about their country and it's reputation, but their fellow man. I also believe that there's enough folks out there that are willing to resist force and fraud by the government, if only the call to action is sounded.
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words to live by :)
words to live by :)
wallybanners
http://thewtfblog.blogspot.com
As deplorable as the state
As deplorable as the state of the world is right now, it is controlled by a benign, Celestial government.
Have you noticed that actions of national governments are often counter-intuitive? That's because we are still living in the "Age of Iron" described by Hesiod back in 700 B.C.
We can take comfort in the knowledge that the "eternal life" promised by various religions is part of our reality. It is accomplished by means of high-tech cloning and computerized storage and downloading of an individual's memories.
The Celestial government has been in operation for millions of years throughout the galaxy.
Riverworld by Farmer?
Are you quoting some passage from the Riverworld Saga, by Philip Jose Farmer?
I'll admit I haven't read them in awhile, but I pretty sure I don't remember anything about “eternal life” being accepted as proven reality. But then again, I'm also pretty sure that I've never seen anything giving proof of “eternal life” being reality, so since our site is all about Reason, want to reference your source to back up your claims?
MJ
reply to 'as Deplorable as the State'
-And I quote:
'We can take comfort in the knowledge that the "eternal life" promised by various religions is part of our reality. It is accomplished by means of high-tech cloning and computerized storage and downloading of an individual's memories.'
Seriously? You have GOT TO BE PULLING MY LEG, FREIND!
'High-tech cloning', and 'computerized storage', and 'downloading', are very recent inventions of mankind. Are you saying that we ARE OUR OWN CREATORS?
CAN WE GUARANTEE OUR OWN ETERNAL LIFE, OURSELVES?
This sounds REALLY DELUSIONAL, seriously so!
I would like to meet, face-to-face, just one individual, in flesh and blood, who has come back from the dead to describe this secret that you propose to know of.
LSD is good, but Prozac is better! (NOT)
I would be willing to bet all you wish to, right now, that you cannot download and review MY memories, much less tell me where you or I may access them!
(Un)fortunately for us, we are NOT God.
There is a God, but he ain't YOU!
Reply to 'How can we Get the Masses Off Their Apathetic Asses?'
The first and foremost thing to remember is: You can't MAKE people do anything they don't want to do!
People, by and large, are like sheep: That is to say, they will obey the voice of the sheep-herder that they want to listen to, whether it be George Bush, Mohammed, Mahatma Ghandi,Jim Jones, Hillary Clinton, Bob Marley, or their local college 'professor', or anyone else that 'tickles their ears'. They want to be, above all, COMFORTABLE', as they believe somehow that this is some kind of 'right'.
Yes, most are SHEEPLE!
When confronted with such 'non-sequitor' things as, for example, FACTS, or, THE TRUTH, they tend to withdraw in to a 'safety zone' of sorts, whether this be a discussion of what 'evil' they THINK is 'driving' against them (VERY COMPARTMENTALIZED!; discussions with 'friends' that agree with their point of view {those damn 'Republicans/ Democrats/ unions/ lawyers/ welfare recipients/ blacks/ whites/ other'}), or withdrawing in to what they believe to be 'non'compartmentalized' (yet still COMPARTMENTALIZED!)reactions to the TRUTH, I.E., ignoring dissenting thoughts and ideas altogether, and choosing instead to 'entertain' themselves (by 'spectating' in 'sports', 'media', 'comedy', 'sex', or whatever else there is placed in front of them), and all the things that they are choosing to 'participate in' (so they have been led to belive!) are fed to them by the same powers that have been deceiving them since they were old enough to hold a T.V. remote control, or go to a state-sponsored 'school'!
I hope this ain't too 'cerebral', as I am from I-di-hoe, but I'm not 'jist another hick on the web'!
By the way, I know how to spell 'nucular' (NUCLEAR!).
I realize that this may be a somewhat cynical statement, but it cannot be denied that, by and large, this is the tendency of the general populace of the United States of America (in name only, as I remember this nation AS IT ONCE WAS, proud, strong, and populated by independent thinkers, who believed that an honest day's work paid an honest day's wages, and it really used to be like that!).
I am not, let me emphasize this, NOT, a pacifist. I believe that there is a time and a place for a LEGAL justification for war. When attacked, self-defense becomes an imperitive. This usually means, in the world that we currently inhabit, a FIGHT TO THE DEATH, from the robbery on the street, to a declaration of war by a foreign nation (or nations), or, at least, the surrender of the party that did you wrong.
That being said, Congress did NOT declare 'WAR' in Iraq, as specifically stated in the highest law of the land we inhabit, the U.S. Constitution. This, in and of itself, means that we are in an 'illegal' war, once again. This action is UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE.
How about approaching the sheeple with some entertaining media links?
The first rule here, is; you must appeal to their sense of pride, which is the primary driver behind most people's actions.
Make the 'chosen one' believe that he, or she, is actually PRIVY to SECRET information, that only THEY KNOW ABOUT. In this way, you will appeal to their sense (unfortunately, drilled in to them by the 'state') that they are, in some way, UNIQUE, and 'SPECIAL'. Everyone strives for this.
In reality, everyone IS unique and different, but a little humble pie is the temperment that keeps us all in line; there IS a divine Creator, and we are not as powerful as that!
However, if you wish to influence someone, this humbleness that is required of sentient beings must be momentarily disregarded, in favor of the propaganda that you wish to promote (No! I am not, nor have I ever been, a member of the Communist Party. But, as Gen. George S. Patton was (mis)quoted as saying once-"Rommel! You magnificent bastard! I READ YOUR BOOK!!").
Try some links, to inform those that you wish to inform, of the TRUTH (bear in mind, your own actions must not have your own agenda, but rather, the TRUTH, as you also may be educated, and isn't that what LIFE ITSELF is about?)--
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=15716
http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2007/0930.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ4dVo5QgYg&mode=related&search=
http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/arrested_for_reading_constitution.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=gTbtSTO78Xshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drQFn3R3s1k
Please review these few links for yourself, before passing them on. I have several thousand liks such as this that i have run across in the last 5 years or so---
This last link is in 13 parts. This is the most important, and defining, link, to the truth, that you can exibit. It has been substantiated, in detail, that these statements are, in fact, the TRUTH.
You can only hope that, at the most, that 5% of the people that you contact can be awakened from their slumber, and made to realize the precarious position that we, this nation, are confronted with. Hopefully-it's not too late (I believe that it is!)---
There are several other links to truth that I can send, if you so desire-some of these have to do with the FED, and some with the current Ron Paul and Alan Keyes bids for president, as well as several regarding the N.A.U. U.N.L.O.S.T (U.N. Law Of the Sea Treaty), etc..
Best of luck, Michelle L.,
madmiralkurt [at] msn [dotthing] com
[email address obfuscated -- Ed.]
[PS: Nice comment --MJ]
madmiralkurk
You are so very right about so much of what you say and I genuinely enjoyed your comment. I absolutely concur that I can't make people do what they don't want to do; in fact, I am opposed to resorting to force or fraud as a way of distributing information. It is my hope that, with more information or facts, that most folks will be able to connect the proverbial dots themselves.
"or withdrawing in to what they believe to be 'non'compartmentalized' (yet still COMPARTMENTALIZED!)reactions to the TRUTH, I.E., ignoring dissenting thoughts and ideas altogether, and choosing instead to 'entertain' themselves (by 'spectating' in 'sports', 'media', 'comedy', 'sex', or whatever else there is placed in front of them)
I completely agree with your assertation on this; I have long felt that one of the hardest parts of trying to put out information to those with beliefs so firmly entrenched is the resulting cognitive dissonance. And by far the most widely used method of dealing with cognitive dissonance is to ignore or otherwise impede new information that might lead to new ways of thinking.
Another excellent point you make is:
"I am not, let me emphasize this, NOT, a pacifist. I believe that there is a time and a place for a LEGAL justification for war."
Well said, the operant word is "legal"; which this war is not.
You ask, "How about approaching the sheeple with some entertaining media links?"
I try to list some pertinent links on my personal webpage as well as forward to my, admittedly, limited contacts and certain web publications and blogs. And of the links you mentioned, some are very well known to me and some I am viewing for the very first time; altogether excellent sources all of them. Might I suggest:
http://www.isil.org/resources/introduction.html
This one is the biggie- I forward it to everyone-I think it does the absolute best job of explaining freedom and liberty in plain, simple terms that no thinking person could argue with. I showed it to our daughter for the first time when she was only 3 and now every couple of months as a refresher. I think every citizen could benefit from watching it.
http://www.unknownnews.org
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ccYoVnBc_fk&
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ccYoVnBc_fk& this is over an hour long, but well worth it
http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/40/somebodys-watching-you
Granted, some of them are just simple videos, but in my most humble opinion, powerful in their statements.
By the way, infowars is not only one of my favorite websites, it's my hubby's homepage :)
"You can only hope that, at the most, that 5% of the people that you contact can be awakened from their slumber" How right you are, or as someone once said, "We don't consider ourselves enlightened, just slightly less endarkened than most folks"!
Again, I thoroughly enjoyed your comment and I will now tackle the excellent links you have so wonderfully provided.
And if everyone in "I-di-ho" is half as astute as you, perhaps that's the place to be because you got it all over the genuine hicks around here!
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.