We Are the Change

The Slide Toward Authoritarianism

Are we witnessing the final curtain being drawn on the American Experiment in Democracy? Here is the 4th amendment to the Constitution:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
It couldn’t be any clearer that warrantless spying on Americans is illegal, yet when no branch of the government stands up for the Constitution that they swore an oath to protect and defend; it becomes reduced to just a “meaningless piece of paper.” The New England Patriots get punished for spying on other football teams but Bush and Cheney go completely scot-free for warrantless spying on Americans. I find it revealing of a skewed sense of values that the die-hard 30 percent get all worked up over amnesty for brown-skinned undocumented workers but embrace complete amnesty for those in the administration that have repeatedly violated our Constitution.
Freedom is almost never taken away all at once; instead, it's eroded gradually, bit by bit. There always seems to be a good reason to remove the freedom: "to keep you safe", "to stop terrorists", "to fight drugs", but notice the freedoms are always taken away and they are almost never given back, making the slow one-way slide toward a police state almost inevitable. We now have a massive government apparatus that analyses your electronic communications, keeps track of what you read, what you buy, where you travel and who you associate with. Protesters are now locked away in “free speech zones”; it wasn’t long ago that America was a free speech zone. As they take away our freedoms bit by bit, the authoritarians like to reassure us: “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have anything to be afraid of.” Well, if the administration hasn’t done anything wrong, why do they hide everything they have done – even from congressional oversight?
Having grown up as a conservative Goldwater Republican, I developed a great deal of respect for our Constitution and individual liberties. I thought the threat to our liberties would some day come from the left. I would never have believed that the Republicans would have been the ones to have done so much damage to our liberties while the gutless Democrats stand by fearful of being called unpatriotic.
Colin Powell recently came to the realization (belatedly) that the greatest threat this country faces is the derailing of our Constitutional system from within, he said: "What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?"

Let Go of the Hate

The words of Martin Luther King ring from the past to illuminate what has happened to America since 9/11:
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it… In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction…. The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”
The solution to terrorism is to shine a light on their darkness by isolating them from their societies; not by dropping a bomb on where you think they might be and wiping out a city block.
We, as a people, drank a dark elixir of hate after 9/11; maybe we should turn off Fox News and Rush Limbaugh because misrepresenting the Arabs and Islam as “Islamofascists” is like misrepresenting Americans and Christianity as the KKK.
It is time we got over the hate and started addressing terrorism with an intelligent and effective policy. I don’t know exactly what that policy should be but I do know that if we handed out sweet Iowa corn on the cob and cheeseburgers and organized soccer matches, it would win us more friends than an iron fragmentation bomb.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.”

Authoritarianism

Rudy Giuliani has said, “Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.” This is a statement that could very well have come from Vladimir Putin; it’s the very definition of authoritarianism, not freedom.
Is the United States still even a functioning democracy? Polls show a large majority of Americans favor universal healthcare, getting out of Iraq and action on global climate change yet there is no action by either party in these matters. Likewise polls show most Americans oppose warrantless spying on Americans, torture, endless war, suspension of rights and the coming internal passports yet many Democrats vote with the Republicans to support these measures. A question worth asking: If we had a functioning democracy, wouldn’t “our” government carry out the will of the people instead of the will of the corporatists?
The United States continues its slide toward authoritarianism.  We are supposed to believe that freedom is about giving up freedom; we have always been at war with Eurasia; you are getting sleepy, your eyelids are getting very heavy. George Orwell was a visionary indeed.

We are Going to Attack Iran

Famous propagandist Hermann Goering said: "Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
It has become clear that the Bush regime is going to bomb Iran. The American people are being brainwashed into believing that Iran is a crazy country seeking nuclear weapons with which to attack Israel and the US. The lies are being repeated everyday - we have seen this script before.

Here is the Bush gameplan which follows Goering’s advice to the tee:
1. Make up allegations and lies about the country you want to attack then repeat these lies at every opportunity over and over.
2. Eventually a majority of the American people will come to accept the lies as an obvious and unquestionable truth – remember “WMD” and “Saddam and 9/11”.
3. Launch your attack and accuse anyone who doesn’t support it as un-American.
We are well along the way in stage 2.

Here are some of the lies you will hear repeated everyday in our media.

The first lie: The Iranian president said he was going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. The truth: He never said it. He did allude to something Khomeini said about the regime in Jerusalem disappearing from history.

The second lie: Iran is building a nuclear bomb. The truth: They have been able to enrich a tiny amount of uranium which they are allowed to do under treaty. The IAEA certified in 2007 that: “Iran has continued to facilitate access” and found "no evidence of a nuclear weapons program". The IAEA did report that Iran was technically in breach because it has failed to provide information to resolve specific questions but Iran claimed those questions “exceed the boundaries of the existing safeguards agreement”.

The third lie: The Iranians are crazy and if they had a nuclear weapon they would use it with no regard for deterrence. The truth: Who has Iran invaded? Iran is ruled by right wing religious theocrats but their actions have been very calculated and measured which demonstrates a high degree of rational self interest not craziness.

The fourth lie: Iranians are arming the insurgents in Iraq. The truth: The Iranians are Shiites and the insurgents are Sunni. In case you haven’t been paying attention for the last four years – Shiites are not going to give weapons to Sunnis – duh. Now the Iranians have armed their Shiite brothers in Iraq, but they are not attacking our troops (since we have put them in power and are doing their work). No doubt a few Iranian weapons have been stolen and found their way into Sunni hands.

The groundwork is being laid for the coming attack on Iran. If you pay attention, you will hear the above lies or some variation repeated over and over in the media everyday. In Bush’s own words: “See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” Or in the words of Joseph Goebbels: “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”.

Socialized Medicine

We hear the term “socialized medicine” applied to universal tax supported healthcare as if it is some kind of sneaky communist trick. We never hear of “socialized police” or “socialized firefighters” used to refer to our system of universal tax supported police and firefighter coverage. If you have a fire or your cat gets stuck in a tree, you can call the fire department and they rush to your rescue with professional and courteous service and you don’t get a bill. If you have a problem that requires a policeman, they rush to your aid and do their best to resolve the problem, and you don’t get a bill. If you have a heart attack and go to the hospital, they ask if you can pay. If they provide services, you may get a bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars (sometimes even if you have insurance) which takes away all you have saved over your whole life and forces you into bankruptcy. Most bankruptcies in the U.S. are from medical bills. Why is it that we have a for-profit healthcare system but not for-profit police or for-profit fire departments?

Could you imagine what it would be like if your house caught on fire and you called the fire department and they told you, “sorry, you don’t have firefighter insurance so you’re on your own.” Or maybe they would come over and put the fire out and then you would get a bill for more than the house was worth. Would we tolerate that?

If we won't tolerate a for-profit system in our police and fire departments where people's lives are on the line, why do we tolerate it in our healthcare system - where people's lives are on the line?

We Need to Leave Iraq Now

We keep hearing from the neocons that gave us this disaster that if we leave Iraq, the whole region will go up in flames. They tell us if we leave Iraq the insurgents will follow us home. My question is this: Why should we listen to advice from these people? They have an amazing track record; they been wrong on EVERYTHING!

Here is why the occupation itself is the principle cause of the unrest and violence in Iraq:

1.    The occupation is preventing any resolution of the civil conflict.
2.    Civil wars end when one side knows it has lost. As long as we are in Iraq the insurgency will not know it has lost.
3.    As long as the occupation goes on, hope will still live in the hearts of the Sunni fighters that they can prevail.
4.    Until we leave, the Iraqi government will not be able to establish control and credibility.

The Bush administration has created a Catch-22: They tell us that we can’t leave Iraq until the Iraqi government can stand by itself; yet the Iraqi government can’t stand by itself while we are propping it up.
The solution is obvious to anyone who has ever raised a toddler: Either we stay in Iraq indefinitely (the present course) never letting them walk on their own or, more reasonably, we get out and let the Iraqi government stand on its own and find its own direction. There is likely to be a spike in sectarian violence, but once the Sunni insurgency realizes that they can’t win, they will assume a more defensive stance and a sort of tense stability is likely to return between the groups as has existed for centuries.

Change the Way We Think About Problems

To paraphrase Albert Einstein: “The problems we face will not be solved by the thinking that created them.”

Most Americans, the right wing in particular, seem wedded to the idea that more violence is the solution to violence. We express problem solving ideas in terms of war: “war on drugs,” “war on poverty,” “war on cancer,” “war on terror,” and on and on and on. The terminology we use to express problem solving is almost always violence based: "attack the problem," "tackle the issue," "take a stab at it," "wrestle it to the ground," "get on top of it," "they shot down my idea."

This old violence based thinking yields solutions that result in increasing levels of violence. The solution to gun violence; give everybody guns! The solution to more violence in Iraq; surge the level of troops! The solution to a difficult international negotiation; invade their country! The solution to another country not doing as we demand; bomb them!

Again, to paraphrase Albert Einstein: “The problems we face will not be solved by the thinking that created them.” Maybe we need to change our thinking on how to deal with our problems.

If you give it some thought I think you will realize that the level of terrorism directed at countries is pretty much proportional to the level of pain those countries inflict on otherwise powerless and displaced people. Maybe the solution to global terrorism lies not in bombing them and creating more powerless and displaced people but in addressing their legitimate grievances. Maybe the solution lies in truly democratizing our relations with other people; behaving as if those other people actually matter. For instance, instead of marginalizing and ignoring the Palestinian people, maybe we should recognize that they matter just as much as the Israeli people. And if you do so, the solution suddenly becomes obvious. In fact, that is the solution!

Happy Birthday Osama

March 10, 2007 is Osama bin Laden’s fiftieth birthday. Five and a half years ago, when bin Laden ordered the attacks against the U.S., he could not have imagined things going any better. The United States government was asleep at the wheel and allowed Osama’s attack to have spectacular success. It looked grim for Osama for a while as the world united behind the U.S. and invaded the country where he was hiding. But to Osama’s good fortune our wise and great leader took his eye off the ball and was distracted by the shiny object that was Iraq. He attacked the wrong country and deposed the secular leader that was Osama’s enemy. He drove millions to Osama’s cause and increased his pool of recruits by a thousand fold. To Osama’s delight, the great leader ran his army into the ground and drained the treasury fighting the wrong people. Congratulations Osama on reaching the big 5-0. Our great leader has let you run free and happy for 2006 days since 9/11.

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." President Bush, 9/13/01

"So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him. ... And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him." President Bush, 3/13/02

Intentional Community Ideas

There is a useful article on Life After the Oil Crash dealing with preparations for unknown future events. The author, Chris Lisle, gives these 7 suggestions:

(1) develop the right attitude;

(2) stay healthy;

(3) get out of debt;

(4) decide where your going to live (build your shelter);
This is where Hawaii comes in.

(5) buy a good sleeping bag;
Not so important in Hawaii, but I would instead get good farming/gardening/building tools.

(6) have a month of food on hand;
Good, but better would be to have a year round orchard/garden/chickens that can feed you indefinitely.

(7) get good peers.
That is why I started this blog in the first place. My hope is to connect with like minded people to form a community where we can help and enjoy each other. There are always things that other people know about that you do not. My premise is: humans naturally form tribes/alliances/friendships; they have never successfully existed as wholly apart loners.

Certainty and Faith

In some religious practice today certainty has replaced faith as a kind of super-faith.  As you can see from the definitions below, faith and certainty are near opposites.

Faith: belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

Certainty: a form of knowledge, based on strong demonstrable evidence.

Some have substituted certainty for faith as a way of saying that their faith is stronger (and by implication more correct) than yours; they have confused certainty with a stronger form of faith, which it is not. Religious certainty has moved into the political realm over the last decade and created a kind of uber-partisanship.
In speaking about the groups with certainty taking over of the GOP in the 1990s Barry Goldwater said, “The uncompromising position of these groups is a divisive element that could tear apart the very spirit of our representative system… Those people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise; the government won’t work without it.”
Certainty is the enemy of democracy because in real world terms there is little that we can be truly certain of; most positions have a substantial degree of uncertainty. When you have certainty on your side, there is no room for compromise. We see it in Iraq today; the Sunnis and Shiites both have certainty, there can be no compromise. Al Qaida has certainty; there can be no compromise. Much that has gone wrong in Bush foreign policy can be attributed to their certainty on matters where evidence is thin or non-existent. Stephen Colbert humorously touches on the confusion between faith and certainty when he says, “People love the President because he's certain of his choices as a leader, even if the facts that back him up don't seem to exist.”
A little less certainty and a little more humility would go a long way in helping to heal the partisan divide in this country.