Are you terrified?
The question is of extreme relevance as the war on terror is all about you.
A war on terror is a war on a word, a concept, an invisible entity that we can never truly kill. It represents a shift in war mentality. In recent history war has taken an us versus them perspective, where group A loves or needs X and group B hates or has X so A and B fight. Now, we fight words, and as a result we’ve personalized and individualized war. A war on terror is in essence a war of one against a feeling.
For seven years we’ve fought against this word, “terror”, yet people are still terrified. They doubt the resiliency of our economy. They distrust our “elected” leaders. They wonder if they can afford to put food on the table. Seven years have passed and terror is still kicking our butts, and will continue to do so, for we cannot kill a word.
There is only one way to end this war and it starts with you. It starts here. Are you ready to end the world on terror? Gather up your courage, clear your throat, stretch your fingers and shout or type it as loud you can:
I am not terrified!
- I am not terrified of dying.
- I am not terrified of Muslims.
- I am not terrified of peace.
- I am not terrified of the federal government of these United States of America.
- I am not terrified that our elections are either greatly mismanaged or more realistically fraudulent.
- I am not terrified that artificial people called corporations roam our lands and rape people’s wallets and health for the pursuit of the lowly dollar.
It is an event that will meet all of us soon. Rich, poor, old, young, athletic, obese, smart, stupid, good and evil, all of us will one day die. I speed through the streets of Greater Boston on my bicycle without fear of death. It makes me a better cyclist, as I do not hesitate to move.
They are a people. There are over 1.5 billion Muslims in this world. Some of them are evil; some of them are not. Most of them are average people like you and me.
Without war, how would we keep global population down, technology on the cutting edge and resources flowing? By focusing on these issues rather than killing each other, that’s how.
If need be, the fifty states of the union can and will exercise their rights to sovereignty.
My vote will be published on this blog. It may not be counted but it will be recorded.
Consumerism is a dying artificial (d)evolution and is already experiencing the last struggles before its’ ultimate death.
Most importantly, I am simply not terrified.
The only way to end this war on words is with words. Declare you are not terrified and join me in a world without wars on words.
As of now, for me, the war on terror is over!
Hey Adam, It seems I am getting to love your blog. I want to comment on two points.
First one : Being terrified
Well, the fear is a normal feeling of human beings but when it increases to the normal level it turns to be in the wrong way. In addition it’s not correct to be afraid of something you don’t know much about which you just get your information from media of only one side which may change the truth or use it to achieve some of their goals. This will lead me to the second point.
Second one : Terrorism
What’s terrorism? In my opinion it’s the action of terrifying people for no reason. Unfortunately that word had been related much to Islam since 11 September - I am Muslim by the way. And I am glad I think you don’t have that idea about Muslims that they are terrorists or something like that because it is completely wrong. The problem is that some people who are also Muslims in their beliefs act the wrong way but their action was to hard that they covered the voice of the right ones like what happened in 11 September. Do you know that in Islam regulations killing people in peace -as what they did- requires being killed? They are just people who are ignorant about their religion in first place who flew into rage quickly without thinking of what their religion tell them to do. That even had a bad effect on Muslims themselves that made nonreligious people think all religious ones are bad. See they affected all people although they were wishing to help because of ignorance to the truth.
So if someone wants to know the reality about Muslims then read in their history read about the life of Prophet Muhammad and his companions you will find that they never killed a woman, a child, a priest or even a man with no weapon - not in peace time in war.
Ok well I think I have been talking a lot. I am sorry for that long comment, but it really hurts when you see most people around having the wrong idea about you and I felt you are someone who don’t have that idea so it was like a chance for me to try to say some of what may change that idea to the other side as you have already began mentioning it.
Keep posting
Hi Ahmad,
Thanks for the great and thoughtful comment!
I agree with your first point. Being terrified is OK when it’s a temporary feeling, for instance if you’re crossing the street and all of a sudden a big bus or truck comes barreling down the street. When terror is a feeling, it’s OK but when it becomes a state of being as the mass media (in particular Fox News) in the U.S. attempt to portray it then it becomes a significant issue. There are more than a few people who constantly worry (or at least pretend to worry) about another terrorist attack, yet do not recognize that the probability of dying in such an attack is miniscule.
I’ll go one step further on point number two, Ahmad; terrorism is a made up word. We’re fighting something that can’t rationally exist. When I step outside today, I see a nice bright blue sky, not the apocalyptic world that is cited as a reason for the war on terror. Since 9/11 who has created more terror in the world, the federal government of the U.S. or Al Qaeda?
I would argue the U.S. federal government has clearly become terrorists. On 9/11 a few thousand American citizens died, but since 9/11 more U.S. citizens have died as a result of the wars we’ve waged and hundreds of thousand of innocent civilians have died in the countries we’ve attacked. Meanwhile Al Qaeda and other terrorists struggle to match the death counts of the “great” U.S. “war” machine.
Also Ahmad, it is not just Islam that practices peace but rather most religions encourage peace. Yet somehow, though the words are clear, wars are still waged for the sake of religion.
Going beyond religious and racial lines, I believe the majority of people in the world are peaceful. There are a relative few who seek and gain power and then use that power to manipulate the masses towards violence. Whether it is by a perversion of Islam or a retardation of American patriotism, violent people can, have, and will use violent means to accomplish their goals. It’s our job to stand up and let them know that we see past their veil and will not let them terrify us.
The problem with the war on terror is that ignorant and complacent people are easy to manipulate. You’ve probably heard about the Pentagon executing propaganda against the American citizens. It is fish in the barrel when you take into consideration the failing education system and complacent populous. The society is setup to be focused on such short-term and local issues that people never pay enough attention to our government and nothing changes. As long as we’ve got SUV’s, big screens, and fast food, we’ll be stupid enough to be under control constantly.
Yes Matt, ignorant and complacent people are easy to manipulate but I feel there is a paradigm shift occurring where more Americans are waking up and wondering what the hell happened to their country. These people will not get their news from the TV or newspapers but rather from the internet.
This country is clearly in desperate need of a revolution. The average American is starting to wake up and shut off their big screen TV, the Ron Paul movement for instance is a small first step. It’s not going to be easy or quick but our society will change, it has to.
The Pentagon propaganda does not scare me either, it just means we must work harder to get the truth out into the mainstream. I saw your post about being the bitter angry guy, well when the economy heads south people start listening to the bitter angry person. Still, the road ahead is not paved and SUV’s, big screens, and fast food will prove to be huge impediments to the truth but the corrupt elitists currently running the show will not continue to operate behind a curtain. When the average American finds out the truth behind the elitist agenda, they’ll throw their shackles off as we’ve done in the past.
The problem is the mass majority of people are still getting their information from mainstream media (i.e. Fox News). Most people don’t have any clue who Ron Paul is even now. It is terribly frightening.
Lots of people my age (25) don’t want to hear anything about politics. They’re more interested in binge drinking and drowning in debt. The people my parents age (60) are more worried about who is going to keep taxes the lowest and take care of social security. More often than not thats the Republican candidate. For now, that means McCain and more war on terror. This also means less domestic capital, less power in the dollar, and a weaker and weaker economy.
We do have to get the truth out to the majority of Americans in order to make a change. The question is, how and who?
How and who are interrelated. People like you and I must go offline and speak the truth to people walking the streets. When I worked in a cubicle for a Fortune 500 corporation, I would regularly talk to my coworkers about Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Ralph Nader and why the mainstream candidates are bad choices and even worse anti-American. Many people will tell you that talking politics at work is not proper, but since when do Americans do the “proper” thing? Also, since many people agree that politics at work is not proper, I’m convinced it is in fact quite proper.
Sure, there were many times when I would be mocked as another loony, but at the same time my coworkers knew I was speaking some truth. Their excuses would range from this is how it’s always been to what can we do about it, which is when I would give them a brief U.S. history lesson, specifically focusing on revolution and the constitutional properties that allow us to disassemble the federal government.
Many people are unaware that the constitution itself allows us, the people, to declare our federal government null and void and return power to the states. I’m an advocate of peaceful revolution and believe informing the majority by talking to them individually will allow us to disassemble the current (and massively corrupt) federal government and start fresh.
So the how is via individual communication and the who is us. The corrupt elite own the mass mainstream communication so we must use one one one communication to subvert their message.
It’ll be tough because many Americans are stubborn and do not want to admit they were wrong or duped. I know because I voted for John Kerry in ‘04 (my first presidential election) and now see that I basically threw my vote away. I was duped into choosing the lesser of two evils but have learned and will not vote for the Republocrats/Demopublicans again.
Also, rather than going around telling people they’re wrong and under the MSM’s spell, inciting them to do their own research is our best course of action. Each individual will have their own tipping point but if we can communicate to them that their tipping point has been breached, perhaps they will do the research and join us in forming a new federal government free from the corruption of the elite and corporate powers.
The problem is you have to do the research for them and present it in a modern American format (with ticker tape at the bottom showing the latest ALERT!!! TERROR!!!) in order for them to accept it as news. Otherwise you’re just some blog, ranting activist, etc. and the effect is close to null. I’m right there with you on the issues but not enough people are unhappy with the truth or aware of it in order to make any change or any effort to help.
Seems our main difference Matt is I’m a bit too optimistic and you’re a bit too realistic…
We do need a TV station run by the public to broadcast the truth in an informative but shiny format, sort of like the Daily Show but independent of large corporate interests and independent of MSM story-lines. Of course, then debates would emerge about what the truth is, but that’s a whole different issue, or is it?
In my opinion, it is one of the catalysts of the problem we’re facing now. The media controls the people, like it or not.
I haven’t checked the mail for a while so I know read all those comments at once. To be telling the truth I didn’t expect all that hidden problems in the US. From time to time, I get the opportunity of talking with an American citizen or even anyone from the world and they all say the same word, that they don’t like the president or the government. However, I thought that the problem they don’t like it what it does to other people and countries not to their own people, so I still don’t understand precisely what they do to their own people. I will tell you how the situation is like here in Egypt to let ideas meet.
Here there is no Democracy. The president, his party and the government controls everything and you can’t say no. Recently some newspapers began to write more freely than before, however to certain limits and anything else is not allowed like demonstrations or talking in public places. They are robbing the country; prices have raised about 70% during one or two years. While salaries are the same. A few days ago they said it is raised 30%. Anyway in order not to bother you by local problems lets go to another point.
What we should do. Well here a few years ago people were not knowing that. They didn’t know they were robbed. They thought our government is an angel. Now that idea is changed. Nearly all people here hate them, however they don’t bother to make change. Why? May be afraid of what they may do to them. As they are busy now with capturing an torturing who talk about them instead of providing food for the poor. May be it’s the negativity. And that’s what I guess. Now here we just need a leader to move all those people. To organize them onto one voice and one man. I don’t know what’s your state exactly. Do you still need to spread knowledge among people? We still need that too. So I think we should be more realistic. Whoever can do something do it. I can’t be that leader. But all what I can do is saying my thoughts loudly at least to feel I have done what I am supposed to.
Sorry for being long. I enjoyed that discussion really
Matt, perhaps our real problem is Americans simply are not tough anymore? We’ve become soft and refuse to revolt against injustice. In France, people riot against their government when they do not approve of new laws. As a result, the government in France is scared of the people, rather than the other way around. Perhaps if we switched off the boob tube and went into the streets and put the fear of the public into the federal-corporate-media-military complex they’d act in the best interests of the public.
Ahmad, the hidden problems, and the damage America’s government has and is causing to the rest of the world are the main issues true Americans currently have with their government. The military and the government do not listen to the people anymore (Vice-President Dick Cheney recently said it does not matter what the American public thinks about the Iraq war) and act in their own best interests. In a true democracy, the government should act in the best interests of the people, which does not happen here. I don’t want my tax money to go towards military bases across the world. I like peace.
At the same time, because we are spending so much money outside of the U.S., we cannot invest in our infrastructure nor health or education. The government and media are in very close collusion here, where the people with broadcasting rights very rarely speak out against the government. Though technically and legally, we can speak out against the government, as I’m doing here, the people (or rather businesses) with the big voices (radio, TV, newspapers) very rarely speak out against the travesties and lies the government is perpetrating. The end result is a situation similar to yours, where the president’s office, his party and government control everything and no one says no loud enough.
Sure, it seems easier to improve the American situation rather than the Egyptian situation, but the basic issues in both cases seem to emanate from a power hungry elite controlling the country’s resources and refusing to let the public have its say.
One more note, Ahmad, about what the American government does to its people. It is getting rid of our rights slowly but surely. Whereas in Egypt the newspapers and are beginning to write more freely, here they are writing less freely. My biggest fear from this post and these comments is having the men in black suits from the government knocking on my door for my questionable views. What the government is basically doing is trying to kill off true American patriotism. They want us to become robotic entities that are subservient to the government, which is the exact opposite of every American ideal.
“Now here we just need a leader to move all those people. To organize them onto one voice and one man.”
I would argue we need the opposite, depending on one leader is risky for that one leader can and most likely will be assassinated. Further, I believe the current global issues mostly start from issues with domestic governments. If we took a poll around the world of all people, how many would approve of their government?
I bet you not as many as would disapprove. Why? Governments are after all run by people, for the benefit of the people. The answer is that power corrupts and government is the ultimate collector of power.
We do need to spread knowledge but we also must increase our surveillance of governments around the world. It is becoming increasingly clear that the current elite are performing poorly and must be replaced with a new government.
I acknowledge that my next idea will be seen as a radical one, but the best ideas usually are.
What we need is one global government, a new world order and we need to start and implement one before “they” [the current power-elite] beat us to it.
I propose that the current domestic governments of the world remain in place, however a new group is formed as an advisory committee to the world where every individual is represented. In this non-profit organization, all votes will be tabulated online and will be public information. Your identity could still be hidden but your vote must be released to the public domain so that accuracy can be ensured. Under this global governance group, each country will be represented and will have its own completely democratic voting system. For instance, the U.S. would have its own separate section where American citizens could vote on American issues.
Though this group would have no formal power, if all 6.6 billion people around the world had access to this group it would quickly grow in informal power and domestic governments around the world would be forced to recognize their people’s voices.
The government wants people to be terrified in order to legitimize taking away our liberty.
Corporations want us to be terrified into buying their crap.
The media wants us to be terrified because it makes for good ratings.
That’s because most people don’t give a shit and aren’t terrified at all. They’re only terrified when someone tells them they need to be, or should be in order to be good citizens and parents. They say, “sure, yes, I’m terrified, outraged” into the camera.
It’s not a matter of truth. It’s a matter of politics/lying in public. It’s about face. If we think the Chinese are about saving face, we should look into the mirror.
BTW, welcome to the Market Anarchist carnival, which will be on my blog on the 29th.
Thanks for the welcome Hellbound.
Terrified people are much easier to manage too, as they either stay home or look to Big Daddy Government for help (at which point Daddy smacks them around a bit and scoops up any loose change that falls out the citizens pockets).
Corporations also want us to be terrified so we’re distracted from the horrible acts many of them do for the pursuit of profit. The whole green movement is a great example of corporations scaring the shit out of us so we buy their eco-friendly stuff to save the planet (even though half the time their products are not so eco-friendly).
It’s funny (in a dark comedy way) how the media portrays Americans as the big, bad, tough cowboy persona but the same media at the same time feeds us terrorism and other scary propaganda. So we’re the big and tough American who is so out of shape they’re forced to drive and so soft we accept everything the media tells us.
Politics and increasingly many other facets of American life are being overrun by lying in public, or has it always been this way?