Adam from Michigan on Freedom and Inaction
Dear Global Community,
There currently exists an enormous divide within our great nation between people who wish to change our country for the better and people who don't. Those brave and vigilant enough to speak up about it are being criticized by those who refuse to. I have heard many responses to the constructive criticism of our country, and beyond pointless name-calling, it often involves the assertion that those questioning our government are 'anti-American' and should leave the country if they do not like it. There is nothing wrong with voicing such an opinion, and in fact, the freedom to express it is one of the basic rights that we still have left that continue to make our country great.
But in order to continue the absolutely critical and always necessary discussion and evaluation of our leadership, we must be honest with ourselves. We must step back and look, with neutral objectivity, upon our words and evaluate what they truly mean. To hold such an opinion, that questioning our government is invalid and unnecessary, is to demonstrate not only a complete lack of understanding, but also a contempt for those most basic ideas upon which our nation was founded. This opinion itself is, in fact, not only un-American, but self-destructive.
Our nation was founded by great men with great intelligence that questioned and criticized their government. It is not only the foundation of America's entire way of life, but the foundation of all democracy. America has long led the world by example, but in much of the last few decades, it has set a very poor one. In doing so, it has undermined our basic principles, destroyed the faith in and of our country both within and without, and discredited the very principles of democracy that so embody the American spirit.
We impose our will upon other nations under the guise of freedom, a concept so backwards that it is utterly impossible. Freedom cannot be given. If it is given to a country or a people, then it is done so under the implicit assumption that there is something to be given back in turn, which therefore nullifies the freedom given in the first place. Freedom must be taken, it must be fought for and won, and it must never be given up because it will never be given back again. America has given up it's freedom for the illusion of security.
I get it. America is afraid, and so am I. I am afraid of our government, and the actions it might take against people like me who stand up and question the things they are doing. I'm afraid to write these words, and pass them onto my fellow Americans. I'm afraid of their reactions, that they won't listen, or won't take any action. I'm afraid to post this video to Youtube. I'm afraid that our current situation is hopeless. And yet, here I am, doing what I have to in spite of my fears because I know' not think, KNOW' what I'm doing is right.
The media has betrayed us by assisting those in power in their quest to deconstruct our language. This deconstruction is very important, because it allows tyranny to enter, invited, into our homes under the false impression of good intentions. Once powerful and critically meaningful words like 'freedom,' 'patriot,' and 'terrorism' have been turned into media buzz words. We have seen this type of manipulation before, during other times in other countries, and if we fail to acknowledge and understand history, then we are doomed to repeat it.
It works as follows: first, these powerful words are chosen, because of their significance to the people, by those who wish to extend their reach. These words are then abused, misused, and overused so extremely to the point where they become meaningless. The media is often used, and has been, to enable the nullification of their meanings. Once their true meanings have been completely forgotten, the government is then free to redefine these words however they choose, and to distribute those definitions to an unassuming and unaware population. 'Freedom' becomes the will of the government. 'Terrorist' becomes anyone who speaks out against their government. 'Patriot' becomes an obedient servant to the empire. 'Citizen' becomes subject. 'President' becomes dictator.
Our schools have betrayed us because they have failed to teach us to think critically. They've failed to adequately explain history and stress its importance. They've failed to adequately instill in us the meaning and value of the ideas our country was founded upon, and the great sacrifice that was necessary to do so. Education is no longer a service, it is a business. America gets dumber as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the powerful become more powerful.
The world has watched this happening and has heard the deafening silence of the American people, who either no longer care about or no longer pay attention to the reality around them. Complacency, inaction, and hopelessness are the enemies of free people, and America is ripe with them.
The objective of our form of government is to empower the people. The Framers constructed our government specifically around the basis that we govern ourselves. It is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and therefore, it is we the people who are ultimately responsible for the actions of our government. Questioning and changing our government for the better is not only our right as Americans, but our undeniable and inescapable duty as members of a self-governing body.
About the author:
Name: Adam
Age: 25
Country: United States
State: Michigan
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Authorized Inspector
Website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQAl8jsvyCU
0 Comments
Published on Friday, July 27, 2007 at 2:22 PM.
There currently exists an enormous divide within our great nation between people who wish to change our country for the better and people who don't. Those brave and vigilant enough to speak up about it are being criticized by those who refuse to. I have heard many responses to the constructive criticism of our country, and beyond pointless name-calling, it often involves the assertion that those questioning our government are 'anti-American' and should leave the country if they do not like it. There is nothing wrong with voicing such an opinion, and in fact, the freedom to express it is one of the basic rights that we still have left that continue to make our country great.
But in order to continue the absolutely critical and always necessary discussion and evaluation of our leadership, we must be honest with ourselves. We must step back and look, with neutral objectivity, upon our words and evaluate what they truly mean. To hold such an opinion, that questioning our government is invalid and unnecessary, is to demonstrate not only a complete lack of understanding, but also a contempt for those most basic ideas upon which our nation was founded. This opinion itself is, in fact, not only un-American, but self-destructive.
Our nation was founded by great men with great intelligence that questioned and criticized their government. It is not only the foundation of America's entire way of life, but the foundation of all democracy. America has long led the world by example, but in much of the last few decades, it has set a very poor one. In doing so, it has undermined our basic principles, destroyed the faith in and of our country both within and without, and discredited the very principles of democracy that so embody the American spirit.
We impose our will upon other nations under the guise of freedom, a concept so backwards that it is utterly impossible. Freedom cannot be given. If it is given to a country or a people, then it is done so under the implicit assumption that there is something to be given back in turn, which therefore nullifies the freedom given in the first place. Freedom must be taken, it must be fought for and won, and it must never be given up because it will never be given back again. America has given up it's freedom for the illusion of security.
I get it. America is afraid, and so am I. I am afraid of our government, and the actions it might take against people like me who stand up and question the things they are doing. I'm afraid to write these words, and pass them onto my fellow Americans. I'm afraid of their reactions, that they won't listen, or won't take any action. I'm afraid to post this video to Youtube. I'm afraid that our current situation is hopeless. And yet, here I am, doing what I have to in spite of my fears because I know' not think, KNOW' what I'm doing is right.
The media has betrayed us by assisting those in power in their quest to deconstruct our language. This deconstruction is very important, because it allows tyranny to enter, invited, into our homes under the false impression of good intentions. Once powerful and critically meaningful words like 'freedom,' 'patriot,' and 'terrorism' have been turned into media buzz words. We have seen this type of manipulation before, during other times in other countries, and if we fail to acknowledge and understand history, then we are doomed to repeat it.
It works as follows: first, these powerful words are chosen, because of their significance to the people, by those who wish to extend their reach. These words are then abused, misused, and overused so extremely to the point where they become meaningless. The media is often used, and has been, to enable the nullification of their meanings. Once their true meanings have been completely forgotten, the government is then free to redefine these words however they choose, and to distribute those definitions to an unassuming and unaware population. 'Freedom' becomes the will of the government. 'Terrorist' becomes anyone who speaks out against their government. 'Patriot' becomes an obedient servant to the empire. 'Citizen' becomes subject. 'President' becomes dictator.
Our schools have betrayed us because they have failed to teach us to think critically. They've failed to adequately explain history and stress its importance. They've failed to adequately instill in us the meaning and value of the ideas our country was founded upon, and the great sacrifice that was necessary to do so. Education is no longer a service, it is a business. America gets dumber as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the powerful become more powerful.
The world has watched this happening and has heard the deafening silence of the American people, who either no longer care about or no longer pay attention to the reality around them. Complacency, inaction, and hopelessness are the enemies of free people, and America is ripe with them.
The objective of our form of government is to empower the people. The Framers constructed our government specifically around the basis that we govern ourselves. It is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and therefore, it is we the people who are ultimately responsible for the actions of our government. Questioning and changing our government for the better is not only our right as Americans, but our undeniable and inescapable duty as members of a self-governing body.
About the author:
Name: Adam
Age: 25
Country: United States
State: Michigan
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Authorized Inspector
Website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQAl8jsvyCU
Labels: 20's, democracy, education, foreign policy, freedom, government, inspector, male, media, medium income, michigan, terrorism
William from Florida
Dear Global Community,
This will be what may turn out to be a dose of hard truth. I am an American, born in the state of Florida and currently residing in the Tri-State area. What I am about to write here constitutes some strong feelings that have been haunting me for nearly eight years now.
I am neither Democrat nor Republican in my political views, I merely believe in common sense. I understand that no candidate is perfect, and each has their flaws and accolades. I am not merely a "Bush Hater" nor an extreme leftist as I would be eagerly branded by my fellow countrymen.
This has got to stop. The President of the United States is the highest office and elected leader can hold in our country, and with this position one is expected to set an example for the country. Our current leader is neither doing this nor is he interested in the well being of it's citizens.
From the time he has taken office, he has summarily lied to his nation nonstop for personal gain and at our expense. This person has waged war on multiple countries under false pretense. This man has orchestrated the greatest acts of treason in our history with the now blatantly obvious orchestration of the 9/11 "terror" attacks.
We are Americans, and we pride ourselves on not falling for fascism. Our country was founded in this very principle in 1776. We fought fascism in both world wars with success, and we stood up to communism and violations of human rights afterwards.
And yet, somehow, we are quickly losing all of the liberties and freedoms our forefathers lost their lives for. Six years ago when these atrocities began to pour in, it was people like myself who blatantly tried to tell our country it was an inside job, and that he was going to try to send us into a never-ending war.
We were short of persecuted as conspiracy nuts, or eliminated as some type of dissenting witch hunt. Four years into his presidency, when he was up for re-election, we had overwhelming proof from all sides that we were already marching into a fascist regime and that all we had to do was simply elect somebody else in order to put a stop to it.
Yet, this man was re-elected for a second term. He spent the first four years lying to us non-stop, and yet we somehow believed him when he said he was telling the truth for re-election. Many of us still believe he is not and has not lied to the very people he has sworn to protect and serve.
Look, even if you still believe that terrorists did in fact attack the world trade center, you still have to ask why we haven't caught the man responsible. Last time I checked, this is what the war on terror was about - Al Quaeda and the capture of Osama Bin Laden. It has been nearly two presidential terms, and we are waging wars in countries that had little to no connection with the WTC attacks.
And as a country, we are allowing it in our names. This is an atrocity at the very best, and absolute treason at it's worst. The man who has sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America has been eroding and eliminating those very same freedoms from day one. At this moment in time, the Bill of Rights has essentially been eliminated, and much of the Constitution itself is under the watchful scrutiny of those who would wish to practice revisionism for their own sake.
We live in an age where information is freely available for the asking. All we have to do is a search on Google, and all of the evidence and proof unfolds. But we simply do not do this for some odd reason.
This inaction reminds me of when Hitler wrote a book called Mein Kampf detailing every single thing he was planning to do and where he stood on issues, available on bookshelves across the country. And still nobody read it, and after the world war, the people who suffered ignorance and apathy told the world that they had no clue he was doing such horrible things; which was a total fabrication sine people clearly did know ahead of time.
Well, now all of the treasonous acts against our country, the lies, the preemptive wars (ignoring Geneva conventions), the concentration camp known as Guantanamo Bay, the calm elimination of our Bill of Rights at his discretion, and so much more go unnoticed by the majority of people in this country.
And for the people that know these things are going on, it is still a shameful act to sit idly by and allow him to continue. Just because you conquered your ignorance does not mean you can still latch onto your apathy as a convenience.
Is witnessing a murder but doing nothing to stop it, and even authorizing it, still a crime even though your weren't the one to commit the murder? Of course it is... so why is it so hard to accept what is going on, and then stand up to it?
Remember, doing nothing but watching as a murderer pulls the trigger makes you just as guilty as doing it yourself. And this is a concept I truly hope hits home with this country.
I still would like to believe that America and it's citizens are not as stupid and apathetic as the rest of the world seems to believe. So far though I have little to disprove the rest of the world, and I simply wish above all else that we as a people finally put our feet down and say enough is enough.
We owe it to our founding fathers.
We owe it to ourselves.
We owe it to future generations.
When my son or daughter looks back in the history books and reads about this time period, and when this child looks me in the eyes and asks his or her daddy what he did during these times to try and stop it - I will say in all honesty "Everything I could."
I believe it's high time the rest of America legitimately make that claim as well, making our forefathers proud. The rest of the world used to look up to us (maybe not the French) and now they see us as a threat to Freedom, Democracy and Liberty.
Pretty ironic since we as a country apparently live by that code. We are simply acting shameful and like cowards. This man, George W Bush, is garnering Unilateral power over America... and no, this is not a good thing. All I am asking is to make some waves, let this administration know their actions will not be tolerated. There is so much more I wish to say in this letter, but I realize that I couldn't possibly cover a fraction of what this man has done in our names.
So I will simply close this open letter to America, hoping that the components which enlighten you, as well as motivate you.
Sincerely,
William Burns III
About the Author
Name: William Burns III
Age: 28
Country: USA
Gender: Male
Occupation: VR Designer
Website: http://www.vr5-online.com
1 Comments
Published on Saturday, March 3, 2007 at 1:40 AM.
This will be what may turn out to be a dose of hard truth. I am an American, born in the state of Florida and currently residing in the Tri-State area. What I am about to write here constitutes some strong feelings that have been haunting me for nearly eight years now.
I am neither Democrat nor Republican in my political views, I merely believe in common sense. I understand that no candidate is perfect, and each has their flaws and accolades. I am not merely a "Bush Hater" nor an extreme leftist as I would be eagerly branded by my fellow countrymen.
This has got to stop. The President of the United States is the highest office and elected leader can hold in our country, and with this position one is expected to set an example for the country. Our current leader is neither doing this nor is he interested in the well being of it's citizens.
From the time he has taken office, he has summarily lied to his nation nonstop for personal gain and at our expense. This person has waged war on multiple countries under false pretense. This man has orchestrated the greatest acts of treason in our history with the now blatantly obvious orchestration of the 9/11 "terror" attacks.
We are Americans, and we pride ourselves on not falling for fascism. Our country was founded in this very principle in 1776. We fought fascism in both world wars with success, and we stood up to communism and violations of human rights afterwards.
And yet, somehow, we are quickly losing all of the liberties and freedoms our forefathers lost their lives for. Six years ago when these atrocities began to pour in, it was people like myself who blatantly tried to tell our country it was an inside job, and that he was going to try to send us into a never-ending war.
We were short of persecuted as conspiracy nuts, or eliminated as some type of dissenting witch hunt. Four years into his presidency, when he was up for re-election, we had overwhelming proof from all sides that we were already marching into a fascist regime and that all we had to do was simply elect somebody else in order to put a stop to it.
Yet, this man was re-elected for a second term. He spent the first four years lying to us non-stop, and yet we somehow believed him when he said he was telling the truth for re-election. Many of us still believe he is not and has not lied to the very people he has sworn to protect and serve.
Look, even if you still believe that terrorists did in fact attack the world trade center, you still have to ask why we haven't caught the man responsible. Last time I checked, this is what the war on terror was about - Al Quaeda and the capture of Osama Bin Laden. It has been nearly two presidential terms, and we are waging wars in countries that had little to no connection with the WTC attacks.
And as a country, we are allowing it in our names. This is an atrocity at the very best, and absolute treason at it's worst. The man who has sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America has been eroding and eliminating those very same freedoms from day one. At this moment in time, the Bill of Rights has essentially been eliminated, and much of the Constitution itself is under the watchful scrutiny of those who would wish to practice revisionism for their own sake.
We live in an age where information is freely available for the asking. All we have to do is a search on Google, and all of the evidence and proof unfolds. But we simply do not do this for some odd reason.
This inaction reminds me of when Hitler wrote a book called Mein Kampf detailing every single thing he was planning to do and where he stood on issues, available on bookshelves across the country. And still nobody read it, and after the world war, the people who suffered ignorance and apathy told the world that they had no clue he was doing such horrible things; which was a total fabrication sine people clearly did know ahead of time.
Well, now all of the treasonous acts against our country, the lies, the preemptive wars (ignoring Geneva conventions), the concentration camp known as Guantanamo Bay, the calm elimination of our Bill of Rights at his discretion, and so much more go unnoticed by the majority of people in this country.
And for the people that know these things are going on, it is still a shameful act to sit idly by and allow him to continue. Just because you conquered your ignorance does not mean you can still latch onto your apathy as a convenience.
Is witnessing a murder but doing nothing to stop it, and even authorizing it, still a crime even though your weren't the one to commit the murder? Of course it is... so why is it so hard to accept what is going on, and then stand up to it?
Remember, doing nothing but watching as a murderer pulls the trigger makes you just as guilty as doing it yourself. And this is a concept I truly hope hits home with this country.
I still would like to believe that America and it's citizens are not as stupid and apathetic as the rest of the world seems to believe. So far though I have little to disprove the rest of the world, and I simply wish above all else that we as a people finally put our feet down and say enough is enough.
We owe it to our founding fathers.
We owe it to ourselves.
We owe it to future generations.
When my son or daughter looks back in the history books and reads about this time period, and when this child looks me in the eyes and asks his or her daddy what he did during these times to try and stop it - I will say in all honesty "Everything I could."
I believe it's high time the rest of America legitimately make that claim as well, making our forefathers proud. The rest of the world used to look up to us (maybe not the French) and now they see us as a threat to Freedom, Democracy and Liberty.
Pretty ironic since we as a country apparently live by that code. We are simply acting shameful and like cowards. This man, George W Bush, is garnering Unilateral power over America... and no, this is not a good thing. All I am asking is to make some waves, let this administration know their actions will not be tolerated. There is so much more I wish to say in this letter, but I realize that I couldn't possibly cover a fraction of what this man has done in our names.
So I will simply close this open letter to America, hoping that the components which enlighten you, as well as motivate you.
Sincerely,
William Burns III
About the Author
Name: William Burns III
Age: 28
Country: USA
Gender: Male
Occupation: VR Designer
Website: http://www.vr5-online.com
Labels: 20's, florida, foreign policy, history, independent, male, politics, technical, terrorism, war and conflict
