Friday, April 22, 2011

From the Death Throes Hope

From the death throes of pacifism and hope, the instinctive resource of violent revolution is born; for the very concept of pacifism is but an elevated opinion, an activated thought, a collective practice to which we ascend through the conduit of life to the zenith of existence.

Pacifism is, perhaps, that which ascends from the nature of survival, while on the other side of the same sphere, extant eternal, is the natural descent to collective violence.

Too often it seems that we in the US live by the axiom 'Divided, we Stand'. Our consumerism is driven by avarice, with the only goals being profit and status.

It seems not so long ago that I was swimming in an ocean of strife, trying to achieve that which I had been taught held value and worth. I owned a business that capitalized on the struggle of others. I abandoned that quest many years ago and have since struggled to financially survive. My financial survival, however, has become secondary to living with purpose and passion.

Now I find that the passion that lives deep within finds its way to strain for the gathering of humanity, for a consensus of compassion, for a time that is for all times, a time that brings with it a deeper acknowledgement that life without greed, life with hope, is a strand of humanity that has always been.

Time has always held both planes of human existence; greed, avarice, and war on the one side, and belief, faith, and hope on the other.

Perhaps the strands of politics and religion are the ropes between these planes of existence, serving as the mechanisms that drive us further from one and nearer the other.

As with most matters of truth, therein lies a paradox. For the very hope and faith that so often draw one to religion and politics are the very same hope and faith that so often turn one away from religion and politics.

Much as there is an existence that is separate, a cocoon (Salman's metaphor) of superficial values, if you will, there is a cocoon that is woven of the fabric of connected humanity - and perhaps we fall from one into the other from time to time, realizing that what we need the most is to be united and to stand for values that reject profit and status; that the common ground of human needs are greater than the common grounds of profit and status.

If we hold then to these values, perhaps we will find the unified strength to stand en masse against the greed, avarice, and status of the wealthy militaristic elite.

Too often such vision is met with laughter, chided as utopian and delusional; and too often is the case that those laughing would be better to either jump in and swim within the warmth of such a delusional, hopeful utopia or simply walk away into their lives of cynicism and greed.

For upon the other side of the illusion is the mass of humanity that would hope and strive for better things. When such hope is stripped from them - when they are chastised and scorned, pulled, ripped, and torn, abused, raped, starved, and murdered - another side of their humanity surfaces.

It is from this other side that revolution is born. And from that which has been denied, namely the desire for peaceful resistance against might for the betterment and common good of humanity, is born a mass of humanity that strikes out from the heart of a dying breed.

From the death throes of pacifism and hope, the instinctive resource of violent revolution is born.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Israel Grants Settlers Gun Licensing; a Conversation

Tel Aviv - PNN - Israel's Public Security Ministry, after weeks of crafting a new policy on the issue, has decided to give preference to settlers in gun licensing. The justification of the move is that any citizen living in a "danger zone" must receive preference from ther state in request of security measures.

‎'Tis the continued process of the legalization, nay, the encouragement and subsequent reward, for the genocide of the Palestinian people: Creating a completely complicit society, turning childrens' eyes to darkness, creating the prospect o...f profit as the only form of hope, fanatical 'prophecy' morphed into a policy of murderous 'promise', bloodlust to patriotism, pillage to pioneering, while politically patronizing the population of the wold with the rhetorical propaganda of peace.

FB Reply:

Nicholas: Weren't those also the goals of the Nazis? Because I see chilling and very twisted parallels there...just makes me shudder.

My Reply:

It truly is terrifying, and Thomas, I absolutely agree. And what is even more frightening to me is the global political consensus of the wealthy elite, the empowered fraction of the population that holds within its grasp this moment in time where it seems almost poised, with its vast military superiority, to capture the world's population through its neoliberal economic system.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Light and Reflection

Sometimes it's more about shadow than light, more about reflection than the experience, more about the thought than the spoken word. There's an imprint upon the water of the wings that soar above, a print left upon the concrete, an impression upon the world. It fades into light, the very last breath of life, and I will exhale without apology for who I've been.

A Week of Transition

It was a week of transition; from sunshine to snow and back again, from visions of light to foreboding darkness, returning to light - a portent of change, travel, and a shifting inside - a disposition of confinement exchanged for a predilection of liberation, the single motion of faith, and the subsequent abdication, abandon, relinquishing control for the freedom of hope.

Peace

Peace is an impossible prospect where war is so greatly rewarded.

God

Isn't it odd how immense everyone claims God to be, and yet they all claim 'him' too small to contain any 'religion' other than their own

Laughing at Others

What is it you will find so humorous today - the loneliness, the pain, the memories, the shame - the hiding in vain - - it's all the same; I'm glad I could help you smile.

Destiny of Nations - Work in Progress

It is only by a core belief in human nature that one is even able to hope that the better part of us will ever drive the destiny of nations.

Embrace the Rain

Try to hear just one drop of rain, as it lands with a whisper of truth, trickling down the window pane, a tear that has fallen to share this moment alone with only you.

There are times when actual pain, deep and physical, finds its way through the conduit of experience, past the gateway of emotion, and floods the mind, the body, and the spirit.

The pain is so true, so absolutely overpowering, that it seems to reach the very depth of your soul, tearing through your physical being, eradicating all promise and vanquishing all hope.

You subconsciously attempt to confine it as it wells inside to the point where it may no longer be contained.

As the clouds gather, the sky darkens, and the pain swirls in a conundrum of anguish, anger, sorrow, and bereavement, threatening to break past the confining walls of reason until it bursts through your constricted throat like whitewater through a weakened dam.

Tears are inconsequential, this pain is so real; there would be something within them that would denote belief, something of faith that you cannot find and for which you can no longer maintain the desire to search.

The choice of standing upon the mountain of veiled truth fades, the vulnerability that long lay beneath the surface is exposed, the conscious mind abandons its false strength, and the hollow ground beneath you collapses.

The unique components of self, the deceitful defense mechanisms that have developed over time, no longer concealed in expectation of survival, cast your eyes to the ground.

Broken wings give way to trembling, your mind breaks free of the shackles of feigned security, and you tumble downward through the chasm of perceived loss.

Shattered upon the floor of the valley of your soul, it seems you find yourself encased in one final wish; that you have at last found a resting place from which there will be no return.

Within this wish, from before it, beyond it, and yet through it, your senses are drawn to a portal, across the valley of despair, toward the world outside yourself.

This is but a fraction of a moment, and it delivers a sound, so soft that it is barely audible, so faint that it calls upon your memory like an echo from an ancient, almost forgotten, past.

A reflection, a hue of gentle, indirect, blue light strains the eyes as though commanding from both within and without to be beheld.

These fragments of sound and light have drawn their way through the darkness and landed upon a shaded pane of inner glass, a window upon which your deepest inner self is reflected and through which you find the acceptance of your pain.

Through the harmony of your senses a single drop of truth trickles down your inner window pane, calling to itself the tears from deep within that you have for so very long contained.

The sky swells, the clouds burst, and purge the ocean of your soul; the dam within you breaks, the walls crumble, and you are forever and yet never more alone, as you embrace the rain.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Thoughts on a Resourse-Based Economy

While involved in an interesting dialogue about anonymity and accountability in everything from fundraising to campaign ads and basic political messaging, the conversation turned to economy. One of the participants mentioned Zeitgeist and The Venus Project, which inevitably led to resource-based economy as an alternative economic structure, which then caused me to think about the social structure that might support such a concept, absent of an absolute transition into a utopian society that would so capably provide for all of humanity while preserving our planet. I watched a couple of the videos, continuing to dialogue off-and-on with Anwar and Ryan. It was very encouraging just to engage in open-minded discussion about concepts that are based on the idea that there are enough resources to provide for humanity, that our monetary system is inherently corrupt, and that we ultimatley must stand for the former and against the latter. This conversation led to these thoughts, which will hopefully encourage more people to engage in the dialogue - all true change is born of such seeds; thought, dialogue, and synergy.

I agree that western societies, particularly the US, are so materialistic and so immune to common problems, so weak in so many ways, that there are far more problems than there are solutions. One of the core beliefs that I have is that we should keep ourselves physically and mentally prepared for all challenges.

Here in a major city, for example, I see men waiting at a bus stop with a bicycle to go five miles. He puts the bicycle on the bus, rides the bus to two blocks before his destination, gets off and rides the two blocks to where he is going. I run or ride the entire way.

Another concept is that the physical and (perhaps more importantly) psychological impact of a society that has not had a major war on its own soil within the last five or six generations has generated a population that is spoiled and that believes it is superior to all others.

The reason the US has not had a war has nothing to do with how much it loves peace, but rather the fear it has generated throughout the world and the fear it generates in its own people. It is the only country ever to use a weapon of mass destruction, and yet tells the world who can and cannot develop nuclear weapons. A survey of many large western and eastern countries, many of them US allies, shows that the US is the most feared country on the planet. It is also the most murderous.

These points being made, brings me to the subject of your message, which is what would happen in the case of shutting anything down for a transitional period into such a society as is presented in The Venus Project and Zeitgeist. I haven’t looked far enough into either project either, but from the general logic and common sense with which they’ve factored in various considerations, I would imagine that there are at least some very basic plans and/or contingencies drafted for such a transition and I would further venture that the transition would be over a significant period of time. I believe they still desire to get a model city off the ground (?). I plan on looking further into it, if for no other reason than to engage more in the thought process of resource based economy, which is a phenomenal concept. Just based on that, it probably wouldn’t take too much to get me on board at least from a conceptual disposition.

Here’s the biggest obstacle; money. We are living in a time when there is a very militarized and powerful movement by the global wealthy elite to solidify and finalize the stranglehold of the neoliberal economic principles of class warfare. This small fraction of the world’s economically powerful are showing on a daily basis that they are almost as addicted to war and blood as they are to avarice and greed. This group of people will not even permit the peaceful establishment of a true social democracy, let alone a movement of any substantial impact that intends to shift the economic principles from monetary to resource.

If right prevails, as the very best part of me wants to believe that it always will, then we will see this type of a shift eventually, or we will see the end of the world – perhaps neither within our lifetime. But if we intend to ever get to a social system that is anything other than gluttonous, economically oppressive, racist, and sexist, then we are going to have to have a concept in our minds that is based on precisely the fundamental tenets of the Zeitgeist and Venus projects. I do not believe that this will be accomplished without significant time and a horrific amount of bloodshed. But these things will come to pass regardless; my only question is when will the time come when people unite around a consensus of compassion, when will such a consensus recognize that the movement may not survive if it is pacifist, and how will such a movement structure itself so that it is not based on power, but rather a transition toward a social democracy that is based on a resource-based economy. If such a movement and such a transition can develop, I would think that the goal would be a hybrid of a social democracy and a resource-based economy.

There are many people who will purport (possibly quite correctly) that my position is fundamentally flawed in the assertion that seeing an ultimate global revolution or armed conflict can be a true path to a peaceful society. I find myself torn at that very point. I want to believe that we can ultimately reach peace through peace, but history shows us that we have been able to reach peace neither through war or peace. And I believe the reason for this is money. When the goal of humanity is profit, we cannot find a way around the profit of war.

Is it possible then to foresee a future where we are not led peacefully to the slaughterhouse like cattle, where we unite, organize, and provide an alternative to the current political and economic structures, and where we ultimately seek revolution on a peaceful ground? This is always how it should begin. But to look around us, literally and historically, and see that our peaceful world leaders are murdered quite regularly, that peaceful movements become as corrupt as any other political machine, that the disease of capitalism and neoliberal economics are spreading rampantly, is to see that any true mechanism of change must be prepared for a lengthy battle on many different levels.

In the meantime I try to objectively seek input from others, to consider new ideas and perspectives, and to engage in dialogue with others who do the same.

Our voices can only matter if we cause them to be heard.

Anonymity and Accountability

The new AA - Anonymity and Accountability - this could be the corporate politician's AA support group - they demand the former and refuse the latter.

The most convenient thing is that it doesn't matter that there isn't any accountability, that they are misleading, and that the positions they take turn out to be false. The reason it doesn't matter is that unaccountable, misleading, false representation reflects the very values by which they are supported.

Greed and avarice do not go well with accountability, truth, and transparency.

And it isn't necessarily a matter of left or right, democrat or republican; it is a matter of a corrupt system that promotes and rewards dishonesty and corruption. Our motive as a nation is profit. The number one profitable product is the result of a corrupt political system that is driven by profit and the quest for hegemony; and that product is war.

It should be no surprise to anyone to see our social infrastructure dismantled and our civil liberties abandoned as we revert back to a society of institutional economic oppression, sexism, and racism. These are very real and serious circumstances, but we did not arrive here overnight. We were brought here by being divisive and by allowing our government to pit us against each other, while they engaged in neoliberal economic movements, depleting our labor product, exporting our jobs, and opening up international markets through 'free trade' agreements and war.

We are now in the final stages of the process, which is evident as the polarized public is drawn into the battle between left and right. In the interim, our domestic problems distract us from our blatant war crimes and vice versa.

It should be evident to everyone that our government 'representatives', our 'servants', are impotent at best and are corporate puppets at worst. Elections are stolen, lies regarding our domestic and foreign policies are laid out by our mass media in a manner that guides us willingly to our corresponding ‘side’, causing us to fall in line behind our corrupt government, believing that we can change the system from within.

It is apparent that the past one hundred years have taught the wealthy elite some very valuable lessons. We are controlled by fear and division. And while we are now in the throes of division, we should be prepared to be plagued by fear; financial 'crisis' and 'emergency' on the domestic front, and 'national security' on the foreign policy side.

Our value, our labor product, is no longer needed. Enough slave markets have been created beyond our borders that our unions can be stripped bare, our social treasure trove can be given to the wealthy elite, and we are rendered defenseless.

We find ourselves in a position where we must gauge our social strength not relative to our political strength, but by the degree to which we, as a public, see through the veil of government hypocrisy.

The progressive movement wants change, sees social values and the social infrastructure as primary, while the conservative movements still believe in the capitalistic values driven by profit. The progressives desire honesty, transparency, and peace while the conservatives thrive on the concept of strength over weakness, profit over loss, and war over peace.

The most frightening absolute fact is that the money and power is on the conservative side, and the window for true revolution, for true change, is closing. When this window closes - when we find ourselves on the other side of crisis and emergency, with election upon election being stolen, with representatives that do not represent the majority consensus, it will be too late. When at last we are able to unite rather than divide, the emergency and crisis to which we have acquiesced will have left us in the stranglehold of a corporatocracy that shows all too well that social wellbeing holds no relative value.

If we are to be able to change our system from within, we must first recognize the ill nature of our predicament and we must be prepared to call our politicians to account; we must be prepared to demand service from our servants and true representation from our representatives. We must be willing to call a thief a thief, a murderer a murderer, and we must demand justice. We must be willing to apply these principles to our domestic and foreign policies. We must vacate the corrupt houses of the wealthy elite corporate politicians, we must disengage militarily, and we must reassess as a nation where we wish to place our values for the future.

Continued lust for profit, a completely divided progressive movement, and a balance of the remaining population steeped in complacent apathy will leave us lamenting this moment of necessity, this pivotal moment of opportunity.

At the very top, within the circles of the wealthy elite, the left and the right are united, they are working together. They are profiting on our division and they are literally and figuratively banking on our ignorance. They have managed our consent and have played on our division like attorneys in a heated divorce where there are significant assets at stake. At the end of the day, the family is torn to shreds and the attorneys are at a local establishment tipping glasses in congratulations to one another for their corresponding roles in the perverse charade.

Even as I write this, I hear the acknowledgement of the truth mixed with the retreat of the powerless. I hear the indignant rage of the right and the hopeful marching of the left. It is likely that we will continue down the path of division and that the legacy will pass to the next generation. I only hope they are wiser than we have been and that we have at least prepared them well.

‎'Should members of Congress be paid if the government shuts down?' was the question - My Reply:

They should not be paid period.

They are to be public servants, accountable to the public whom they are to serve.

Compensation should be determined proportionate to availability within the budget after providing for the social welfare of the country.

The standards to which they are held should be higher, not lower, ...and the standard by which they are to subsist should be a standard that is proportionate to the median income, not the elite.

They should be stripped of all corporate ties and of all private wealth. Then they should be allowed to serve, with transparency and accountability.

They should be governed as they govern.

They should be imprisoned for their crimes.

They should be made to live with the poor and walk in the streets of the destitute.

They should be made to dress in common clothing and to eat common food.

They should have to walk rather than drive.

They should be given no special treatment whatsoever.

Their travel should be dictated as necessary by the people, with personal and professional expenses published in a standardized format available for all to scrutinize.

They should be made to answer to a citizen panel for their actions on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis.

They should live paycheck to paycheck and their children should attend public schools.

They should have to serve the country by showing their willingness to put themselves and their loved ones on the front line of any conflict or war into which they are willing to sign away the lives of their countrymen.

They should be willing to partake firsthand in the bloodlust and murder that they agree to each and every time they sign the death warrants of hundreds of thousands of innocent people throughout the world.

They should be stripped of the pride and arrogance that they carry when they look down their noses at their fellow men and women and they should be addressed only as servants, with respect and dignity equal to that which they give.

To serve is not such a bad thing at all; it is an honor, but only when it is done honorably.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

On Faith and Religion

As we step away from the consumer trough we are left beyond the filters through which we, along with our individual and collective consent, are managed.

We live in a time that is as all times are for those who are called with a convicting voice from within; a time when we must recognize the growth that has taken place since humanity was upon the distant horizon; and a voice that tells us that there is a common bond, there is a moral standard, there is a consensus of compassion, and all are one.

These ‘utopian’ principles are at the core of every faith – that is every true faith – non-objectified faith – faith from which religion is born.

When we allow ourselves trapped within the battle of 'religion', we immediately lose faith - and that is the art of politics and religion - to separate and divide, thus allowing the hold of avarice, greed, and pride to take us at the very core, as we flail upon the surface, gasping for small breaths of humanity. All the while our true purpose in life is drawn ever so slowly from our individual and collective soul, and we find ourselves following men, rather than faith.

This is not to say that we should not have faith, that we should not have religion; for our faith and our religion many times represent the very best of all that we are, and are so often the last shred of hope to which so many hold in such desperate times as these.

Rather, we should have faith that is the impetus of hope and that is seen for the false shell of religion upon its request for us to be less than we would otherwise be, when it asks of us to hate and to divide and to war and to profit. We must look to the common ground on which all true faith and religion are based and look away from the manmade structure, the empty monolithic oligarchical behemoth that it becomes when it is subjected to the prideful idolatry of mankind.

We must have faith as reflected through a child's eyes, and if we are called to ‘religion’, we must hold that religion accountable to maintain a religious vision that that is rooted far beneath the surface in our heart of hearts.

Our belief must be so strong that it convicts us and demands our voices ring out; it must be so true that it stands against all odds and demands that the power of the politic and the power of the religion are brought to their knees to serve their purpose, which is to serve the greater good.

Our faith must be so strong that accountability is a byword and that those who rise above, those who lead, perceive and project themselves with a servant’s humility.

Our faith must stand in the face of laughter as it is perceived as weakness, all the while gathering the strength by which it is born and with which it is ever present in each and every one. And it is the strength of our belief and faith that will become manifest in actions that will serve the cause to which we are called.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Goldstone Report - A Work In Progress

http://mondoweiss.net/

This is not easy to watch, but it is the truth from which we turn our eyes daily that allows us to betray our own conscience.

The Goldstone Report chronicles the UN investigation into one event that... took place over one winter; it does not include the beginning of the genocide in 1948 and the literally hundreds of thousands of deaths that have taken place at the hands of Israel, with the consent of the US and with US weapons and finance.

Look upon the poverty, look upon the bodies of dead children, bullet holes through the chest, through the head. Understand just how hollow empathy and compassion look and feel through the veiled distance of photos and videography. What is the active process of faith when the overwhelming sense of powerlessness takes hold; where does the path begin from there to a better tomorrow.

In our name, for what? Get lost in the political, religious, ethical values and find yourself diving to the surface for a tree beneath which you might evade the glaring heat of scorching reality. There is only a voice - one - that is yours, it is mine - it is theirs. If we believe that this can be done in our name and that there is no spiritual retribution, then let us bury our shame in that belief and cry out in indignant rage that we carry forth the lie of the generations before us and burden the spirit of our children with the very same lie.

No. Let us swallow hard and speak the truth to those who might hear. Let us bear the fleeting glances of those who will not engage in even the conversation as to how our collective soul has lost its courage to stand. Let us cast our votes in the process of a lying democracy, because we must, albeit for the lesser of two evils. But let us not give in to the corporatocracy that feeds this warmongering machine of hateful profit.

Let us actively seek to change the system from within the system as we may, but understand that we must harden the spirit in preparation to stand one day with those who fall beneath the crushing weight of our silence today.

Faith does not, in any name, equate to Capitalism or Neoliberal Economics

The purpose of this post is not to challenge Christian belief, disbelief, agreement, etc. The primary purpose is to establish that ANYONE who CLAIMS to be a Christian and adheres to capatilist or neoliberal economic principles is a hypocrite. If the vast majority of Christians in the US would stand on the principle of social provision with common goods, we would have the majority necessary to bring about a necessary fundamental shift in the priorities, goals, actions, and results of our country. If we were a true democracy, if we were a true nation of humanitarians, we would not have capitalism or neoliberal economics as fundamental economic systems.

While this post started out as a way of using a Christian verse to illustrate a point regarding the priorities of the country, it has moved into a broader scope. To start with, however, Mathew 14:13-21 is a great way to illustrate the simple point that Jesus was not a capitalist.

This just happens to be a fun verse with which to make this point.

A secondary purpose of this post is to just open up the minds of objective, compassionate-minded people to consider the radical murderous campaigns of Zionist movements, both Christian and Judaic. Please don't get the concept of compassion in my case confused with pacifism, because not all progressive thinkers are pacifist and I apply this first and foremost to myself. I do not state this with pride, I state it with shame. I wish I could be innocent enough to set aside the defensive nature that rises with the indignation and rage that are associated with the fact that the US government murders without conscience in the name of democracy and humanitarianism. I wish I could turn the other proverbial cheek. I can not, and I believe that the world over sees that peace is the only answer, but war has been the overriding truth. But, as Michael Moore says "I'm not a chihuahua."

So, here we go:

Matthew 14:13-21 (English Standard Version)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13Now when Jesus heard this,(A) he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When he went ashore he(B) saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over;(C) send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16But Jesus said, "They need not go away;(D) you give them something to eat." 17They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." 18And he said, "Bring them here to me."

19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish,(E) he looked up to heaven and(F) said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children


Imagine Jesus, at verse 19 (above) inserting the capitalist concept of supply and demand! "O.k., we have five thousand people and we have five loaves of bread and five fish. Dude, we can make some serious dough here! Let's start the bidding mid-range and see how much we can get for them! We'll be rich!"

Or - let's go neoliberal. "We have a corporation that can come in, establish the market, manage the process, and we'll give the profits to the stockholders. The rest of the people can go out and fish, bring us their catch, while we give them just enough to eat to keep them alive, and sell the fish at a higher profit margin so that we'll make more money. If they won't work for the lowest possible wage, we'll build a processing plant across the Jordan where people are even more hungry than these; that way, we export our labor. Then, when we ship the processed fish back over, we'll tax the sales, thus paying for the factory with the people's money and we'll make even more profit! Socialize the costs, privatize the profits - they'll make me king! Once I'm king we'll send our army throughout the world, creating more markets, more slave labor processing plants (factories) and the stockholders will all get huge bonuses! If the countries throughout the world don't comply with our demands, we'll stage revolutions, kill innocent people, institute states of 'crisis' and 'emergency', call the people who fight against us 'terrorists' and 'insurgents', rape their women, imprison their children - what a plan - no wonder they call me God!"



Only America could create such a hypocrisy, sell the world that it stands on Christian values, convince the stupid (I intentionally use the word 'stupid' over the word ignorant, because ignorance denotes innocence and everyone knows that the hypocrisy of which I speak is absolute truth and they buy into it anyway with dollar signs for pupils in their greedy eyes) people of the country to pledge allegiance to their own slavery, while voting for the murder of people throughout the world if they won't do the same.

As a country we pray by day, murder by night - in our sleep (impressive!), export our labor, import the goods, increase the price, pay the dividends to the stockholders, create new markets on speculation of 'new market economies' that we create throughout the world, and call it 'democracy' and 'humanitarianism'. And here's what's even better - we've taken the concept of separation of church and state, freedom of religion, etc., and used it to divide ourselves, thereby creating the environment wherein we can point fingers at one another while all buying into and contributing to the same murderous hypocrisy. Hallelujah!!!

Meanwhile folks, our Christian and Judaic Zionist facist principles spread throughout the world, waging absolute war on Islam and any other nation that even thinks about implementing true democracy or utilizing their own resources to serve their own people. Our least favorite humans amongst all are the indigenous peoples of the world. We are assisting the Israelis in doing to the Palestinians what we have done to the Native American Indians - but Israel is even more overt and outspoken in their intentions - in the words of Moshe Dayan in the early 1970's - "You [Palestinians] shall continue to live like dogs, and whoever wishes may leave, and we will see where this process leads." – Moshe Dayan

"When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged roaches in a bottle."
– Rafael Eitan (1929-2004) served as Chief of Staff of the IDF, and later as Knesset member and government minister.

Read the Goldstone Report and find out how these statements have come to fruition through the policies and procedures of the generationally genocidal government of Israel, which is empowered in spirit and in fact by the United States of America.

You see, the belief is that whether the coming of Christ is the first or the second time, it is prophecy. And the warmongering people of the world justify and rationalize genocide based on this prophecy. Read 'Gaza in Crisis', Illan Pappe and Noam Chomsky for excellent information on the process that has taken place over the past century to accomplish these goals.

Read 'Lords of the Land' by Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar for the history of the illegal and murderous settlement process.

Here are the arguments - and they are base, at best.

1) If you don't like it, you can leave. This is America, son. If you don't support our government you're just not patriotic. You just need to Shut Up!

Imagine my response:

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" Thomas Jefferson

“Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation’s history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movements, and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2) Other countries are more oppressive and religion has a history of genocide.

Imagine my response:

I don't care. This is my country as well as anyone's and I am not of any religion - better yet, faith - that is beneath consience and compassion. I believe in peaceful dissent and, if necessary, peaceful revolt. When our government stands, as it will, in its murderous stance against its own people - better even, consider this already accomplished as our government states within its proclomation of hypocrisy that the people of the world are the people of America - then we must stand for ourselves. We can no longer be a nation that stands because it is divided. Indeed, we must become a nation that stands because it is united. We must lay aside labels, filters, partisanship, religion, and most of all CONSUMERISM, and we must stand on the principle of human value.

A Smile on Dying

Nicholas Sterner (100):

A flower saw a woman cry
perhaps an angel, loneliness
who for a gesture of pure good will
returned a tear of sweet caress
If this is all that we might give
a moment's smile of tenderness
a vessel empty we might fill
a restless heart may soon well rest

Indigenous

It is wonderful to... (100):

It is wonderful to see people defend their land,
as troubled as it may be, with such passion
and to speak of its beauty even when it has been portrayed in darkness
And isn't it common that the beauty of a country is most often reflected most purely in the eyes of its most humble citizens?

Mourning Lullaby

The city awakens,... (100):

The city awakens as the sun goes down,
urban America on the horizon
The echo of the machine
The soundtrack of humanity
against the backdrop of sacrifice bereft of conviction
Sleep, America, fall
The cries of the dying world
are the lullaby of the mourning