The War For Your Mind... At Home and Abroad

While the major focus on American society is who they are getting ready to vote for in November, there are still two wars being waged on two different fronts. Three, if one is counting the secret war on our civil liberties being waged since the the introduction of the Patriot Act. Despite our country not being on the front lines of this ever-growing unjust invasion of a military operation, the battle has definitely hit home hard. In every IED there is a backlash and shock wave that tears a hole inside a loved one's heart. The men who return can suffer anything from permanent lost of limbs to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, resulting in suicide or murder. In the killing fields of war, sanity is always the first casualty. The collapse into madness can turn the most virtuous of us all into a blood lusting maniac.

This world is full of war- old wars, new wars, holy wars, greed wars. War brought to you by your favorite greed-filled corporate sponsors. There are at least seven major armed conflicts within the world today, and over 27 smaller scale armed conflicts dating all the way back to 1949. Wars have been waged since the beginnings of civilization's documentation. The enlightened continually asking "Why?", while the opportunistic ask "Why not?". The conspiracy theorists claim that wars are the spawn of profiteers' bottom lines being met, or the totalitarianism's wet dream of populous control. However, I believe that war is so ingrained into our culture that it is hemorrhaging from our media's seams. From M.A.S.H. to MSNBC it has not only has become a popular point of American culture, but world culture as well.

From the bystander, a conscientious objector who has little to no direct or indirect involvement with making military decisions in any country, wondering how it all could have gone so wrong is a valid feeling. The next logical line of thinking is usually along the lines of what can be done. As with all tough questions, there is no easy answer. However, everyday that passes brings more hope that even the bystander can become a champion of justice and virtue. Weapons on Chinese ships were turned away on African coasts by workers- everyday pier workers taking a stand against war, using their actions to say "we don't want your weapons, we don't want your war".

For the the average person, it's easier to feel fear for their own and for their loved one's well-being. It is horrifically easy for a survivor in a war-torn nation to become a casualty statistic. People flee their homes. Societies grind to a halt. National treasures, even historical artifacts, criumble and burn beneath the heels of military might. It's all too frantic to question why until one has already reached safety, or can safely stop. Survival is a primary objective of human nature when one is being shot at.

Why do we fight? Is it indocrinated into our minds through constant conflict and media manipulation? Or is it implanted into the nature of mankind to cause his own genocide? Whatever the cause of it all, we as the human race need to outgrow this primitive need to exert dominance with force. It is within our unlimited ability to evolve past the dependence of armed combat, past the dependence to quell opponents with death. As a society, as a community of people, we are holding the power to stop bloody wars and conflicts amongst ourselves. The death-grip strangle of fear, rage, and hate must be brought to an end, and there can be no better time than the present.

-A Seeker Of Truth.

Over 800 Arrested In St Paul During RNC

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/05

On the final day of the Republican convention, 396 people were arrested by police in St. Paul, Minnesota. The unofficial count of people arrested during the entire convention is 818 protesters, 8 of which have already been charged with conspiracy charges. Among them are staff memebers for Democracy Now Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Nicole Salazar. These three were illegally arrested and charged with conspiracy to riot. They were released soon afterwards, however many other protesters may not be as lucky.

In a country where people are supposedly free to express themselves, one has to wonder why so many were arrested. There was an estimated 50,000 protesters supposedly in St. Paul for the convention, and the police have been doing everything in their power to subdue the movement. For nearly 1,000 to be arrested(that's about 1% of all protesters there) that means protesters had a 1 in 1oo chance of being arrested for SPEAKING THEIR MINDS. It is one thing to hold a violent demonstration. It is entirely another to march peacefully down the street and pulled off to be detained and/or beaten by officers bought and paid for by bi-partisan officials.

In comparison, let's see what happened at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. There was only 152 arrest there, ranging in various reasons such as from obstructing police to throwing stones(possibly warranting assault/vandalism charges, perhaps). Many of those came on Monday, however it is worthy to note that only 10 people were arrested on the final day. This means that the Democrats consider people 8 times less dangerous than their Republican counterparts. Also of note is the ABC Reporter arrested while taking pictures of an undisclosed Democratic politician inside of a hotel from the sidewalk. The sidewalk was claimed as private property and the journalist was charged with tresspassing and interference. However, he was not the only journalist on the sidewalk at the time, and hopes the charges will be dropped when the video of the arrest is shown in court. This also means that as a journalist you are 3 times more likely to be arrested at a Republican convention as opposed to a Democratic one.

It is no big surprise that telling the truth will offend people who are unwilling to believe it. Perhaps that is the point of being truthful- to anger people so much until you are willing to do something about it. Throughout all the political pandering about change and putting the country first, not much is changing. People are still being arrested for trying to tell the truth, and the liars are trying to protect their interests in control and power. What they are forgetting is that power without the ability to control the people you wield it over is as useless as a dulled sword in battle. The more people are jailed over bi-partisan protests, the more alienated the populous will feel.

However, there are still supporters of this old style of "do as I say, not as I do" politics. The older generation from a simpler era of doing things is so set in it's ways that it cannot see the folly of their actions. It is considered a personal attack to attack their positions on politics because being on this Earth longer than the new generation makes them wiser. This is not the case in point. One cannot shy away from the undercurrent of change this country's youth is beginning to cause. They are sick of the stranglehold the conservatives have held on the country for the past 8 years. As they watched the country spiral from economic superpower to lame duck, they are, along with middle class families are, among the hardest hit from failed policies. They protest because they can no longer take it anymore, and neither can the rest of America.

If there are any protesters reading this blog, wear your bruises and scars with pride. For they may hurt now, eventually they will heal. However, the impact you have made in St. Paul and in Denver cannot and will not be forgotten. I encourage you to continue to stand against the tide of corruption and deception, as I promise to continue to lend my support.

EDIT: Thank you Current News for airing this topic on TV. I hope that this blog and that story encourage more people to get out and protest, or at least raise awareness of police brutality against non-violent protesters. I have posted the video above which contains the broadcast in which it aired.

-A Seeker Of Truth.