A few days back, a friend of mine shared a video with me as we were chatting on yahoo messenger. She’s been reading up on some stuff that deals with the New World Order, which in a way relates very heavily with American Imperialism which has lead us to occupy the lands of two nations and have troops on lands of many more.
The whole idea that we are “freeing” these people in order to rid them of their past governments to set up a democracy, one like us, or at least similar to us. Our arrogance in the world is disgusting. We torture, rape, murder and occupy the lands of others, call them terrorists and even try to preach a new religion to them. We hold our currency up to the world, demanding everyone honor it’s power. We are dependent on foreign oil which makes us kiss Saudi Arabia ass despite their human rights abuses and lack of democracy. Our hypocrisy with nuclear technology is outrageous. And, we don’t know the difference between an Arab and a Muslim and that they are not terrorists.
Bow down before… why not get a life and learn how to live within the world, not control it…
This is the story that time forgot.
And though some names have been changed,
Some names, some names have not.
Tune in every night at six o’clock
You can open up a magic box and see me there.
Ready or not, here I come, I’m free.
I got so many names,
Let Lucifer Longtail suffice,
So many faces, so many devices in the
Sweet smile of the talk-show host
To the suicide celebrity ghost.
That’s me, yeah,
The ace in the hole of America’s soul.
Adore, adore
Bow down before.
Bow down before.
Adore, adore.
A star is born, you start to fall
Down on your knees
And adore me.
And we already the news is born and sold
By the man with the plan and the corporate gold.
And we already know that the story can change
At the roll of a dice, reality rearranges.
That’s me, yeah
I’m everywhere you did not think I could be so,
Adore, adore.
Bow down before.
Bow down before.
Adore, adore.
A star is born, you start to fall
Down on your knees
And adore me.
And I’ll be there in the secrets that you dream in.
And I’ll be there when you wake up in the morning.
And I’ll be there when you get home in evening.
‘Til the days of your life is done.
This is the song that the caged bird sings,
Curled up like a cat at the corner of everything.
Don’t feel bad even if you could,
‘Cuz if you did not do it,
Someone else just would.
It’s…easy.
Believe. Me.
I’ll show you such wonderful things.
I’ll show you such wonderful things ‘til you’re just like me.
Adore, adore.
Bow down before.
Bow down before.
Adore, adore.
A star is born, you start to fall
Down on your knees
And adore me.
Adore, adore.
Bow down before.
Bow down before.
Adore, adore.
A star is born, you start to fall
Down on your knees
And adore me.
“A figure walks onto a stage, approaching a crowd of people. He stops, composes himself and then slowly begins; all eyes are on him as he fervently speaks about the state of his country and plight of his people. Is this a monologue from a Shakespeare play? It certainly could be, but this scenario may just as likely describe a scene acted out on a daily basis by a political figure on a stage provided by them media.”
The above quote begins an article by Jane Bettin, Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in the most recent publication of TD&T: Theatre Design & Technology Magazine. TD&T is published by the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT) through the membership fees of the members. As a member of USITT, I receive the subscription in the mail five times a year. Within each issue, professionals in theatre discuss their craft, how it can be applied and how it can affect our society.
Within this specific article, Ms. Bettin, discusses how Afghan President Hamid Karzai shows his political skills through his dress or as we call in theatre, the Costume. Politics is very much a theatrical event and nearly everything down to the last detail is planned out for maximum impact. Many of us in the United States will recall how big of deal it was that then Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, was not wearing a flag pin on his lapel. Everyone started to question his patriotism which was then translated into further speculation that he was “paling around with terrorists.” It became very obvious that whomever the wardrobe specialist was did not think this through and from this point on, he would wear a flag pin.
Returning back to the article, Ms. Bettin discusses how much praise President Karzai has received for his dress and his successfulness in pulling it off has made him a figure that everyone knows:
Hamid Karzai was well aware of the powerful language of clothing. Afghanistan had just emerged from six years of brutal rule by the Taliban and Karzai was traveling the globe enlisting financial and military support for his fledgling government. His travels not only produced headlines that called attention to the instability of his country, but also entire articles devoted to his sartorial flair.
As a costume designer, Ms. Bettin, then went on to describe the clothing that Karzai had chosen and why the choice was made. Karzai was careful to combine elements of regional Afghanistan clothing that would help unify his own nation and the western styles that would send a message to the nations he was seeking aid from.
The image [above] shows Karzai in an emsemble that is dominated by his over garment, a coat called a chapan that is traditionally worn in the north of Afghanistan. Under his chapan he wears a Western-style suit coat over loose fitting piran tunban, garments worn by people in southern Afghanistan. On his head he wears a karakul hat in a style that originated in northern Afghanistan. He also wears Western-style black leather shoes that compliment his suit coat.
In addition, people who knew Karzai before he was appointed recall his facial hair consisting of a mustache only, which is fashionable to people in his home village, but after his appointment he grew out his beard since beards are a sign of manhood in the Taliban dominated areas.
Remember, politics is definitely a theatrical event & I encourage anyone who is interested in the political world to take a course in theatre to understand the dynamics of what we in the theatre world think about before putting on a “show”. We no longer live in a world where your ideas and voice can get you elected, but you must also look good to the camera.
However, just because someone looks good, does not mean they will be a good leader. Karzai is coming off a controversial and corrupt election and he likely won’t be able to use his “costume” as a way to influence public opinion anymore. US President Obama is also facing similar challenges as he continues to fail to produce the “change” he talked about during his election campaign, leaving many to question whether his skin color & sense of political theatrics can carry him through to another term.
As some of you have noticed, I have become more and more politically active in my writings and I apologize for that for those of you who read for the poetry, love & emotional struggles that I go through, but there is a reason for this and that is because I see a need to speak out against the wars being fought as well as the negative image that has been placed upon Islam due to these wars. Today’s post is going to discuss one of the reasons why I feel we need to speak out.
What is the difference between a just war and an unjust war? Most religions & International Law allows for just wars, but an unjust war is considered a crime against humanity (war crime). But, where is the line between the two? It is generally accepted that a “Preemptive War” (when conflict is imminent, you can take out the threat in self-defense) is considered acceptable under the laws of war. Whereas, “Preventive War” (when a threat of the future is seen and action is taken to remove the threat from ever becoming a threat) is seen as a war crime. But, how are these different and how are we to determine the difference?
In some of these cases, it is unclear but in others it is more clear. For example, in 1941, Japan considered their strike on Pearl Harbor as a Preemptive War with the US as a way to eliminate a Naval threat in the Pacific Ocean. But, considering the US had not entered the conflict of WWII, the international community defined this strike as Preventive. Even though I may have a slight US bias, the history written about WWII seems to lean towards the side of a crime by Japan.
However, one that is less clear is the Arab-Israeli Six Day War. Israel claims they struck first to preemptively eliminate the threat of war against the Arab Nations in 1967, their reasoning is that due to their military size and country size, the threat of invasion would be disastrous. But there are some that say this strike was an act of aggression and therefore a crime. And, this is the whole reason there is still tension within the middle east. One has to speculate what the world would be like if Israel had not started this war. Would Israel be correct and no longer exist or would they be living in peace, whatever you determine is correct, it doesn’t change the fact that by striking first they allowed their existence to continue but have created a half century of hostility against them.
And this brings me to the “Bush Doctrine” which was developed following 9/11 as the main stragedy used by the United States:
The fullest exposition was given by the President in a speech at West Point on June 1 [2002]. Warning that the United States faced “a threat with no precedent” through the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the emergence of global terrorism, Bush said that the traditional strategies of deterrence and containment were no longer sufficient. Deterrence meant nothing “against shadowy terrorist networks with no nation or citizens to defend” and containment could not work “when unbalanced dictators with weapons of mass destruction can deliver those weapons on missiles or secretly provide them to terrorist allies.” Under these circumstances, he concluded, “If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long.”(source)
Generally, most people would consider the invasion of Afghanistan following 9/11 to be a just war since it is considered the response to what happened in 2001. And, I would agree that the initial entering of Afghanistan was appropriate. However, I do not agree with it anymore and I am strongly voicing my opposition to continuing this conflict as I feel we are no longer there for the purpose intended.
Iraq is different. Iraq, a sovereign nation already under international sanctions posed no immediate threat to the United States. Even if Iraq had WMD (weapons of mass destruction) the ability for them to sell it, use it or get it out of their country would have been nearly impossible. The invasion and occupation of Iraq must be seen as a Preventive War which is a war crime.
The United States due to the invasion of Iraq has entered into a category of nations that are considered aggressors of war. Since WWII, only the United States and Israel are in this category of nations although there are other nations that are sometimes grouped into it as well, but almost every source I see points towards these two.
I think it’s important for the United States to realize why our policy has changed and why the Anti-War movement is going to grow in strength every year, month or day these wars continue. I have had people arguing with me as to why we are at war. I have people telling me I’m anti-American for my views on the wars & the military. And the question I keep asking is – when did the United States Defense Military become the Offense Military?
So, on this Veteran’s Day, say thank you to the military who “protect” us, but I have no sympathy or support for anyone who thinks it is okay to enter a sovereign nation to over throw the government. I have no sympathy or support for anyone who declares we are at war with Islam. If you want to go over and kill people, that is your choice, but you are still a murder.
And, finally – any military personal in a volunteer army who says their service is greater than my service to my country is dirt to me. Everyone who serves their nation knows the consequences of their job. I have chosen to serve my nation by being an educator. I know that I will not make very much money or gain very much appreciation, these are the sacrifices I will make. It is your choice to get paid to go over and shoot people knowing the risk of dying for your job. But, both of us are serving our nation. You’re anger needs to be focused on those who are not serving the nation but getting rich off of it – the business & Bank CEOs, insurance industries and the lobbyists who are creating corruption. You are dying for them just as much as you are dying for me, but at least I’m providing the foundation for our future.
End the Iraqi Occupation & End the Afghanistan Occupation that is no longer what it was intended to be.
Stop the support of Israel as it continues their Aggressive War techniques and let’s get our “Defense” back to defense.
The events of Fort Hood and the sudden rise to the surface Islamophobics has brought me to the surface as well. The past few days I did not blog because I was spending some of my blogging time on a local newspaper website shutting down people who want to believe Islam is the root of evil and therefore terrorism. Some of them wanted to debate the Qur’an with me, selecting individual passages out that “prove” Islam is a violent religion. All of their sources and quotes come straight from a selection of Anti-Islam websites that I have already seen before. It was not worth my time to explain to them why they were incorrect so I ignored the passage quoting despite their repeated insistence. After running them into circles where the only argument they seemed to be able to have is those passages and the idea that Muslims are killing all over the world, despite the fact that they do not acknowledge their own flaws within the argument, so it started to become a pointless debate.
So, of course, me being a troublemaker (I really should stop doing this.. but it’s so much fun..lol ) I took some of my old posts, edited them slightly and posted them on the site. One of the ones I wrote back on September 11th of this year and that just pissed him off and he became Rep. Joe Wilson typing “YOU LIE!” so I can tell I got under his sleeve a little. It really pissed him off that I didn’t allow free posting on my blog and so he proceeded to call me a coward and then took his comments and posted his own blog with the following introduction:
ThespianDuckie, a new anti-American screen name here on these pages has posted his vile treasonous venom here: http://link to where my blog was…
I strongly suspect this guy is a muslim terrorist, or at the very least, a muslim who sympathizes with the terrorists. His arguments, like we are to blame for 9/11, are utterly ridiculous and come straight from the AQ playbook.
Like a typical gutless anti-American coward, he has turned screening on for his blog. What follows is my response to his treason — because I doubt very seriously that he will allow it to be posted.
I ended up taking his posting and breaking it apart piece by piece. This guy thinks the Patriot Act is a good thing & it is “better them than us” in reference to killing Taliban/Afghani people.
He ended his rant responding to my statement: “Do not place a higher value on one US Citizen compared to an Iraqi or Afghanistan citizen.” With the following:
What kind of anti-American piece of crap are you? YOU D@MN WELL BETTER BELIEVE AN AMERICAN LIFE IS WORTH MORE THAN ANY CITIZEN OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY. YOU be a citizen of the world, traitor, *I* am an AMERICAN.
This is a typical “I’m an American, I’m better than everyone” mentality and it needs to end. I’m glad we have success, I’m glad we have freedom and I’m glad we want to share it with the world, but to say the American life is worth more than any other person on this world is the whole reason we are in this mess. A long time ago, the United States was the leader in freedom & innovative thought. Now, we are the leader in corruption of wealth, breaking of treaties and violations of laws. Since 9/11, we have broken numerous international laws, blocked Israel from facing war crimes, invaded sovereign nations and are threatening another. We sit and complain about our health care being too expensive and then watch as half of our tax dollars go to fund wars that are only increasing the chance of terrorism not stopping them.
I left him a comment on his blog post after all of that stating that I did post his comments, including a response that said the reason I do not let them post automatically is because I do not trust a radical like him to post something without it causing harm to people I support. If it was not a statement like that, it would be posted with a response from me.
I also said the following:
I am an American who questions the government – a dissident. If this makes me worthy of the names you call, so be it. I still love my country, whether you agree with me or not. In addition, my faith has nothing to do with my stance. I have not indicated whether I am Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Atheist. You can put me into any group you wish, it doesn’t change the fact that as an American Citizen, it is my duty to question everything my government does in my name.
If this makes me hated, so be it. But at least I know I have done something to end the illegal occupation of nations in my name, the murder of innocent women, men and children. At least I have spoken up to end the suffering of people.
I do not support the wars, the people who are fighting in them and the people who are hired to protect them. I do not wish harm on our soldiers and demand that we bring them home.
