tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396418596714345482.post8138457449882880158..comments2011-12-28T12:13:05.166-08:00Comments on It's a question of health: With a tear in my eye, I say good bye to the Bill of Rights.Lyse Beckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13937970137947610228noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396418596714345482.post-69025838924633663932011-12-28T12:13:05.166-08:002011-12-28T12:13:05.166-08:00Thank you for such a thought provoking post. Big h...Thank you for such a thought provoking post. Big hugs, Les! xxLyse Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13937970137947610228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396418596714345482.post-50047292718008329722011-12-28T10:43:30.463-08:002011-12-28T10:43:30.463-08:00Following up on the NDAA:
I heard about the NDAA...Following up on the NDAA:<br /><br /><br />I heard about the NDAA a few weeks ago and no one in my circle of friends knew anything about it. Most people don't. The little I heard was some politician minimizing the impact of the NDAA and how it wasn't that bad. Yes, it is. It states that you or I can be accused of being a Terrorist if we say something that threatens to expose corruption or wrongdoing and we can 'disappear'. This establishes an environment of an oppressive police state. <br />It's initially really frightening, but then it becomes absurd. So the Land of The Free is in lock-down? From within? Dealt by our own hand? So we'll be safe? And who are the people making these laws? Oh, those would be the ones claiming to want to protect us and our democracy.<br /><br />To be informed is critical. But be measured and circumspect: delving too deeply into this can derail you and suddenly one can end up in a mindset of endless catastrophe, Doomsday, and despair. That can make one as irrational as the those who think the way of preserving what The USA stands for is to destroy it: suspending freedoms, censoring free speech or quashing reasonable debate. Making the entire country a prison. <br /><br />What's a good, low-cost palliative? Talk to a well-informed senior citizen who has seen first-hand cycles of war, the passing of a few generations, and several economic cycles. You'll hopefully find that it WILL be alright, despite the reeling fear that we are on a treacherous path regarding our nation's future. The stakes are high, but I believe the more people know about this--and it will happen--the less of a threat there is. The architects of the financial collapse (the US banks) pose a much greater threat to us with interest rates, withheld credit, and financial machinations that perpetuate cycles of poverty are much more insidious forms of terrorism than any foreign threat.<br /><br />Something that I found written a few years back is certainly alarming, but provides a framework to measure where we are. Look up Naomi Wolf ) and her writing on the 10 steps of a closing society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396418596714345482.post-13968598374987376732011-12-28T10:42:39.813-08:002011-12-28T10:42:39.813-08:00Hi Lyse.
You are right to be concerned; the grav...Hi Lyse. <br />You are right to be concerned; the gravity of this legislation is way out of proportion to the advertised threat and the degree to which it's generally known by the population. I use the word advertised consciously, as it's my personal belief that while we have security concerns, I'm not convinced that amplifying the concerns over some faceless threat (someone different) doesn't serve another agenda. It's fearmongering. But it's critical that we remain calm and informed. You ask what can you do? Be informed to the best of your ability. Be brave when someone looks at you like you are being an alarmist or paranoid and raise an objection. Speak up.<br /><br />People would say, "Oh, that couldn't happen here, this is the US' And that's exactly what people who passed this want: to be able to act freely, without regulation, without question, and then fall back on the justification that "Too bad, it's been passed. Live with it." But it HAS happened here. And more people on the street know about the Kardashians than that they could in theory be accused of suspicious activity and sent away without due process.<br />It's important to hold onto the knowledge that laws are human constructs and as such, can be repealed. They are not immutable, despite what some might say. <br />It's vital to find a frame of mind that allows you to read about this and inform others without it getting you so inflamed (angry or scared) that irrational thinking takes hold. Look at history: Nations can be caught up in a frenzy and a mob mentality can take over. Oppression and genocide can happen.<br /> <br />We are fed a diet of Fear: it's xenophobia. And the people feeding us would exchange our freedom for the 'safety' they offer. Ben Franklin said: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." <br /><br />The Terrorists are bought politicians making laws that affect the people whom they are 'elected' to represent. No public discourse and informed debate? Laws passed behind closed doors, at night, without every citizen being aware? I say Bull. To "Protect our American way of life?" Bull. Suspend our rights? Bull.<br /><br />What it means is that laws are being enacted to facilitate and further agendas that serve the interests of a self-appointed few. And these people are devising ways to silence opposition by brandishing labels (Terrorist! Communist! Socialist!). And why would a law that renders major civil liberties null and void (this is suspending the Constitution people...) be passed without extreme media saturation? This can happen because mainstream news media is a product of large corporations. And it doesn't serve their profit-making interests if people are informed. We systematically dumb-down the population and then it's possible to do something like enact the NDAA because people are more interested in pop culture than even considering the idea that their government might not have their best interest at heart. Because that runs counter to the notion of fairness and freedom we've been brought up to believe. And the 'justification' for all the wars (and it's propaganda) that we constantly wage. Wars make a select few lots of money. And it's in large corporation interests to keep a population fearful so they believe war is necessary. President Eisenhower warned of this in his 1961 Farewell Address regarding the Military-Industrial Complex. Check it out on Wikipedia and it'll give you an understanding of what he was warning us about. Read up on Halliburton and Blackwater. It's the same with Big Petroleum, and Big Pharmaceuticals.<br /><br />My post is too long and I'll have to create another following this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396418596714345482.post-91564691086813791292011-12-27T22:39:27.440-08:002011-12-27T22:39:27.440-08:00Thanks Truly! Yes, lets hope that peace doesn'...Thanks Truly! Yes, lets hope that peace doesn't mean another kind of slavery, or come at the cost of civil war. Surely there's a third answer.Lyse Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13937970137947610228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396418596714345482.post-57357634954474446392011-12-27T20:15:58.002-08:002011-12-27T20:15:58.002-08:00One world. Not the way I wanted to see it, lets h...One world. Not the way I wanted to see it, lets hope 2012 brings in a shift of heart. Focus on the peace, huh. thanks Lyse, thought provoking and entertaining as always!Trulynoreply@blogger.com