The Screaming Universe

We all have innate intelligence. We learn to listen to the enviornment because the universe speaks directly to us. As children we have both innate knowledge and the ability to 'listen' to the enviornment. If we touch something hot, we learn very directly not to do it again. That language is beyond conceptual learning. It is not privy to certain species. It is more primordial than speaking.

For millions of years we have survived because our primordial intelligence demands that we avoid danger. We do our best. We see danger THAT way and so we will go THIS way.

You are a young man and have had a pretty good life ~ suburbs and lots of virtual danger on computers or televisions. But life is pretty soft and the future's looking pretty good.

Suddenly you find yourself in an enviornment where real death is happening randomly all around you. Strangers speak a foriegn language and you don't know whether the friendly ones will blow themselves up just to kill you - you are hated that much. A bullet, a rocket propelled grenade, a bomb can snuff you out at any minute and it is happening to your comrades everyday.The fear has become so overwhelming that you are shooting children, women, your comrades, because you are beyond fear - you are in a state of hyper-fear.

Millions of years of primordial intelligence are screaming, "get to fuck out of here", and your humanness, your need for social acceptance in holding you in place. Deserters are not welcome in the family. But still, your primordial intelligence continues to scream. And as it screams small children scream with limbs blown off, mothers scream as they watch their babies die, babies that you and your comrades killed because you are in hyper-fear. And your friends are screaming at Arabs and Arabs are screaming at you. Everybody is screaming including the deepest depths of yourself. Even the weapons are screaming and they are all saying the same thing. 'Get to fuck out of here'.

If you make it back people will not understand you and you won't understand them. You are alienated from people that only experience virtual fear on video-games and war movies. Something deep, deep inside has moved. >Archie

Pedagogy of Naivity

There are thousands, zillions of various world views but these may be condensed to a more manageable number. Some specific world views are predicated on some core beliefs and values. There is one such category of world views that the president of the United States must understand very well. He must understand his own constituency of supporters if he is to pull off what he seems intent on pulling off.Those that support him and support his rationale for going to war seem eager to believe whatever he says.

First he said that he will wage war in Iraq because Hussein posed a threat to the United States and had "weapons of mass destruction". He also suggested that there was a link between Osama bin Laden, whose capture is so important he invaded another country, Afghanistan, and killed thousands of people in the process, and Saddam Hussein. Many of his supporters still believe this. In his hawkish call to war, he spun many images in the minds of believers and supporters. There was the axis of evil and the war and terror and so on. He suggested that the threat of nuclear attack is looming in the not too distant future. These threats called for the creation of laws to allow his agents to capture sinister Arabs in America and abroad and also for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

To understand the Bush spin, it is helpful to argue with and listen to the naive world views he aims to appeal to. Fortunately for Bush, logical reasoning is not necessary for him to spin out legitimate reasons to kill people. He can easily appeal to fear and a naive belief that the American way of life can and will be spread throughout the world, regardless of the culture or history of any given society. Not only that, it is necessary to secure American liberty. It is worth noticing that part of this process is passing laws that allow the detention and torture of people without charge or trial. What is disturbing at this point is that Bush is no longer focusing on specific threats. The enemy has become far more abstract. Evil forces are 'out there' and they are enemies of freedom and democracy, according to Bush. As long as these elements exist, they pose a threat to the United States. They must be eliminated. Bush will free oppressed people all over the globe.

Holy fuck!

Is this code for, 'we are going to take over the whole world'? The standards that need to be met in order for Bush to rationalize military attacks have suddenly become very subjective. He doesn't have to find something hard like weapons of mass destruction. He can use his persuasive power to the American bubble gum media and make anyone into a tyrant to gain the green light for an attack. As far as the idea of enemies of America goes, there are new enemies created every day. People are becoming increasingly intolerant American chauvinism. Travel abroad and you will see enemies of America everywhere. In the past four years, America has become immensely hated throughout the world. Even in lukewarm Canada, many people have become noticeably anti-American.

Bush is sending out a message to the naive; and this is not just the fanatical religious zealots in the south. It is congress, it is the senate and it is the American media. His message is; prepare for more war. We have a lot of work to do to protect ourselves from anti-American elements. We may have to strengthen that patriot act some more because it is not only the Arabs that hate us. We will have to kill many more 'enemies' of freedom.

No doubt there are thousands of people that are living right now that will soon be dead because of Bush is his mob of naive supporters. >Archie Kennedy

The Owl of Minerva

It may be true that while we are subjects in the throes of history, we do not know what is happening around us. It may be very difficult to develop an overview in the midst of the details and confusion of daily events. Ideology, tradional sentiments and propaganda all contribute to make the movements of history, as they occur, to seem to be mysterious or reasonable reactions to events. As a socialist, I may be considered like many socialists, to be akin to the boy that cried wolf when I write the sequence of letters, f-a-s-c-i-s-m. I have to admit that I've called people fascists that are clearly not. So I must plead guily to the charge.

But socialists are also like mine canaries when it comes to fascism. As our political nemesis, fascism is something we can smell like a dog smells fear.

Over the past three years, America has made changes that may fundamentally alter it's course through history. A free society must necessarily live with the insecurity of ensuring that the criminal commits the crime before he is arrested. This is fundamental to a free society. We have endured living in the midst of dangerous psychopaths, molesters and criminals of all sorts to live in a free society. This is the sacrifice we have to make. A secure society like Saudi Arabia does not have to live with these risks. They are secure - and as far as I'm concerned, they can have it. I don't want it.

Here is an article by Justin Riamondo on the rise of fascism in America:

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=5070