Sep
1
Gun Shy
September 1, 2010 | Tagged 10000 Maniacs, Emma Goldman, Gun Shy, Howard Zinn, Natalie Merchant | Leave a Comment
Do you remember when you first started to question? When you thought that maybe things aren’t exactly as you’ve been told? I’m pretty sure this song got me to ask questions that I had never thought to ask before. At the time, I was young (a long time ago) and in the Navy. I remember listening to the album many times while our ship was deployed to the Mediterranean. According to the video information, this concert took place on December 5, 1989 – at the time we were deployed.
I like a wide range of music, and always enjoyed 10,000 Maniacs for some reason. Natalie Merchant has an amazing voice and many of the songs explore social and political issues. But this song got me thinking, probably for the first time, about the meaning of patriotism/nationalism and the role of the military in society.
It took a long time to get from this in 1989 to where I am today. Listening to the song in 1989 really didn’t change my views much – I still had much to learn. But listening to it again now, I can see there is a connection to some of my favorite writers and thinkers.
“So now does your heart pitter pat with a patriotic song when you see the stripes of Old Glory waving? ” Go read Emma Goldman’s Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty and tell me what you think about those patriotic songs now.
“There is a world outside of this room and when you meet it promise me you won’t meet it with your gun taking aim.” Read some of Howard Zinn’s accounts of his time in World War II and think about how many times our first reaction to cultural or national differences is to use military force. How much of the world outside have we destroyed or failed to appreciate because we met it with a gun?
Aug
19
Dick Armey Doesn’t Understand Anarchy, but He Understands Government
August 19, 2010 | Tagged Anarchy, daily show, dick armey, government | Leave a Comment
Dick Armey on The Daily Show, August 17, 2010
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So, Dick Armey doesn’t understand Anarchy.
If you got anarchy, then you got a mess.
He clearly hasn’t read anything regarding anarchy from those who believe in it. Simply start with Peter Kropotkin’s definition of anarchy from the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition.
Anarchism is the name given to a principle or theory of life and conduct under which society is conceived without government – harmony in such a society being obtained, not by submission to law, or by obedience to any authority, but by free agreements concluded between the various groups, territorial and professional, freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and aspirations of a civilized being.
Armey definitely understands government though. He proposes that he and Jon Stewart are stuck on a desert island and one is going to be the government. But the real question here is, why does one even need to be the government. You are just two people who should be able to work together without coercion. But to be sure that he will be government, Armey reminds Stewart that he has the gun. He may only be joking, but surely a truer statement has never been uttered.
Armey goes on to tell Stewart that
government has something that you and I as privatte citizens do not have, which is the power to compel people to do what they will not otherwise do
And where do they get this power? It’s because they have the guns.
Aug
19
Why I don’t care about a new mosque, and neither should you.
August 19, 2010 | Tagged islam, mosque, new york, Park51 | Leave a Comment
I just don’t care that a muslim group wants to build a new mosque/islamic community center in New York. I don’t care how close it is to the World Trade Center site.
I wouldn’t care if a christian group wanted to build a church, I wouldn’t care if a jewish group wanted to build a synagogue. And, in these two cases, I’m willing to be that you wouldn’t either.
So why do you care then about an islamic group wanting to build a community center? Your answer can only be explained in terms of hate, fear, xenophobia, and intolerance. See, that’s why you really shouldn’t care. Because when you do, it reflects more on you than on the mosque itself.
Aug
13
More Observations from Another Road Trip
August 13, 2010 | Tagged Confederate, cross, Jesus, lawn jockey, mammy, race, Racism, Tennessee, tom | Leave a Comment
Last month, I thrilled you with some pictures from my trip to a North Carolina beach. This time, it’s even better. I have pictures and commentary from a trip to East Tennessee.
Most of the trip was rather boring, at least until we neared the Tennessee border and saw this monstrosity in Bristol, VA.
It’s huge.
It’s no surprise that there are a lot of churches in East Tennessee and Southern Virginia, but if you haven’t been through this area much there are a few other common sights. And it didn’t take long once we got into Tennessee to see the first of these. A giant Confederate battle flag flying from a hill overlooking I-81 just a few miles into Tennessee. A great reminder of where you are now.
Regardless of what you may hear, displaying the Confederate battle flag has nothing to do with remembering history. Unless, of course, the history you are remembering – and longing for again – is the white domination of thousands of black slaves. This is just a gentle reminder of what some believe the social order in the South should return to.
But if you really want a more obvious reminder of where blacks stand in East Tennessee, just visit any one of the tacky souvenir shops in Pigeon Forge. Right out front, you’ll get the idea.
These have pretty much been eliminated from most places that are striving for equality in society. The lawn jockey is pretty much recognized as a racist image these days even though some accounts portray the figure’s origin as a tribute to blacks. It’s only if you think black people have a place, and that place is to serve whites, that you keep these around. But let’s go inside the store and see what we find.
Wait, I need to get rid of my spit cup first…
That’s funny. I just had to add that one.
Once inside, you get more Jesus and more Confederate flags. The mix of Christianity and racism is quite interesting and is evident all over the place.
I’m not really sure how a religion that should teach peace, equality, harmony, and justice gets so entangled in the racist implications of the Confederacy. But then again, religion was used very successfully to justify slavery and even to teach some slaves that it was god’s will that they be enslaved.
Oh, but the good stuff was a bit harder to find and I almost walked through the entire store and missed these items.
A representation of the Mammy figure….
…and a Tom figure.
Both are considered racist caricatures. The Tom figure portrays blacks as happy, faithful, submissive servants, while the Mammy caricature shows black women as content, happy, maternal figures.
Aren’t these great? I really found it hard to believe that these items are still for sale in places. Even in East Tennessee, I was a bit shocked.
But no worries, on the way out of town, I caught sight of another huge cross and I was saved. All was right with the world again.
So ends my picture show from a trip to Tennessee, I hope you enjoyed it and maybe even learned a little along the way.
Jul
23
Scaring White People
July 23, 2010 | Tagged acorn, black panther, maddow, race, sherrod | Leave a Comment
Watch this segment from Rachel Maddow. As usual, she is dead on with her analysis.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
See Rachel Maddow’s site for full details of the story.
Jul
7
Observations along Freedom Way
July 7, 2010 | Tagged Evolution, freedom, Jesus Fish, Marines, Military, North Carolina | Leave a Comment
“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.” ~George Washington
I spent a few days over the July 4 weekend at one of our great North Carolina beaches. Since over half of the drive was on NC Hwy 24 and passed through Beulaville, Richlads, Jacksonville, and Swansboro there were plenty of sights to see.
Most of Hwy 24 has been designated as “Freedom Way” as these signs indicate. These were mostly evident on the stretch of road between Jacksonville and the beaches. In case you aren’t familiar with Jacksonville, NC, this is the home of Camp Lejeune and New River MCAS, two large Marine bases.
I’m not exactly sure what “Freedom Way” actually means, but I just love the idea of using the word freedom all over the place. It reminds us of how un-free we actually are.
If you have traveled at all in the South you know that there are quite a few churches down here. Most of them had some patriotic/religious message on their signs and kept me amused for much of the drive. My favorite was one that read “Independence Through Shed Blood” near Richlands. This one struck me for its double meaning. There’s the religious meaning of personal independence and freedom through the shed blood of Jesus as well as the patriotic meaning of independence through the shed blood of soldiers. But either way, the message is also disturbing. Do we really need shed blood to be free? And if some have to be sacrificed, is that really freedom? What about the freedom of those who were chosen to die?
Another good sign near Kenansville read “Freedom Comes From a Strong Military. Support Our Troops.” Again with this “freedom” thing. But what about this strong military message? A strong military seems to lead to just the opposite of freedom, doesn’t it?
What about James Madison’s warning,
A standing army is one of the greatest mischief that can possibly happen.
Or Martin Luther King, Jr.,
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense: than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
Or, finally, George Washington,
Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.
I’m really not buying it. Freedom does not come from a strong military. In fact, a strong military does nothing but destroy freedom.
And since we are talking about destroying freedom, I saw a pickup truck near Richlads with a very large Confederate battle flag flying from its bed. The truck had a few bumper stickers, including a large one proclaiming, “The South Was Right.” Right about what, exactly? Is this a reference to slavery, because that was the primary reason for the differences between the North and South that eventually led to war.
Finally, I’ll end with this image of a truck (yes, everyone has a truck) I saw near Swansboro. I really like the Jesus fish with the anti-evolution sticker. Freedom of thought is also alive and well in parts of North Carolina.
Jun
17
Promises, Promises…
June 17, 2010 | Tagged jon stewart, oil, promises | Leave a Comment
Once again, Jon Stewart points out the obvious for those who have been paying attention. It doesn’t matter who you vote for, it doesn’t matter who is in the Oval Office, it just doesn’t matter because the end result is going to be the same. Government will never get anything done that actually changes your life for the better. It just isn’t going to happen.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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And yes, you people who continue to vote and continue to believe that you are enabling change are f**king idiots because you keep doing it and you keep getting fooled.
Jun
17
A Nation of Law Breakers
June 17, 2010 | Tagged frederick douglass, greensboro, harriet tubman, john hancock, law, rosa parks, samuel adams, tea party, thomas paine, thoreau | Leave a Comment
I’m always annoyed when I hear someone back their position with the “We are a nation of laws” argument. I see this frequently in the immigration debate. Those opposed to immigration will many times argue that undocumented immigrants have already “broken the law” just by being here so they should have no legal rights at all since they are criminals. I have also seen this used to condemn actions like protest sit-ins at the local school board meeting.
Here’s the problem though. Even if we accept the idea of laws to start with, which we shouldn’t, then we must realize that laws are only valid if they are just. So even if you want a society with laws, you must accept that unjust laws are not valid. But too often, people blindly follow laws just because the law exists. They either assume that laws are just or they ignore the unjust laws in order to preserve some sense of order based on the entire set of laws.
So if you think we are a nation of laws, consider these examples.
Participants in the Boston Tea Party broke the law.
Thomas Paine broke the law.
Henry David Thoreau broke the law.
Frederick Douglass broke the law.
Harriet Tubman broke the law.
Rosa Parks broke the law.
Ezell A. Blair Jr., David Leinhail Richmond, Joseph Alfred McNeil, and Franklin Eugene McCain broke the law.
John Hancock broke the law.
Samuel Adams broke the law.
These are just some I thought of without any research. I’m sure the list could go on much longer, but you get my point. These are all people that we now honor and respect for their actions. They broke laws that they saw as unjust and made this country, and the world, a better place.
So don’t try basing your argument on the “They broke the law” defense. You won’t get very far with that logic. In fact, I’ll try to show that not only should laws be broken when unjust but that laws themselves are unjust. I’ll argue that the main purpose of law, put in place by those in power, is to keep those same people in power at the expense of the rest of us. This is why all laws can be considered unjust.
Jun
8
Neda
June 8, 2010 | Tagged airborne toxic event, iran, iranelection, Music, neda | Leave a Comment
I’m posting this because everything about it is just awesome. The Airborne Toxic Event is one of my favorite bands right now and this video is fantastic. I love the artwork and the moving story it tells. Now they may be one of my favorite bands ever.
Enjoy the music and remember Neda.
Read more about why the band wrote this song on their blog.
Jun
3
Police State Update
June 3, 2010 | Tagged Police, police state, surveillance, video | Leave a Comment
According to an article in Gizmodo, Are Cameras the New Guns?, it is illegal in three states to record the police.
There are so many issues of concern in this article. Let’s start from the first paragraph.
In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.
So there’s a flood of videos in the internet that show police abuse. A reasonable person would be asking why there is so much evidence of abuse within police departments. It seems fairly clear from all of these videos that police are out of control in many cases – far more cases than the police themselves would like to admit. So instead of cracking down on police behavior, those who document these actions are now the criminals.
The police are misusing wiretapping and eavesdropping laws to prosecute people who record their actions. As the article points out, in some states all parties must consent to being recorded. But it is also understood that when you are in public, you can’t reasonably expect privacy and therefore do not need to consent to being recorded. This aspect of the law is being ignored in cases where police are being recorded. I would also like to know if this applies to police surveillance cameras in these same states. Can I object to the police capturing me on surveillance when in a public place? Can we prosecute the state for the same violation in these cases?
Think of the recent cases where police have been caught on film abusing their powers. Why are police so in favor of a ban on recording their actions? If they are truly here to protect ordinary citizens then there should be no objection to this. In fact, they should welcome this. But if the police are serving other interests – the state, their own, corporations – then they would have something to hide.
A police force that feels it must operate in secrecy is surely something to be afraid of.