small rant, might want to skip
So I don't normally get on political rants, but after reading about the Rachel Ray ad yesterday, I just have to rant for a bit. It's something that's been boiling under the surface anyway.
What it comes down to, is just social and political climate as of late. Which basically comes down to fear and corruption. Now I'm not stupid, I know that the government has been headed towards corruption for a long time. It's an inevitability. That much power BREEDS corruption, and there's very few truly selfless people that have been in the role of decision making. It's a downfall to the system, to any government system. Hell we are even to a point where the two party system is morphing into pretty much one, but that's another rant.
It's really the fear that is worrisome to me. It has come to a point in time where people are afraid of everything. They are afraid of a plane, of their water, of their food, soon I'm sure they'll be afraid of the clothes that they wear. We are being conditioned to a constant state of fear that most people overlook.
However it should NOT be overlooked. People should be more angry that we are being fed this constant diet of fear. Why? When people are afraid, they are more likely to make BAD decisions.
For instance, the Homeland Security Act. We willfully rolled over and forfeited our rights and freedoms for what? How much MORE secure are we now than before? And no, being paranoid of the Middle Easterner walking down the road isn't a step towards security and safety.
Not that we haven't fallen into that rut before. World War II is a great example were we willfully forfeited the rights of a SELECT group of people to treat them like garbage, all out of fear. What does this solve?
Dehumanizing someone does not immediately make them a non-threat. Dehumanizing someone IS what causes a threat. Ironic, no?
We are constantly, daily told to be afraid of the terrorists, that the terrorists are coming to steal our freedoms. Few see the irony in this. Few see the fact that by protecting from "terrorists" we've bred our own terrorists in our backyard. We are terrorized every day by being made to constantly be afraid.
Yet we've allowed ourselves to land in this place where not only have we given up our rights to speak out (well you can, but you'd end up on a list of terrorist sympathizers, etc.), but we've turned our backs on the basics this country was even founded on.
People outright BELIEVE it's DISRESPECTFUL to dissent! It's unpatriotic to speak out against a government that IS THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE! Do we forget that our government is a representation of our wants, and our needs? We willfully give a government more power over us, to keep us safe, but in the process just breeds more corruption. Worse yet, it's a government at some points not speaking for a majority, but what do we do?
First off, it is not unpatriotic to say "No, this is not what I want" and march down the streets towards your local government center. It's also not unpatriotic to do this on the streets of the capital. People need to remember that speaking out, telling the government it's making a mistake is THE MOST patriotic thing we can do.
Also, get rid of most of the people in the media. What happened to real journalism that was based on telling people cold hard facts? I don't need "opinions" in my news, I need the facts in my news.
The fact is, Rachel Ray was wearing an ugly scarf. Making a big fucking deal out of it is what gives things power. When we fear a symbol, we give it more power, which only serves to encourage.
Seems like that only defeats the purpose, but what do I know, I'm not afraid.
What it comes down to, is just social and political climate as of late. Which basically comes down to fear and corruption. Now I'm not stupid, I know that the government has been headed towards corruption for a long time. It's an inevitability. That much power BREEDS corruption, and there's very few truly selfless people that have been in the role of decision making. It's a downfall to the system, to any government system. Hell we are even to a point where the two party system is morphing into pretty much one, but that's another rant.
It's really the fear that is worrisome to me. It has come to a point in time where people are afraid of everything. They are afraid of a plane, of their water, of their food, soon I'm sure they'll be afraid of the clothes that they wear. We are being conditioned to a constant state of fear that most people overlook.
However it should NOT be overlooked. People should be more angry that we are being fed this constant diet of fear. Why? When people are afraid, they are more likely to make BAD decisions.
For instance, the Homeland Security Act. We willfully rolled over and forfeited our rights and freedoms for what? How much MORE secure are we now than before? And no, being paranoid of the Middle Easterner walking down the road isn't a step towards security and safety.
Not that we haven't fallen into that rut before. World War II is a great example were we willfully forfeited the rights of a SELECT group of people to treat them like garbage, all out of fear. What does this solve?
Dehumanizing someone does not immediately make them a non-threat. Dehumanizing someone IS what causes a threat. Ironic, no?
We are constantly, daily told to be afraid of the terrorists, that the terrorists are coming to steal our freedoms. Few see the irony in this. Few see the fact that by protecting from "terrorists" we've bred our own terrorists in our backyard. We are terrorized every day by being made to constantly be afraid.
Yet we've allowed ourselves to land in this place where not only have we given up our rights to speak out (well you can, but you'd end up on a list of terrorist sympathizers, etc.), but we've turned our backs on the basics this country was even founded on.
People outright BELIEVE it's DISRESPECTFUL to dissent! It's unpatriotic to speak out against a government that IS THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE! Do we forget that our government is a representation of our wants, and our needs? We willfully give a government more power over us, to keep us safe, but in the process just breeds more corruption. Worse yet, it's a government at some points not speaking for a majority, but what do we do?
First off, it is not unpatriotic to say "No, this is not what I want" and march down the streets towards your local government center. It's also not unpatriotic to do this on the streets of the capital. People need to remember that speaking out, telling the government it's making a mistake is THE MOST patriotic thing we can do.
Also, get rid of most of the people in the media. What happened to real journalism that was based on telling people cold hard facts? I don't need "opinions" in my news, I need the facts in my news.
The fact is, Rachel Ray was wearing an ugly scarf. Making a big fucking deal out of it is what gives things power. When we fear a symbol, we give it more power, which only serves to encourage.
Seems like that only defeats the purpose, but what do I know, I'm not afraid.