The Post I Couldn't Write

A couple of posts ago I promised that my next post would deal with mind control and how to escape it to work on a simpler and less costly way of life. As I composed it in my mind, the post became more and more difficult to write. Particularly as the doublespeak from Washington D.C. became more and more blatant. I’m still struggling with the humanitarian aid package that comes complete with slightly used cruise missiles. “Get your catcher’s mitt, here comes help from the evil empire.” And, yes, most of the world considers the U.S. (that’s us) evil.

Every now and then I sit down and read old books that I haven’t read for years. As I’ve aged and matured my perspective toward these books has evolved. One of the more recent re-reads is “The Once And Future King” by T.H. White. Before you pooh-pooh this as a kid’s book, maybe you ought to take another look. There’s quite a bit of social commentary in there. The first copyright date listed is 1939. Well, well, just what was going on in the world then?

In chapter 13, Wart has convinced Merlin to turn him into an ant so he can visit one of the ant farms in his bedroom. We then get to observe Wart’s experiences as a worker ant. One of his most striking experiences was the continuous broadcast from the central nest mind, the queen ant, through Wart’s antennae. For quite a while there’s nothing but instructions and platitudes about how life is great in the Nest. Then a worker discovers a bridge to the Othernest and things change. Now the broadcasts take the following form (and this is quoted directly from the book):

“The first one (lecture) was arranged as follows:
A. We are so numerous that we are starving.
B. Therefore we must encourage still larger families so as to become yet more numerous and starving.
C. When we are so numerous and starving as all that, obviously we shall have a right to take other people’s stores of seed. Besides, we shall then have a numerous and starving army.

It was only after this logical train of thought had been put into practice, and the output of the nurseries trebled – both nests meanwhile getting ample mash for all their needs from Merlin – for it has to be admitted that starving nations never seem to be quite so starving that they cannot afford to have far more expensive armaments than anybody else – it was only then that the second type of lecture was begun.
This is how the second kind went:
A. We are more numerous than they are, therefore we have a right to their mash.
B. They are more numerous than we are, therefore they are wickedly trying to steal our mash.
C. We are a mighty race and have a natural right to subjugate their puny one.
D. They are a mighty race and are unnaturally trying to subjugate our inoffensive one.
E. We must attack them in self defense.
F. They are attacking us by defending themselves.
G. If we do not attack them today, they will attack us tomorrow.
H. In any case we are not attacking them at all. We are offering them incalculable benefits.”

Do you see any parallels to pronouncements and policies from Washington over the past couple of decades?

Let me propose a few:

A. We are past our own oil production peak and produce less each year.
B. Therefore we must encourage still larger and more cars and trucks so as to use more and more oil.
C. When we use so much oil as all that, obviously we shall have a right to take other people’s stores of oil. Besides, we shall then have a numerous and oil hungry army.

It was only after this logical train of thought had been put into practice, and the output of the automotive industry doubled – both nests meanwhile getting ample oil for all their needs – for it has to be admitted that starving nations never seem to be quite so starving that they cannot afford to have far more expensive armaments than anybody else (Why is U.S. military spending ten times the next most profligate nation?) – it was only then that the second type of lecture was begun.
This is how the second kind went:
A. We are more powerful and oil hungry than they are, therefore we have a right to their oil.
B. They are more numerous than we are, therefore they are wickedly trying to steal our (non-negotiable) American way of life.
C. America is an exceptional nation and has a natural right to subjugate their puny ones.
D. Islam is the fastest growing religion on the planet and is unnaturally trying to infiltrate and overturn our way of life. Look at what they’ve done in Europe!
E. We must attack them in self defense. (Didn’t even have to change this one!)
F. They are attacking us by defending themselves. (This one either.)
G. If we do not attack them today, they will attack us tomorrow. (Didn’t have to change this one either, remember WMD?)
H. In any case we are not attacking them at all. We are offering them the incalculable benefits of freedom and democracy. It’s humanitarian aid. Really!

Chilling eh?

The other day I, along with millions of other Americans, received Mr. Obama’s email announcing his bid for re-election in 2012. Alright, he’s just past halfway through and he’s bidding for another go. And he’s doing it early because there’s a lot of groundwork to be done and a lot of person to person contact to be made in his grassroots campaign. Which by the way should be a record setting spend on a presidential campaign. Lots of damage control to do actually. I voted for the guy and can’t see why I should repeat that mistake. Based on the results, I’m not seeing a lot of value in voting at all. Candidate Obama promised to reverse the “failed policies of the Bush administration.” For quite some time, too long even, president Obama talked about how hard it was to fix the economy, unemployment, whatever just fill in the blank, because of the “failed policies of the previous administration”. I presume it became “previous” because it was hard to tell just whose policies they were. How many of these “failed policies of the previous administration” has president Obama reversed? Anyone? Zero. In fact, many have been amplified. Let’s see, newly elected hopey changey democratic president and a democrat led house and senate failed to even suggest repealing the “patriot act”. (Or was it “jackboot act”, I forget.) I’m not going to list all of the failures to change, but there was clearly no change with the change of administration from Bush to Obama. Either we have a consistent failure of leadership from the oval office, or the president no longer leads the united states. And yes, I’m using lowercase intentionally.

While we’re on mind control, the Rolling Stone recently published an article claiming that the military conducted psy-ops on dignitaries visiting Afghanistan including senator Carl Levin from Michigan.
Levin responded, denying the allegations and stating that he has always supported a strong military.
Let’s see, a lifelong liberal democrat in favor of a strong military. Sound fishy to you?

Of course its illegal to conduct psy-ops on U.S. citizens at home or abroad. And of course our government never, ever does anything illegal. Right?

BTW, how many times did you see this?


How did it make you feel? A little bit under attack maybe? Didn't the endless repetition make you feel like it happened hundreds of times? It’s kind of like the two minute hate. Isn’t it amazing how quickly congress forked over the so-called “patriot act”? How the invasion of Afghanistan was so easily accepted? And aside from the few “no blood for oil” protests, how easily the U.S. invaded yet another sovereign nation and murdered its president along with untold numbers of its citizens. And now that we’ve attacked Libya, barely a peep.

It’s even in the music, and has been for a long time. During the 60’s we heard a lot of protest songs, and a few like this one.


Have you heard any protest songs lately? How about “patriotic america” music? By the way, the few new “patriotic america” songs I’ve heard are far clumsier than the old ones. It’s like they don’t even have to try anymore.

After all of that, here’s the point:

LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO CONTROL WHAT YOU THINK!

Be aware of this. Be aware of attempts to control your behavior, past, present, and future. Think for yourself and work for yourself. This is essential for you to succeed in living a simple and wholesome life.

Before you say, “I do think for myself and nobody controls my behavior but me” read my previous post on the power of advertising. I struggle not only with Wednesday being spaghetti day, but Frosted Lucky Charms are magically delicious. But I don’t buy them anymore because I’m aware of the programming. Think about behaviors that are inconsistent with your beliefs. Think about inconsistent beliefs that you might hold. Let’s say that you believe that all human life is sacred, but you know that nasty Ghadaffi guy (or Sadaam Hussein or Al-Queda) needs to go so we’re gonna bomb him (or them) back into the stone age! Or another incredible inconsistency: “abortion is wrong, but capital punishment is ok”. Or how about this one “capital punishment is a crime against humanity, but abortion is ok”.

And here’s one to untangle, “the rail subsidy is just huge and needs to be eliminated, but we need to fund both the rebuilding of America’s interstate highway system and the revamping of the air traffic control system”.

In fact, rail transportation is the most energy efficient (and pleasant) means to transport people and goods long distances. The puny rail subsidy is dwarfed by the enormous budget of the Federal Highway Administration. Combine that with highway patrol budgets, state highway budgets, airport construction and maintenance, air traffic control, budgets for unconstitutional warrant-less searches in the airports and you can only reach one conclusion. The subsidies for air and car / truck transportation are ginormous. And these are only the government paid subsidies.

How about car insurance? If you don’t have a car, you don’t need it. But you have to have a car and the insurance because the federal government destroyed the U.S. passenger rail transportation network and the insurance lobbies got laws passed in most states requiring insurance. Who builds, maintains, and owns the highways? The government. Who builds, maintains, and owns the rail lines? The freight railway companies (not the government). Even Detroit, by the way, used to have a very effective public transportation system. But it was bought by guess which major automobile manufacturer, dismantled, and sold to Mexico. I rode on it in Mexico city in 1970, decades after it was declared obsolete, and you know what, it was pretty darn good!

Our government is crazy and we’re crazy for allowing it to continue on this path. Either that or we’re powerless to change it, because electing different politicians changes nothing.

So, be independent. Think for yourself. If the system’s not working for you, and there’s nothing you can do to change it, maybe you might consider dropping out of it. And pitch the TV into the recycle bin, it’s the primary propaganda machine.

Postscript: I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an elegant writer. Read more on this topic in “Citizenship Papers” by Wendell Berry who is an elegant writer.