People Say Stupid Things

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
-- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

So what does the words of a nazi propaganda minister have to do with today? Just look around. Listen to the crap that is said on rabid foaming at the mouth right wing radio. Listen to the swill told to us by the executive branch of the government, or the legislative branch allied with the executive branch.

We have been lied to. We are being told the same lies over and over. Anyone who tries to speak against the lies is targeted by the neocon movement as "Un-American" or "against America" or whatever. Anything to shield the people from the political, economic, and/or military consequences of the lie. Just like good little goose steppers, marching with jack boots on.

A while back, someone at Titanic said to me "we are fighting terrorists over there (Iraq) so we do not have to fight them here". Oh really? In this case, we should also fight hurricanes over there so we do not have to fight them here. Or maybe we should fight gangs over there so we do not have to fight them here.

The person at the bar blew me off at this point. He had no pre-packaged cute little lie soundbites to counter with. Nothing he had heard on talk radio could deal with what I said. All the national call in right wing shows are call screened, so only callers who agree 100% are let on the air. This way, the host can shield the listeners from comments that might cause them to think.

Thinking is dangerous.

So next time you hear "we are fighting them over there so we do not have to fight them here" try saying "how about we also get rid of social security over there, so that we will not have to get rid of it here". See what they say. Chances are, they will get angry and claim you do not understand.

Ask them IF fighting them over there is working so well, why the hell do I have to remove my shoes when I walk into a concourse at the airport? I work at the airport, I have a security badge for the airport, and I had to pass a 10 year federal level background check for that badge. I am not some unknown Joe Public dude with a boarding pass. Ask them if fighting them over there so we do not have to fight them here worked for the London subway system.

We are not any safer today than we were in 2000, but hundreds of billions - if not trillions - have been spent. Thousands have died, and many more have been injured "fighting them over there so we do not have to fight them here". And yet, we still have orange alerts. While nothing major has happened since 2001, it is accepted that there are still sleeper cells in America.

The economy is once again burdened with excessive debt. This debt finances a war meant to somehow keep us safe. But as I said already, I do not think we are any safer. As for as economics are concerned, we are close to a disaster due to the reliance on debt.

How will we pay for the hurricane disasters? Bush said he will not raise taxes. So where will the money come from? Magic? From another Naitonal Day Of Prayer? Certianly not from taking money away from the war keeping us all safe! But we should not worry, the Chinese will finance it - for a percentage. We can pay it off for the next 50 years or so.

So much for fighting them "over there" huh?

And yet, people still keep saying stupid things. They say these things over and over, in an attempt to make them the truth. Thinking is bad. And so is dissent.

Thankfully, this time it is not working as well as it did for Goebbels all those years ago.