Good Morning Michael! I meant absolutely nothing at all, nor did I mean to infer anything.....I actually didn't even realize I had typed that!
"My Bad"! (My apologies!) On Tue, Jul 4, 2017 at 11:14 AM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Anti-American? > Do explain what you imagine this means. > > Regard$, > --MJ > > "Excessive patriotic zeal is a hallmark of national security states. It > permits, indeed encourages, excesses in the name of national security, as > we saw during the Bush administration, and which continue during the Obama > administration." -- Professor Avery > > > > > > At 10:44 AM 7/4/2017, you wrote: > > Hah! > > Oh~~My~~Gawd! > > I know Larken Rose!  (Or I did....About 18-19 years ago when I assisted > Young Larken when he was in the battle of his life against our old nemesis, > the United States government!)  > > No matter, Michael! What happened to going and swigging on some > Budweisers and foregoing the Anti-American-Patriotism-Bashing this year? >  > > > > On Tue, Jul 4, 2017 at 10:31 AM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > "And patriotism is among the most powerful tools of the tyrants. Through > prolonged exposure to feel-good nationalistic propaganda, the average > American now has, inside his head, a jumble of unrelated, even > contradictory concepts all muddled together into one indecipherable mess. " > > 04 July 2017 > Patriotism, an Abomination > larkenrose > > The ultimate travesty that comes from the belief in political > “authority†is not that it helps evil people to commit evil (which it > does), but that it dupes well-intentioned, decent human beings into > accepting, condoning, or even committing evil themselves, without even > noticing that they are doing so. That is one of the main reasons why I find > July 4th to be so discouraging and depressing. > > Every July 4th many millions of Americans, in one way or another, partake > in the loud, ostentation spectacle of celebrating “Independence Day,†> having parades and picnics, waving flags and watching fireworks, in order > to commemorate and honor … what, exactly? Some people who, over two > centuries ago, didn’t want to pay taxes on tea and paper? Or something > about “taxation without representation†? Well, whatever it was, it > definitely had something to do with being for freedom and against tyranny. > Somehow. > > And that’s about as precise as most American’s thoughts about > “Independence Day†are. Indeed, the day is less about thoughts and more > about feelings: feelings of camaraderie, or loyalty, maybe some rebellion, > definitely a heavy dose of patriotism, and some general notion that we > should be thankful for the “service†of some people who “fought for > our freedoms,†or something like that. Never mind the specifics, just feel > good, swell with pride when you hear nationalistic songs, and then proudly > recite your oath of loyalty (written by a national socialist), swearing > fealty to your political masters. > > Wait, what? How exactly does “celebrating freedom†equate to swearing > allegiance to a republic (which is a form of “government,†or ruling > class)? Well, it doesn’t. And, for those who dare to look, this is where > the true, diabolical nature of “patriotism†starts to rear its ugly head. > > Once upon a timeÂa few short generations agoÂnationalism and patriotism > were openly war-like, an overt expression of pack-mentality and a sense of > superiority. The basic tone way something like, “We rule and you suck, so > we’re gonna kill you and take your stuff.†One empire after another has > violently conquered vast territories driven by that evil, but at least > honest, outlook. The agenda of those in power hasn’t changed much since > then, but because most people today don’t think that killing his neighbor > and stealing his stuff is okayÂeven if the guy looks, sounds, or thinks a > bit differentlyÂthe propaganda and spin used by those in power is now a > lot different, in order to deceive decent, peaceful people into supporting > authoritarian agendas. > > And patriotism is among the most powerful tools of the tyrants. Through > prolonged exposure to feel-good nationalistic propaganda, the average > American now has, inside his head, a jumble of unrelated, even > contradictory concepts all muddled together into one indecipherable mess. > The average person will proudly proclaim that he loves his country, and > will express that love by displaying the American flag. To him, the symbol > vaguely represents some combination of freedom, and goodness, and > everything that is familiar and comfortable to himÂparades and fireworks > and hot dogs and beer and apple pie. > > And then, with those positive feelings in his heart, he will proudly > recite something which is the precise opposite of freedom and independence: > “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to > the republic for which it stands.†In short, all the feel-good, > emotionalistic jingoism is there to make him enjoy swearing loyalty to a > ruling class. That is what it means to giving an oath of allegiance to a > republic. And every July 4th, many millions of Americans miss the drastic > irony of celebrating an act of illegal, treasonous rebellion against the > state (i.e., the signing of the Declaration of Independence) by swearing > fealty to a ruling class. > > And that was by design. People have been intentionally conditioned and > trained to confuse the concepts of freedom, and “country,†and > independence, and “patriotism,†and one’s home and his neighbors, the > things he loves, and the “government†that exploits and controls him. In > short, “patriotism†is used by tyrants to exploit people’s devotion to > the good things they love and cherish, and twist it into an emotional > attachment to a political entityÂa ruling classÂwhich is in every way the > arch enemy of those good things (freedom, peace, justice, etc.). > > That is why the sight of American flags everywhere, frankly, sickens me > now. Of course, the people who display those flags aren’t trying to > condone oppression, imperialism and slavery. They mean well, and they > imagine that they are cheering for liberty and goodness. But the symbol > they are using literally represents a parasitical authoritarian monstrosity > (ironically, one far worse than what the people here in 1776 were declaring > independence from). If you want to know what public displays of nationalism > look like to me, then look at some pictures of little German children > waving the Nazi flag. > > [image: []] > > To a small child in the United States, the American flag means happy > celebrations; it means his friends, his family, his home, his country > (whatever a “country†is). But to a small child in the Middle East, that > same flag can mean armed invaders, terror and death. > > So which does it “really†mean? Well, you aren’t really supposed to > ponder that, especially when everyone around you is feeling so good (and > thinking so little) while waving “Old Glory†around. But to try to > pretend that it still represents freedom, while that same flag flies in > front of IRS, ATF and DEA offices, while that same flag adorns the soldiers > and war machines committing terrorism, torture and murder around the world, > is the result of willful blindness. Loyalty to freedom and loyalty to > one’s “country†(a political entity) have always been, and will always > be, incompatible. The American Revolution, at least in the minds of most of > those who fought it, may have been about freedom, but the creation of a new > ruling class (by way of the Constitution) was not, no matter how hard the > statist propagandists pretend otherwise. In fact, that is the real > abomination of “Independence Day†: watching power-happy crooks continue > to hijack people’s love of freedom, and twist and mangle it into loyalty > to a ruling class, when the two are exact and precise opposites. > > When people are happily celebrating, feeling positive, empowered and > hopeful, part of me doesn’t want to upset them by pointing out the > hypocrisy, insanity, and downright evil that they are indirectly and > inadvertently advancing. I don’t particularly want to offend all the > military veterans by pointing out that, while they are being showered with > praise today, all they actually did was to act as both pawns and victims of > the politicians’ war machine. They never “fought for our freedoms.†> Yes, I want people to enjoy life, and be happy, and have hope for the > future. But I also want them to understand that subservience and loyalty to > imaginary political “authorities†is not the road that leads there. Ever. > > That is why the modern-day spectacle of “Independence Day,†where > millions of Americans display their profound misunderstanding and confusion > by giving lip service to “liberty and justice for all,†while proudly > flying the flag of their captors and oppressors, is just depressing to me. > > https://steemit.com/patriotism/@larkenrose/patriotism-an-abomination > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >  > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. 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