my mother was born in Germany DURING ww2. Her mother came to the USofA in the mid 50's. My grandmother has told me quite a bit about the reign of Adolf Hitler, INCLUDING 'you had to watch your neighbor to insure he was not part of the resistance'.
On Apr 24, 3:13 pm, "M.A. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > A Nation of Helpless Idiotsby Karen De CosterDon’t Suspect a Friend, Report > Him!As most of us know, Kansas City,Missouri is a havenfor international and > domestic terrorists. Pakistan and Afghanistan are small potatoes compared to > this insurgency stomping ground. The kooks who tend to flourish in Missouri > are young, law-abiding liberty-seekers who advocate Ron Paul’s > limited-government ideas; third-party proponents who supported Bob Barr’s > presidential bid; and constitutionalists who stand behind Chuck Baldwin’s > push to inform the masses of the menace posed by our unconstitutional > government. > Recently, a Freeman in Missouri pointed out a website to me that he saw > advertised on the local tube:PrepareMetro KC. The purpose of the > website-courtesy of the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee-is to > convince the comfortably numb among the masses that they can “help detect and > prevent terrorism.” The website reports:Terrorist operations begin with > extensive planning. You can help prevent and detect terrorismand other types > of crimeby watching out for suspicious activities and reporting them to the > proper authorities. Watch for the Seven Signs of Terrorism: > * Surveillance > * Seeking Information > * Testing Security > * Acquiring Supplies > * Suspicious Behavior > * Trial Runs > * Getting into PositionThe Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee is > kind enough to include a video version of “Identifying Terrorists for > Dummies.” In the video, actors play out the seven signs so you can learn what > a terrorist looks like. Accordingly, “anything out of the ordinary” is deemed > a “possible terrorist plot or threat,” and it is stressed that such abnormal > behavior must be seriously assessed and investigated. At 3:55 of the > propaganda production, a jogger runs by a man on a park bench writing in his > notepad. I looked for signs of grenades, big ole bombs ‘neath the bench, or > an assemblage of scary-looking darkies toting box cutters in the background, > but no such thing is apparent. However, since spending time alone to write in > a notepad outdoors is a highly suspicious, deviant, and subversive activity, > the jogger, disturbed by the sinister notebook, stops to pull out her cell > phone and call the police. She’s being a good girl, executing the kind of > response the chief fearmongers desire from a model citizen. This stuff is > like chicken soup for the loyalist soul. We’re all Soviet snitches > now.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb1gaQfWZT0&feature=player_embeddedWhenever > my father would see this sort of thing cropping up, on TV, in ads, or in the > general attitude of the populace, he would remark, in a tone of repugnance, > “We are a nation of helpless idiots.” Thus I developed the ability to discern > the sensible from the absurd while growing up. > The propagandists who dream up these lame security alerts circulate the idea > that none of us are ever safe because there are terrorists everywhere, and > thus we, the loyal citizenry, must be aptly trained so that we may detect the > telltale signs of the guerrillas among us. And the perception that these > propaganda campaigns attempt to implant is that our greatest threat is > domestic terrorism. They may be our friends, neighbors, the plumber-a lone > guy on a park bench-or the church member who insists on homeschooling his > kids. Either way, we need to learn how to ferret out those seditious types > and report them to the Proper Authorities. > Among my favorite disinformation campaigns are the interminable announcements > that blare from the foghorns in government airport terminals. “REPORT ANY > SUSPICIOUS PERSONS OR ACTIVITY…REPORT ANY UNATTENDED BAGS…REPORT ANY > STARBUCKS CUP OR SLICE OF PIZZA CRUST LEFT UNATTENDED…” Report, report, > report. Tell, tell, tell. > So why airports? Since airplanes have become flying Greyhound buses, > andairports have become ground zerofor the dumbed-down lumpen proletariat, > the listenership at airports is ripe for inane propaganda. In a place where > people are herded like cattle and searched like criminals, it’s not hard to > break down their already unenlightened state and further melt their mindset > toward a helpless condition. Similar to the military recipe for breaking down > individuality, Homeland Security’s TSA aims to break down any resistance they > may face from any individual. Because you have to be somewhere and have > little or no alternative to flying on a quasi-governmental Greyhound bus, and > because you must pass Go before you collect your $200, you have no choice but > to enter through the TSA’s turnstiles of terror. At this point, people are > intimidated and uncertain, which leads them to look for something that > provides comfort. So the TSA goons ensure you they are working to help you, > protect you, and keep you safe. They scare you, make small talk with you, and > then pretend to secure you. So suddenly, people feel better and the feelings > move from being intimidated to granting approval and thanks. The psychology > of the process is quite simple and rather perverted, but it works on the > majority of the herd. > The government’s anti-terrorist propaganda seeks not to dumb down the > populace, but to convince people that they are already dumb, helpless, and > uninformed, and so its purpose to “pull them up” through its awareness > campaigns that enlighten one from the level of boob to educated informant. > Moving to such heights does wonders for the self-esteem of idiots. > As much as the state perpetuates this nonsense and the scaremongering in > order to keep the masses in favor of its “protection” (thus paving the way > for the funding and expansion of government), remember that whenever the > government-either federal, state, or local-plants the ideas of “everywhere > and always there are terrorists,” there are willing citizens who voluntarily > latch on to these ideas and take great pleasure in promoting and spreading > that mentality. Behind the federalized Homeland Security operation there lies > an abundance of state, county, and local autocrats who are more than happy to > adopt and spread the message of fear and the necessity of state security. > Their rewards are power, position, and monetary gain. On top of that, the > majority of the masses who are being sold the security message are > willingly-and often enthusiastically-buying the government’s prescription. > Thetyranny of the massesis, and has been, a significant apparatus for serving > the government in its crusade toward a totalitarian agenda. As long as the > majority of the people are so passive as towelcomethe government’s false > sense of security, it will have an audience to which it can market its > duplicitous spin. And when those same people accept the propaganda as > meaningful and necessary, they grant it legitimacy and engender its > growth.This essay is dedicated to my father (1926-2008), whose powers of > discernment and evaluation were second to none. My Dad, an inventor who > refused to ever use the patent system, chose not to trademark his very > original > expression.http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/a_nation_of_helpless_idiots/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
