If America ever passes out as a great nation, we ought to put on our tombstone: America died from a delusion she had Moral Leadership. ~ Will Rogers
I think America needs to order that tombstone to be made.
I think because I am an American, I meet and talk to a lot of Americans (of course). You know, birds of a feather and all that. I'm no Einstein, but all I can say is that there sure seem to be a lot of boneheaded Americans running around with some very twisted and weird ideas. I think that can be expected from the average Joe Blow, but you'd think that university grads might offer a bit more logical and clever insight... I am often really (unpleasantly) surprised at how dimwitted, sheltered, egoistic and naive my countrymen are.
Of course, not all American university graduates are knuckleheads. But there are far too many of them that are. Maybe it's the schooling? As one of my favorite author's, Fred Reed wrote recently about US university education:
“Look, the US is in intellectual collapse. The average American university wouldn't qualify as a high-school in Japan. It's crazy. The whole world know it's crazy. But take out the Kims, Khans, Nguyens, Wangs, and Cohens, and what's left is Albania in 1750.”
Of course, the average American will have none of this when it comes to pointing out how low the mighty have fallen. Why? Well many of them will tell you; "Well, in spite of our problems, you've got to admit it: America is still the greatest country in the world."
Another writer, Mark Davis, adds:
"Self-glorification is a powerful narcotic. Every country has a state that promotes itself shamelessly, but since WW II Americans have been on a binge thanks to non-stop propaganda about how great that made "us". Many believe that 'It's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way.' But the cognitive dissonance that is rising undermines this paradigm. It's hard to simultaneously believe that this is 'The best country in the world' and 'Everything is going in the crapper!' at the same time."
Now, hold that thought for a second... The one about cognitive dissonance. Americans are really bad when it comes to this. I think it's the schooling, or maybe it's the fluoride in the water. Or maybe it's too many fried and fatty foods (deep fried bacon covered hamburgers anyone?) I don't know. But there are A LOT of Americans who seem to have a problem in this area.
....
It's not often that I read something that really infuriates me. But usually, recently, if I do read it, it's something really cretinous written in the American media or said by some American who has a problem with cognitive dissonance. Incredibly, you see these people on American TV all the time so the general public hasn't a problem with parroting nonsense. Lately, I've been trying to ignore this trend, but last night I read something that was just simply unbelievable: It was, of course, an American guy regurgitating dim-witted detritus that he read in a newspaper.
Japanese troops celebrating the fall of Singapore
I come from the most self-centered, conceited, ethno-centric nation in the world. And, no, I'm not talking about Japan. Japan may be Xenophobic, but no nation in the world can hold a candle to modern day American chauvinism, delusion and self-righteousness. Like I said, the Japanese may be Xenophobic but they are not bombing and killing brown skinned children on the other side of the world 24/7 like the USA is now doing in six Muslim countries... (As my friend Kevin Riley says, "Japan used to do that, but we grew out of it.")
Now, onto what made me so mad about how ignorant some Americans can be! (If, someday, they find out that the cause of this malady is 85% all of Americans suffer from dyslexia, then forgive me.) One of my friends (who lives in Japan) posted this picture on Facebook yesterday:
Underneath it, my friend wrote (now remember we're talking about someone who lives in the only country that has had atomic bombs dropped on it) :
To raise awareness of the horrific effects of war, I plan to place this photo of a dead child as my profile photo for the rest of January. He, and other innocents around him, were murdered in Pakistan by one of many US drone attacks internationally. According to one statistic, in Iraq alone, over 110,000 civilians were murdered by the US. Add to that deaths of innocent civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and then add to that deaths authorized tacitly by the US through its sale of weapons, the toll of murders is mind boggling. And let's not get into the history of US aggression: Grenada and Vietnam are examples that come to mind.
Do you feel that the murder (and subsequent cover up by the US govt) of civilians is wrong and must stop now? If so, I encourage you to help raise awareness of these atrocities by making your profile picture that of this innocent child, for this month. Raising awareness can help save lives. You can help save a life.
Okay. So far, so good. Who wouldn't be against killing 2 year old kids? I mean, what's to complain about? That's what my friend posted. Pretty simple to understand. There were many comments and "likes."
Except one. One commentator was an American male who completely misses the point. I couldn't believe how illogical his comments were. It would be okay if he were just your typical stupid Beavis & Butthead type, but I checked this guy's profile and he is a university educated man and the managing director of a company!
Beavis and Butthead are not a problem. The problem is that
there are 22 million American males with the same intelligence level.
I will write this guy's two comments below and let you read how absurd they are and mirrors of US government propaganda (there are still Americans who believe that stuff!?). It is astounding that a supposedly university educated American male can be so, well, so uninformed (I'm being polite, as you know). Before I pick his comments apart, here they are for you as written:
"A depressing photo indeed, but hardly fair to label this as murder. The drone attacks have saved more lives than alternative courses of action. Muslims are not always labeled terrorist - this is the same type of misleading remark that people who are on the other side of the coin would make from their perspective. I find it more distressing that we don't make a bigger deal about the bombing that takes place in markets where innocent people are shopping and living their daily lives. There is more violence taking place between varying Muslim factions than are being killed in a military campaign. I was not in favor of going into Iraq from Day 1. But the regime in Afghanistan did protect the culprits from 9/11. Pakistan for a variety of reasons is trying to placate all sides and find it's own strategic advantages in Afghanistan. I find the photo sad but misleading as this is not a simple problem. The civilian casualties would be less if there were a more honorable government that truly cared about people more than power and money running Afghanistan..."
He adds in his immediate follow up post:
"I looked this up a few minutes ago. "The reports make it clear that most civilians, by far, were killed by other Iraqis. Two of the worst days of the war came on Aug. 31, 2005, when a stampede on a bridge in Baghdad killed more than 950 people after several earlier attacks panicked a huge crowd, and on Aug. 14, 2007, when truck bombs killed more than 500 people in a rural area near the border with Syria." Excerpt from NYT... the deaths are deplorable, but most of them do NOT come from U.S. military activities. If anything violence is likely to escalate after we leave."
This guy's comments are incredible. George Orwell, pick up the phone. America is calling you!...
His first line, "A depressing photo indeed, but hardly fair to label this as murder"? Hardly fair to label this murder!? Hardly fair to label this murder!? An innocent child is killed by a missile fired by a robot drone and this isn't 'murder'!? What is it then? Oh? I see. It's an accident? If someone (like you or me) intentionally fires some projectile into someone's house and it kills a child, it's most definitely called "murder." But if the US government does it, it's not? OK. In that case, it's called "bringing democracy to them" or "collateral damage"?
I think it's hardly fair to call this "flattening a house" or "killing family"
I'm sure this is the typical American who would say that, "World War II? Oh, dropping atomic bombs on civilian cities like Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not murder... Because, of course, killing innocent people actually saved lives. Don't you know that?"
All Americans seem to know this. Repeat after me: Killing actually saves lives. We need war to have peace. Slavery is freedom. Ignorance is strength.
Yeah, sure. But this lady and her kid shouldn't have
bombed Pearl Harbor in the first place.
The guy then goes on to write some more cockeyed litany, let's skip those (there's so much) and go to another one that really makes me want to slap my forehead with it's inanity and that is this one:
"I was not in favor of going into Iraq from Day 1. But the regime in Afghanistan did protect the culprits from 9/11."
Am I the only one who sees this glaring logical inconsistency? Let me get this straight: He was, "...not in favor of going into Iraq from Day 1"? Okay. I'm with him so far. Got it.... "But the regime in Afghanistan did protect the culprits from 9/11."???
Japanese? Chinese? Korean? Asians?... Whatever! They all look the same, right?
Damn! I'm pulling my hair out with this! This should be a total embarrassment to all Americans and the entire educational system of that country! How can American people be so benighted? It embarrasses even me!
This guy is so brainwashed; so wrong on every level and so full of propaganda that I don't know whether I want to strangle him or just slap him silly. It drives me crazy that people who think this way actually exist on this planet. I could feel the fire coming out of my ears. I posted back:
"The drone attacks have saved more lives than alternative courses of action"? That's total and complete nonsense. Why are US forces bombing people in countries that haven't threatened or attacked us? Get out of this imperialist "USA is world's police force" BS. What right does the USA have to be bombing these people? Or, do I infer, that you consider US lives more important than the lives of brown skinned kids in the middle east? The best course of action would be to kill no one and that is to LEAVE THOSE PEOPLE ALONE! Japan, Sweden, etc., etc. do not have terrorist attacks against them. Can't figure out why? Because we are not killing these people in their own backyards. Americans need to wake up and get out of this stupid mindset."
My friend who made the original post wrote to me and said that "...we probably can't convince (that person), so we need to plant the seed."
My friend is a very diplomatic and nice person. I am not.
To all Americans who believe that we have a right and we are special in god's eyes; to all Americans who think that the United States has a duty to be the world's policeman, and to all other peoples who are apologists for American state-sponsored murder, I say:
"Realize this, about Americans from this American who escaped the madness; (about) my brothers and sisters back home; after 150 years of history of US imperialism, exceptionalism and indoctrination - as well as 40 ~ 50 years of conditioning in US government public schooling are not quick to change their beliefs and thinking because of a few exchanges with you or me on Facebook or other social media.
It does anger me greatly when Americans think we are "saving lives" by killing people. I know people don't read anymore but the the classic book, "1984" has a lot to say in it about that sort of Orwellian nonsense. That this gentleman fails to realize that when it comes out of his mouth is astounding... In today's America, "war is peace," etc… Americans should know all about this… Need an example? In Vietnam, an American major was famously quoted as saying, ""It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it."
US troops burning down Vietnamese villagers' homes in order to save them
Americans are in serious denial. The end of the US empire is coming soon (not soon enough) and people like this American guy will be suffering greatly because, like an alcoholic, they fail to acknowledge the sickness. Tough love is all they deserve, if that.
Why Americans can actually think we have the right to be bombing people in foreign countries or have our navy buzzing the coast of nations on the other side of the world shows the madness of the typical American… I wonder how much Americans would like it if the Chinese were buzzing the Gulf of Mexico or, if Russian drones were killing American children and then Russians claimed that "the drones actually saved lives because of we didn't use them, our soldiers would die"?
Americans who claim this sort of thing are idiots, or at best, liars and it should be pointed out for what it is (for their own good, at least). I do not take kindly to this sort of justification of killing children and think that when people do try to justify it, they should be put on the spot for it.
Killing children, no matter what the reason, is not necessary, cannot be justified and is simply murder.
To think that some Americans actually believe that "killing people by using drones actually saves lives" shows the depths of deprivation and lack of humanity that far too many in today's America show. There is no hope for those people and that country.
There are many Americans who have been waking up and realizing the truth in recent years. But, they haven't a good future in that nation and the awake ones know it.
It is too late.... America is over..."
......
Later I calm down and unruffle my feathers... Now, dear reader, you know something that really infuriates me: US state sponsored murder of innocent children overseas 24/7 and American citizen's rationalization of it.
But it's hardly fair to label it as murder, isn't it? And, you've got to admit it; America is still the greatest country in the world.
