Complete Conjecture on a Fictitious Scenario

DeadGecko 017, originally uploaded by Dark Sevier.

Conjecture:

A Nation is pretty self satisfied. Happy to be entertained. Relaxed. Open.

The Government of the Nation is concerned. Its currency is going flaccid. The Government fears the People of the Nation will throw an unsightly tantrum when their entertainment is interrupted by news of the growing impotence.

Meanwhile, Professional Criminals take advantage of the calm before the storm to plan a heist. The biggest bank heist in the history of the Planet. It’s preparations are extensive.

Fore knowledge of the event spreads beyond the perpetrators. The Government ignores it and prepares to frame a famed dictator of a land that holds a key to the resource. An economic Viagra.

The heist is bloody and awe inspiring. The People of the Nation are shocked. The Government imprints the vulnerable people of the Nation. Stockholm Syndrome en masse.

The Government takes a hit to the ego with the heist, but more than makes up for it on the back end. War economies are good for Business, good for the Governmental ego, Bad for the People of the Nation. Believing that the Government is theirs, the People of the Nation take the blow of the heist personally, and rally to defend the Government. And the captive identifies with its captor. And the captor perpetuates the imprint.

Humanspirit

Humanspirit, originally uploaded by Dark Sevier.

A few weeks ago I sent a link to my Mom:

Loose Change: 2nd Edition

I recieved no reply until today, The 4th of July. It was this forward:

This will give you a few chills and perhaps a few tears. BEAUTIFUL!!!


The Flag of the United States of America

(If you're interested, Elvis is singing "America The Beautiful" on this email, so have your speakers on.
If this doesn't give you chills, you should pack up and move on to another country.)

I Am the Flag of theUnited States of America.


I am the flag of the United States of America.
My name is Old Glory.
I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.
I stand watch in America's halls of justice.
I fly majestically over institutions of learning.
I stand guard with power in the world.
Look up and see me.


I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.
I stand for freedom.
I am confident.
I am arrogant.
I am proud.
When I am flown with my fellow banners,
My head is a little higher,
My colors a little truer.
I bow to no one!
I am recognized all over the world.
I am worshipped - I am saluted.
I am loved - I am revered.
I am respected - and I am feared.
I have fought in every battle of every war for more then 200 years.I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appomattox.
I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France,
in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy.
Guam, Okinawa, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me.
I'm presently in the mountains of Afganistan and the hot and dusty deserts of Iraq and wherever freedom is needed.
I led my troops, I was dirty, battleworn and tired,
But my soldiers cheered me and I was proud.
I have been burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries I have helped set free.
It does not hurt for I am invincible.
I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled in the streets of my country.
And when it's done by those Whom I've served in battle - it hurts.
But I shall overcome - for I am strong.
I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stood watch over the uncharted frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.
I have borne silent witness to all of America's finest hours.
But my finest hours are yet to come.
When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my wounded comrades on the battlefield,
When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldier,
Or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent
at the grave of their fallen son or daughter,

I am proud.

Please forward my message to all who still love and respect me that I may fly proudly for another two hundred years.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

My Reply:

Sir,

This "poem" gives me chills alright. The chills that come from the freedom loving people when the boots of fascism are heard marching down the road.

Your pack-up-and-get-out-if-you-don't-agree-with-my-propaganda stance is un- American idol worship. At least it's un-American from the perspective of the forefathers of this nation. Your blind nationalism and sheeplike adherence to empty dogma would make any dictator very proud. Your characterization of the symbol of a vast and diverse country, as little more than a war banner outs you as a simple person that knows not of which he speaks. This country is far more vast and deep than your very limited perspective of it. You are burning the flag with your words, searing off the beauty and subtle nuance of a great nation.



Your brand of empty rhetoric and poor poetry serves as poison in the well of intelegent discourse. It is not constructive. It is meant to divide a nation between those who share your predjudice and xeniphobia, and those who are willing to embrace this republic as a whole. A nation divided will fall. If this nation stands for another 200 years it will not be due to your particular brand of Americanism, but in spite of it.

America is not a political perspective. America is not an economic agenda. America is not you, not a personified flag, not a brand name, not a philosophy. It is something far beyond and inclusive of all of that. And much more than all that. America bears and fosters genius as well as idiocy. It tolerates intolerance and suffers the arrogant.

I take the time to reply to the perspective you proffer because I care about the land that afforded me a free mind. A mind not afraid to stand up to bullys that tell me to leave if I am not moved by their bad poetry. I am not going to engage in the juvinile "I know you are but what am I?" right-left, good-bad, up-down, see-saw loopy rhetoric. I am not going to tell you to get out of the country because I disagree with you, because I know that recycling our own rubbish is more responsible than dumping it on our neighbors.

I am an American. I am also a human. I have Scottish, German, French, Choctaw, Cherokee in my blood. I would not be me without all that. America would not be America without the rest of the world. America is a nice address to have, but I do not look down on my neighbors, because their hard work and vision enabled me to be here. I will not forget where I come from because to do so is to inflate my ego at the expense of my very being.

As for my countrymen, I will engage them when I see that they are posing a danger to my country. This is why I take the time to reply to you.

Sincerly,