They Didn't Die For This

They Didn't Die For This

     While figures vary, it seems reasonable to go with the Wikipedia estimate of 60 Million dead in World War II. Not all were soldiers, sailors, or airmen who signed up to fight. Many were innocent civilians. Women, children, disabled people, old people, anyone not fit to fight, yet in the way of the horror of heavily mechanized, indiscriminate war machines, grinding up human life in a battle of ideologies. The "Free World" versus the "Axis Forces".

     Moral high ground. Dammit, we had it in spades. When it was over we mourned, yet we celebrated the ultimate victory of good versus evil. Of course we were the good, we always are. Of course the German, Italian, and Japanese forces were told by their leaders the same kinds of things we're told. The bad guys are fighting us. They hate us because of who we are. They are envious of our successes and obvious moral superiority. Most of all, the evil people want to impose their way of life on us.

     So, 60 Million died so "Freedom & Democracy" could triumph over "Fascism & Imperialism". That, at least, is the narrative we are supposed to have firmly implanted in our psyche. Why wouldn't we? This is the message that has been employed forever in the name of war. Your side is Good. The other side is Bad. Eventually, when we ran out of countries with formal armies to bomb or invade or provide arms to one or both sides of a conflict, we massaged the message so we are taking on shadowy terrorists. If you are invaded in the name of "Freedom & Democracy" and you dare try to fight back, you are an evil terrorist. Fighting back is not allowed if it's us attacking you. BUT WAIT! You can redeem yourself. You can become "ONE OF US"!! If someone else is attacking you, or we don't like your leader, or you have something of value to our billionaires, we're very happy to immediately recognize your sovereignty and we'll make sure you're armed to the teeth. We are always happy to help fight against "evil forces" in the world. All we want is control of your resources, and no matter if you've lived under some other system of governance for centuries, you must become a "democracy" which means you must install the person we have chosen for your country as leader.

     Keep in mind, that 60 million is just the dead. Not the families forever torn asunder, some missing a child or children, some children missing whole families. It's not those who came back, many physically scarred, all of them changed mentally, forever. Many more would die, eventually succumbing to injuries, addictions, suicides. My own father lasted until 1967. Others died earlier, others later. Most of them are gone now. Now I find myself looking at the world asking: What did they die for?

They Didn't Die For This

     There would be an uphill battle for you to get me to believe our parents/grandparents died so we could become the bullies of the world, so our "Western-style Democracies" somehow have the right to do the thinking for the rest of the planet. That it's our way or no way. They died to preserve a way of life, not to export it to places that never asked for it. We're a heavily armed version of the Christian Missionaries out to save the savages by showing them the right way to live, which, of course, is our way.

 They Didn't Die For This

     Meanwhile, on the home front. Our free democracies that so many died to preserve, have been turned into benevolent dictatorships, where we have a semblance of freedom. You're free to go to work. You're free to spend your money. To a certain extent you're free to say what you want, when you want to, unless it is damaging to the ruling class. No matter how much we believe in our various "Constitutionally Guaranteed Rights" when it comes to exercise them, and exercising them is at cross purposes to the large moneyed interests, even if you are defending your own land, if you are defending the future of your children, if you gather in groups of larger than one person, you will be considered a threat and dealt with as such. Increasingly, governments are spying on your every move. The minute you express dissent in the wrong way, when you perhaps decide to protest whatever you see as wrong or unfair treatment, you will be met by fully militarized police and/or private for-hire armies. They will hurt you, they may even kill you, and in the end, some, if not all of you will go to jail for your crime of fighting back when attacked by these overwhelming forces with their chemical weapons like tear gas, pepper spray, snipers with rubber bullets and when they get close enough they'll deploy tasers and batons and fists and if they feel like it, they shoot you dead in the street.

     This is just the tip of the iceberg. We aren't truly free. We are the instruments of violent corporate rule. Every few years, those of us who still want to believe we don't live in a society where we're powerless get to mark an "X" on a paper dreaming something more than cosmetic will change. I only hope we wake up faster. I hope we can come to our collective senses before we receive the same lesson every bully has to face. Sooner or later someone, or ones, will stand up to us and beat our ass into the ground. We have to stop trying to rule the world, learn to rule ourselves, and play well with our neighbours no matter the rules they wish to live by. If we do not learn this simple lesson, history is going to repeat itself, and chances are good, like it or not, WE are the ones on the wrong side of it this time. Dragged here, by the massive greed of a tiny portion of our collective populations.

     One thing I know for sure...

They Didn't Die For This

#DearPoliticians

*****WARNING*****

     Even though this post is titled #DearPoliticians I don't expect actual politicians to read it. Reading is hard. Politicians hire people to read stuff for them, because we all know, stuff is hard. This usually leads to the politician only knowing whatever parts they can remember of what the people paid to read remembered and at some point may have passed on to them. (Oh those junior staffers!)

     In any event, you'll be comforted to know, no actual politicians will probably be hurt in the making and sharing of this post.

     Before I get to it, I'll explain a bit. I'd enjoy getting this one interactive. This is a non-partisan deal, it's designed to give everyone a voice. Join me in making Saturday, August 24, 2013 #DearPoliticians Day.

     Here's what I encourage you to do in the next 2 weeks. Find ways to use the hashtag. If you want to tweet something that applies to all politicians, use the hashtag. If you want to promote our special day, please do so. Below I will be writing a general list of things I want from politicians. All of them. All parties, all levels of government, all of what I am going to say applies to some of them, and some of what I'm going to say applies to all of them. I encourage you to get friends (and politicians) to read this post, share it, and encourage them to share as well. Wait! One more thing. Since I'm giving you a couple of weeks, I want you, and others, to write your/their own #DearPoliticians letter. On the 24th we will see if we can vault the hashtag to the top of the trends by sharing our letters and tweeting what important to us, not them telling us what we should think is important.

     If you have a blog, write a letter. If you're into video, put your letter up on youtube and we'll share it, please use the hashtag #DearPoliticians somewhere in your title. If you want to add your comments but don't have a blog, put your thoughts in the comments section of my blog and I will be tweeting it regularly.

     My letter is below. Think of what you want politicians to know and get yours written. Politicians say they want to listen to you, so let's dedicate Saturday, Aug. 24/13 to using #DearPoliticians to tell them what we think.

#DearPoliticians

     You seem quite fond of saying you want to hear from your constituents but I'm not convinced any of you are sincere. You'll have to convince me with actions, not words, not even words that I would really like to hear. Right now, I am willing to give you benefit of the doubt. If I see no change and you can't bother to respond and make yourself known, it will be clear you care less what the voting public wants from you.

     Number one on my list, stop lying. Period. You may say something that makes me angry or upset but I will still have to respect you if you are telling the truth. Every time you people choose to lie and end up getting caught, you erode the faith and trust we are supposed to be putting in your hands. Sometimes the truth is ugly but it will always set you free.

     Congratulations, you won an election. Like it or not, you also work for the people who didn't vote for you equally. I don't expect you to please everyone all the time, but I want you to put the words cooperation and compromise at the forefront of your thinking when dealing with issues.

     Beyond the lying thing, if you cannot behave honestly and ethically, I don't want you as a representative of anyone except yourself. You aren't fit for the position. This includes all the ways you spend the public's funds. This is 2013, not 1867 and we could use a bit of progress. The technology is such that you can provide a real-time accounting online of all incoming and outgoing transactions. When it's all out in the open you will think twice about all spending, and to me, that's about the most important thing. I don't mind paying taxes that are used in a good and defensible way.

     Stop cheating in elections. Stop using robocalls. Stop scaring people. Stop spending money you cannot prove the value of. Stop ignoring the facts because they aren't convenient. Stop ignoring you are allowing your grandchildren's future to be destroyed for the sake of a few dollars today. If I send you an email, I don't want you to respond with a form letter. When you do take the time to reply, I would like you to actually answer the question I asked you, not dance around it then summarize your party's platform on everything but what I asked about.

     Most of all, if you really claim to be a democracy, you must offer more than an opportunity every few years to put a mark on a ballot and have things no one ever mentioned rammed down our throats with absolutely zero say in the matter. You have lost your way. You need a good soul searching.

     Politics isn't sport. It doesn't matter who wins the game. What matters is the welfare of the people you are supposed to serve. Right now, it appears the system is terribly broken, and it has been getting worse over time. You owe it to us to pay heed to our needs, not your own, not your party, and certainly not mega corporations and their various mouthpieces.

     Get it together. Someone, somewhere, get it together, before the straw breaks the camel's back.