A happy populace is a content populace, and a content populace is far less likely to rebel.
| December 8, 2007 | 4:41 pm | Opinions & EditorialsNote: The opinion of the author is his alone, not of LUEniverse. We thought we’d warn you.
Preface: If you don’t like reading, just read the bold print, that should get your attention.
Show them something they’ll never forget! Invite your friends over to your living room, turn on the HDTV and turn off your brain. Remember the snacks as well, we wouldn’t want to suddenly become hungry or dissatisfied while we view our mindless programming. Entertainment is our goal. Big, comfortable lifestyles with lots of food on the table and the electronics humming away in all parts of the house. What’s the hottest new item to buy this holiday season? How many top 10 lists of the Best Gifts of 2007 have you read through already?
It’s fucking pathetic.
We’re more worried about that brand new iPod or that shiny new HDTV than we our with the state of our own country. We’ll flip on the “news” every now and then and be hit with one of two things: a) More shit getting blown up in Iraq. Oh crap! We gotta kill the terrorists, can’t let them come to our country. b) Who’d Britney Spears fuck last? That isn’t news, that’s the taste of fascism being crammed down your throats. Besides, who wants to watch that when we can turn on any number of mindless dribble to take our minds off of the reality. The reality that the current leaders of this country (yes, leaders, not just Bush) are single-handedly dismantling the mind blowingly successful democracy which has sped ahead the rest of the world in just 200 years.
How much do you know about just how much the United States of America has changed over the past six years? Have you been doing your civil duty? Have you been voting and keeping an eye on your representatives? What laws have been passed already? What laws are coming through the pipe now? Can you even answer any of these questions?
Let me take a step back. You see, perhaps you don’t know this, but the people in charge most certainly do, and as they say, knowledge is power. So, please, let me educate you.
This is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It’s pretty isn’t it? Well what this illustrates is the different needs that must be fulfilled in order to move on to the next level of the pyramid. Let’s look at the RED area first. Breathing, food, water, sleep, etc… All of the very basic things you must be able to do in order to go on worrying about the next step of the pyramid. You get the idea. So, take a look at the pyramid. Which part are you at? Maybe you’re worried about how your peers view you, that would fall under the Esteem category. Perhaps you’re an aspiring artist and you just can’t get the inspiration you need for your next big exhibition, that’d be filed under Self-Actualization. Well, if you answered anything above the Safety or Physiological section of the pyramid, you are in reality, dead wrong. Let me explain why.
The PATRIOT Act. A wonderfully crafted piece of legislation that allows enemy combatants to be detained for an unspecified amount of time without access to a trial or jury. “Well, okay, enemy combatants, who cares.” But wait, the plot thickens. Did you know that one person, one man can strip away your American Citizenship? In the name of national security he doesn’t have to deal with courts or congress or The People, he alone can decide on a whim that John Smith is no longer an American, and then what? Well, then you can be labeled an enemy combatant and held indefinitely without due process. “Well, that won’t really happen, it’s all just legislative theory.” Oh really fool? Why don’t you ask Jose Padilla about legislative theory? He is an American citizen who had his citizenship stripped away four years ago and is THIS VERY DAY locked up in a navy brig without having had a trial. I guess you guys are just sitting at home crossing your fingers while you watch “American Idol” because anybody who gave a shit about their personal freedoms would be working their asses off trying to stop this nonsense.
I could literally write hundreds of pages about the injustices already done, but despite the evil nature of the PATRIOT Act, there is an even greater threat looming over the heads of freedom loving Americans as I write this very blog entry. But hey, it’s not all gloom and doom! This time, you can do something about it!!! (Signal applause) That’s right my fellow Americans, you can actually prevent one of the most amazingly anti-American acts to ever set foot in Congress. I’m talking about H.R. 1955 (Google it you slackers) or also known as the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.” Click the title if you enjoy reading legislation. If not, let me summarize it for you: If you speak out against any part of the government, you can be labeled a terrorist and (thanks to the PATRIOT Act) be stripped of your citizenship and imprisoned. YEAH! Sounds exciting doesn’t it. Don’t believe me, then read the damn thing for yourself.
The Act has already passed through the House of Representatives with a 405-6 vote (oh joy, democracy is working as intended, isn’t it). The next stop: The Senate. Follow the progress of the Act here!Call everybody and their mothers and let them know about this, or you could go back to surfing the net for porn and watching episodes of Heroes or whatever other form of disillusionment you choose.
