American Values: Grasping for Objective Straws in a Haystack of Subjective Propaganda

What a title.

What are so-called "American Values?"

Forget it.  Americans are people just like any other people - except for the influences and benefits experienced growing up in a free and open society that celebrates rebellion and independence.  Oh - did I mention the right to bear arms?  We used to walk around with .22 rifles and 12 or 20 gauge shotguns when I was a teenager on our way to the coal mine areas to hunt and plink.  Nobody even noticed.  The best gun I ever owned was a .22/20 gauge shotgun, over and under, break-open, single shot.  Made  by Savage.  I remember firing one shot, adjusting the rear site for elevation, firing one more - dead on.

I remember spending endless hours in the woods, building fires, shooting BB guns, building tree-houses and forts.  I remember wrecking the tree-houses and forts of the other kid-groups that roamed the same woods of the Wilkes-Barre area.

I remember picking Blackberrys, crab-apples and choke-cherries.  Currant berries, grapes, pears, and elderberries from the trees that lined the railroad tracks in front of my house.  I remember walking those tracks in both directions until the sun was going down and it was time to turn around.

We built Estes model rockets and picked cans and bottles for the deposit to buy rocket engines and green fuse.  We made our own rocket designs.  We made our own firecrackers from 30-06 shell casings full of match-heads or silver powder from exploding targets.

I remember ice-skating on the "ice pond" - a filthy pond amidst the ash and coal fields of the Pennsylvania Gas and Water Company that froze over every winter.  We made hockey sticks from the plastic pipe we found in the landfill, heated the plastic over fires we built, and fashioned our own hockey sticks to slap a crushed beer can puck around with.

Every now and then, somebody would throw a CO2 cartridge or glass bottle full of water with the cap screwed down into the fire.  Ha ha - everbody would run like hell - and after the explosion and the red-hot coals finished burning holes in everything in sight - we'd go back and throw more wood on the fire - get back to our bullshit hockey game, dry our socks out - go home when the sun went down.

Our parents were strict.  Yeah - we had some freedom - but nobody got shot, stabbed or otherwise seriously hurt except by accident.  It was unheard of.  Nobody ever ever ever shot somebody - although we had guns.  It didn't enter into the imagination.  Especially since if anything ever happened along those lines the wrath of our parents would eclipse any justice the law could ever bring to bear.  In fact, the law was our only protection from our own parents if something really bad happened - the cops might prevent us from being killed.  Our parents had higher standards than the law.

I remember one night, being underage, Mark and I were eating a pizza outside of "Three Guys."  We'd somehow got our hands on a six of Michelob Dark.  We stashed the four bottles we weren't drinking under the truck - but the cops showed up and found our beer.  Wow - big deal.  They dumped it out.

I remember getting in a fistfight in Kingston, PA.  Long story but he ended up with some stitches in his mouth.  I was tougher back then - not like now - pushin' fifty.  Who wants to punch somebody in the face?  But that was the culture.  Coal mining town.

Welcome to 2011

When I lived in Alexandria, Virginia a few years ago - one of my neighbors had two adorable daughters.  They were young with smiles so big...  One of the tykes was about as tall as my thigh - she had a "daytimer."

We didn't have daytimers sitting in the apple trees.  We didn't care what time it was - except for the absolute rule that we must get home before dark.  Hard to miss the Sun not shining - no excuse for that.  After all - it's in the sky - who can miss it?  No electricity required.

One of my neighbors' kids in Alexandria - Johnny - made friends with me one summer.  I used to cut my grass and the grass of several adjoining townhomes.  Sometimes the kids would come around.  Johnny was afraid of an insect called the Praying Mantis.  I did my best to help Johnny overcome his fear of this large insect.  By the end of that summer, he came over one day with a Praying Mantis crawling on his face.  Fear gone.  He could also hold his breath underwater and swim across the pool a lot.

One day Johnny came down and told me that his teachers gave him a hard time because he called 911 after watching his grandmother collapse onto the floor of the kitchen.  Long story - but I told him to never ever listen to people defying his parents.  Listen to them first.  What were the teachers thinking?

One of my neighbors, a major, was in the Pentagon when the 911 thing happened.  That evening, after we all got home - I talked to him - "were you there?"  He was - he told me:  "I heard an explosion - and I know an explosion when I hear one."  You had to know this guy to understand that he was a very serious dude and didn't mess about.

The Present vs. the Past

I know I am rambling with this post - but I intended to ramble - reminisce about the "good ole days."  And they were good ole days.

They were good because teachers taught students about their country, why their country was special, and how their predecessors fought to secure the rights that make the American system, not necessarily the American people special, but the system.  A system that allows anyone who adopts America as their home, to express themselves in the most radical ways.  A system that ensures that free speech is kept sacred - that one can practice any religion they see fit - pray to any God - or not to pray to any god at all- the choice remains that of the independent thinking citizen.

The government of this special nation - a government of the people, by the people, and for the people - was established and derived its very credibility - from one thing and one thing only - its ability to secure the rights and liberties of its citizens.

Yes - the American system is what makes America great - and the influence of this system on developing young minds - as fostered by free and independent-thinking parents - built a great nation of go-getters - self-sufficient pioneers able to make it on their own.

The Present vs. the Future


The American system must be preserved if we are to preserve the American way - a way of generosity - abundance, toughness, self-sufficience - rugged individualism - with the spirit of rebellion and liberty instilled in every American.

But how will we maintain this superior system while buckling under to authoritarian hall-monitors?  How can Americans remain free and brave when every citizen is bombarded with pusillanimous English-accented foreigners on every radio and TV show telling Americans how to knuckle under to the powers that be?   How can Americans retain their rights when they are told over and over and over again by corporate-sponsored media hacks that freedom of speech is too dangerous because the public just might get pissed off when they hear the truth?  I think you know the answer.

How can Americans be free if they give up their right to bear arms?  Yeah - for a "well regulated militia."  Great.  I used to think this clause was problematic for the second amendment.  Not any more.  It only makes it more clear to me that they were talking about military arms - otherwise "militia" would never enter into the discussion.  So hunting is no longer a reason to talk about having a right to bear arms.  No.  A militia is a body of armed people.  And a militia needs military arms so they can ensure that the PERSONS that make up a government, a constitutional republic of LAWS, NOT OF MEN, that those PERSONS corrupting, perverting, or otherwise abusing the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA are stopped from wrecking the very system that makes America the special place it is.

America - come here - embrace our culture - our system - and....you're in.  Nobody will ever question you on race, religion etc...  That is - nobody sane.  Because America is an all-embracing society.

Is that true of other countries? Is is possible to go the Germany, for instance, and become German?  Or to  go to England and become English?  Or to go to Spain and become Spanish?  Etc... Perhaps - but I'd wager that there is nowhere in the world where one can melt into the amalgam of society that is America like it is possible to do here in America.

So What?

The future of America is good - but we have some tumultuous times ahead.  The greedy fascists that have been running America via the banks, military-industrial-educational complex, and corporate media will be flushed out in the coming months.  It is quite possible that the talking heads that make the corporate media machine what it is will face the wrath of citizens unable to wait forever for things to change.  It is quite possible that the fascist corporate media will be decapitated.  I am not in favor of that - but if it happened, I don't think the country would suffer.  In fact - things might get better.  That is a horrible thing to say - sad but true - but I'm not about to sit here and lie to the younger generation.  The slimy vipers that have used the tactics of Josef Goebbels and company to push this culture to the point of disaster have had their time in the limelight.  Propaganda works.  It is scary efficient.  I don't know how to stop it legally - hopefully somebody will figure that out before they are all wiped out.  Natural law always takes the path of least resistance.  We'll see.

The banking system in America is a complete disaster - we all know - what to do?  There is no regulation or representation for the average citizen.   Is there anything we can do?

I am not advocating this - but when the fascists tried to take Russia - they used the "scorched earth" policy.  No - this has nothing to do with the phony "global warming" scare designed to tax you out of existence with a bullshit marathon.  No - this means - they come to take your house - and - well - they cannot profit from what is left if you have to leave.  I won't do this - after all - the fire marshals know how to determine arson in the case of a fire.  I am not saying to do anything of the sort.  But it is impossible to ignore the fact that if every house repossessed had malfunctioning everything.  This would deny the enemy of the profits from taking booty.  Just a thought.

Protesting

What is the point? Without proper TV and radio coverage unadulterated by the corpora-fascist media - even if a million people show up - if the TV doesn't tell the couch-sitting-soccer-football-watching public there is a demonstration - then there never was a demonstration.  But - a million people can leave quite a mess - what with litter, the bums who spray-paint everything and burn cars etc...   That would probably be the only evidence that there was a demonstration since the TV and radio owned by corporations would pretend it never happened.  Although I disapprove of property damage, fires, scorched-earth policy, and violence - I never forget the words of JFK when he said something like:  "Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent revolution INEVITABLE."

Enough

I suppose this ramble must come to an end - I see the discussions continue - I see the war continue - I see the cronies hire more cronies - and I see the public getting the shaft - all the time being bombarded with messages of "peace" and "tolerance" while they are facing war and intolerance.

The hypocrisy of the United States government is embarrassingly obvious.  It almost seems like they are laughing at us - they lie, cheat and steal from us - then use their paid-off media to hammer the point home:  "Don't do anything - just keep talking."  Like that will ever help.

The American government has enough weapons on one nuclear submarine to wipe out any country on this planet.  End of conversation.  Where's the threat?  Grow up!

Calvin, above said that "The business of America is business."  Yeah - well - presently that business is the WAR business.  That means we are all complicit in murder for profit since our tax dollars are used to support this blood-biz.

Have I gone over anything new here?  Probably not - but everybody knows something is very wrong - and the root of all evil originates in our Federal government that was supposed to serve the function of protecting our individual rights.  EVERYBODY'S  right to have their day in court.  EVERYBODY has freedom of speech, assembly, and the RIGHT to petition their government for answers to things they are doing wrong.

One party in this contract is not fulfilling their end of the bargain.  One party is taking advantage of, and using taxpayer dollars to dumb-down and divide the electorate with the hope that said electorate will not complain as draconian measures are emplaced.  One party - the government supposedly set up "of the People, by the People, and for the People" is doing the opposite or what they were established for.

ANY GOVERNMENT, DESCRIBING ITSELF IN ANY WAY, established in the United States of America, under the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION - that acts in opposition to its very purpose for existence, as explicated in the Constitution of the United States - NEEDS TO GO BYE-BYE.

So totalitarian fascist government that no longer supports WE THE PEOPLE - may I be the first to say "Goodbye" to you?

Goodbye forever fascist totalitarian oligarchs!  I was NOT NICE knowing you!

By the way - see ya'  wouldn't wanna' be ya'.

Conclusion

I pity those in the federal government who don't realize that they are out of money, out of time, and the American public is out of patience.  The wheels of justice grind slowly - but eventually - justice is served.