Posted on 10/04/2001 4:46:45 AM PDT by Copernicus
America's Short Attention Span
By Michael Gaddy 10.03.01
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Saturday night, outside the stadium waiting for the college football game to begin, I came face to face with America's very short attention span. The most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard, THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER, our National Anthem, had just begun. The music and the words were loud enough for these ears to hear, and I came quickly to attention, facing OLD GLORY, waving proudly in the beautiful, Arizona desert night. While facing the flag, I was able to see hundreds rushing past, to them the significance of the playing represented only the game was about to begin, and if time were taken to acknowledge the hymn and the banner, precious entertainment would be lost.
Significant in its contrast, was the attention, just minutes later given to a jet liner on its final approach to the nearby airport. Every eye in the stadium went immediately to what prior to September 11th would have been a momentary annoyance.
I fear for my nation, precisely because of our apparent lack of long-term memory. As a people, we are now prepared to support fully a war, which will send our best off to battle, on the word of a government completely devoid of trust. Amazingly, we are also willing to give this same government, more of our freedoms; on the completely insane notion we will be better protected.
Maybe I am lost in a time warp, but isn't this Federal Bureau of Investigation that is coming up with all this evidence, three weeks too late to save over 6,000 lives, and untold billions of dollars, the same agency that admittedly withheld evidence in the JFK assassination? (The Men who killed Kennedy, History Channel Documentary) Is this not the same people who shot an unarmed woman, holding an infant in her arms? Is this not the same rogue agency that was found in contempt in Federal Court in Idaho for withholding evidence? Is this not the same responsible federal employees who have misplaced their weapons, including machineguns, and laptop computers? Is this not the same dedicated public servants who left a man in prison for 33 years, knowing full well he was innocent, to protect their "snitch"? Is this not the same group of professionals that rode around on the tanks at Waco "mooning" the women inside their church?
My memory is fading with years, but I seem to remember they later killed all the children there to protect them from their parents, and killed the parents too, just to make sure all would be safe. Isn't this the same group of trustworthy individuals that then lied about their actions at Waco? Is this not the fine upstanding citizens that completely distorted the investigations into TWA 800? Seems I've heard rumors about their integrity being brought into question about the Oklahoma City Bombing. But not to worry, they said the evidence they withheld from Timothy McVeigh's lawyers was insignificant. Surely, we should believe them, after all their honesty and integrity is above reproach.
And yes, I will ask that question no one seems to want to ask: Could any of the National Defense information leaked by the FBI's latest spy, Robert Hansen, have gone directly, or indirectly, to the perpetrators of the acts of September 11? If they did, would we ever really know? Never forget, this is the same agency that violated the Constitution by providing the Clintons with the files of over 900 Americans, so they could be used as blackmail, to keep a criminal in the White House!
Wake up America. Admit it. If the government alphabet agencies were private enterprises, you would not hire them to watch your house while you go to the grocery! Why will you trust them now to provide the information that might lead us to send our sons and daughters off to war? Papers in the UK are already questioning the document the FBI is touting holds the secrets to the perpetrators of the heinous acts of Black Tuesday. Our esteemed Attorney General is telling us there might even be more terrorist attacks. NO DAH! We presented such a formidable defense against those on the WTC and Pentagon. But the real kicker is our leaders want more power given to these agencies that have proven they are better at violating our rights, than protecting us from terrorism. As hard as it might be to swallow America, the evidence produced by our government could be false or misleading. It has happened before. We now know FDR knew the Japanese were coming to attack Pearl Harbor. We also know Lyndon Johnson, with the aid of a willing American Press, fabricated the attacks on the USS Maddox, to precipitate the bombing of North Vietnam, which led to the deaths of 58,000+ Americans and over 1 million Vietnamese.
I, as much as any other Real American, want all the perpetrators of the heinous, murderous acts of September 11th, brought to justice. What I would personally like to do to any surviving participants could not even be mentioned on these pages. But, we must proceed cautiously with the proposed actions against "those who harbored them." To the best of my knowledge, most of them learned to fly here in the good old USA. Many had been living here for months.
What exactly constitutes "harboring?" It appears to me the FBI and their alphabet brothers have spent valuable time violating the rights of its own citizens, killing many in the process, while known terrorists have been attending flying schools here in America, learning to fly planes loaded with our citizens into large, important buildings.
Nothing that has happened, or can happen, should precipitate the surrendering of more of our constitutional rights to a government that is suspect at best.
The logic here is terribly flawed. We have made concessions of our rights to the beast called government in a false hope of gaining more security in our lives. It did not work, so now they want more of our freedoms. If we follow this to its logical conclusion, if we give the government all of our rights, we would then live in a perfect society. I thought that was called slavery! How about, instead of giving up our rights, the government started giving up their wrongs? The opposite of control is not chaos. It is called FREEDOM. We witnessed chaos on September 11th. We must not fail to heed the words of William Pitt: "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human Liberty; it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
It is my firm belief the attacks of September 11 were not tactical, but strategic in nature. Our enemies have succeeded where we have failed. They know their enemy-We do not. They found our soft underbelly and directed their attacks there. They know enough about Americans to realize the majority depend on government for protection. They know the government demands our subjugation in times of "crisis." That was the reason the attacks were directed primarily at civilians. Their attacks proved to the world our vulnerability, and will precipitate copycat attacks. The more these attacks occur, the more our government will demand the submission of our freedom. If our government is able to stop half of what is to come, the half that succeeds will be devastating. Finally, the yoke of government will become too much to bear, and there will be revolution. With a country teeming with illegal aliens, it will make for an interesting ending.
Now we will follow the blueprint of our history. Our economy is reeling with no real answers in sight. Our airline industry is on the verge of bankruptcy, and we citizens are forced to bail it out at the point of a gun. Government controls, which would not permit the free market to dictate policy, have led to this end. Denying pilots and crew the right to be armed, and depending on a person at the ticket counter asking "who packed your bag", and McDonalds rejects in uniform running the X-ray machines, gave us the events of destruction. Now to prop up this failing economy, we must have war. Americans, PLEASE, before we send our young off to fight a war in Afghanistan, listen to what those who have been there have to say.
My Grandfather once said to me: "Son, most Americans have the attention span of an Irish Setter." I think he was too tough on the dog!
He's wrong. As long as they have the freedom to go to their football games; the sheeple will be subservient.
Enough of my pessticism. Not all Americans are liek that-there are still lots of folks that defy the average, I find especially amoung rural folks. But they are a dying culture.
Go figure. Was it Sun Tzu that said, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". Who not among the terrorists friends do they fear most? Who do the trust most? If they fear the U.S. government perhaps they will target the major television and cable stations so that the government won't have that voice. But neither will the terrorists have it for their "soap box".
If they trust the citizens more than the government perhaps they'll target the major television and cable stations so that the citizens turn to the Internet and WWW for their entertainment and news.
Consider the two targets that were hit on September 11. The Twin Towers were arguably the most notable Icons of capitalism. The Pentagon is unarguably the most notable Icon of a military/government. Many countries have their capitols that stand out among the world. The Pentagon is the only military Icon that stands out.
Targeting the voice-conduit of government that is also the capitalist pacifying-entertainment of the citizens might make sense to the terrorists in their severely warped view of how the world should be.
If there's a WMD attack on large cities, the rural folks will again be in the majority.
It's amazing how many sheeple hit the snooze button after the wake-up call.
BTW;
Where can I get a;
There is a God.
Allah ain't Him.
Mohammed ain't His prophet.
bumper sticker.
Preferably in English and Arabic.
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