It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
~John Lennon
~Shears
Full Version: Your Quote of the Day
"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
~John Lennon
~Shears
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
~John Lennon
~ShearsQUOTE(BillySHEARS @ Thursday, 8 December 2005, 3:11 pm)
"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
~John Lennon
~Shears
[right][snapback]36748[/snapback][/right]
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
~John Lennon
~Shears[right][snapback]36748[/snapback][/right]
Ya know, what's totally bizarre to me,
is that peace isn't that hard to do.
All it would require is a change in the general human mind set
about them selves and their relation to other people!
All One Tribe!
Only One Planet!
George Wasington
1st U.S.A. President (1789-1797)
“Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. I had hoped that liberal and enlightened thought would have reconciled the Christians so that their religious fights would not endanger the peace of Society.”
(Letter to Sir Edward Newenham, June 22, 1792)
In support of Thomas Paine:
“Your presence may remind Congress of your past services to this country; and if it is in my power to impress them, command my best exertions with freedom, as they will be rendered cheerfully by one who entertains a lively sense of the importance of your works, and who with much pleasure subscribes himself,”
(letter to Thomas Paine written after publication of Age of Reason)
Farewell Address -- 1796:
He honors Liberty fifteen times, but god or Jesus not even once.
Seems pretty clear to me that though this founding father was a christian,
he clearly did not want religion in the government!
1st U.S.A. President (1789-1797)
“Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. I had hoped that liberal and enlightened thought would have reconciled the Christians so that their religious fights would not endanger the peace of Society.”
(Letter to Sir Edward Newenham, June 22, 1792)
In support of Thomas Paine:
“Your presence may remind Congress of your past services to this country; and if it is in my power to impress them, command my best exertions with freedom, as they will be rendered cheerfully by one who entertains a lively sense of the importance of your works, and who with much pleasure subscribes himself,”
(letter to Thomas Paine written after publication of Age of Reason)
Farewell Address -- 1796:
He honors Liberty fifteen times, but god or Jesus not even once.
Seems pretty clear to me that though this founding father was a christian,
he clearly did not want religion in the government!
"I like guys who've never been there to criticize us who've been there. ...
I like guys who got five deferments and never been there, and send people to war,
and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done."
JOHN MURTHA
I like guys who got five deferments and never been there, and send people to war,
and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done."
JOHN MURTHA
The Post-Dispatch will serve no party but the people; be
no organ of Republicanism, but the organ of truth; will
follow no causes but its conclusions; will not support the
Administration, but criticize it; will oppose all frauds
and shams wherever or whatever they are; will advocate
principles and ideas rather than prejudices and partisanship.
Joseph Pulitzer, The Post-Dispatch (1878)
no organ of Republicanism, but the organ of truth; will
follow no causes but its conclusions; will not support the
Administration, but criticize it; will oppose all frauds
and shams wherever or whatever they are; will advocate
principles and ideas rather than prejudices and partisanship.
Joseph Pulitzer, The Post-Dispatch (1878)
You are a child of the Universe,
no less than the moon and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should.
-- Max Ehrmann, American philosopher
no less than the moon and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should.
-- Max Ehrmann, American philosopher
Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
George Smith Patton
"( . . . ) the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation."
--Adolf Hitler
--Adolf Hitler
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
--Joseph Goebbels
--Joseph Goebbels
"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face.
It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"
George W Bush
Edit for this note....
It has been revealed that Mr. Bush might not have actually said this.
However, to most of us, it's quite clear he could have!
It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"
George W Bush
Edit for this note....
It has been revealed that Mr. Bush might not have actually said this.
However, to most of us, it's quite clear he could have!
For misleading the American people, and launching the most
foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C. sent his
legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be
impeached and, once he has been removed from office, put
on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If
convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their
sins.
--Martin van Creveld, Israeli military historian
foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C. sent his
legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be
impeached and, once he has been removed from office, put
on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If
convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their
sins.
--Martin van Creveld, Israeli military historian
I'm not a member of any organized political party,
I'm a Democrat!
Will Rogers
I'm a Democrat!
Will Rogers
"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."
-- Albert Einstein
-- Albert Einstein
There were no weapons of mass destruction.
There was no collaboration between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda on 9/11.
There was scant Pentagon planning for securing the peace should bad stuff happen after America invaded.
Why, exactly, did we go to war in Iraq?
--Frank Rich, NY Times Reporter
Isn't that the question ALL of America and the world should be asking?
There was no collaboration between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda on 9/11.
There was scant Pentagon planning for securing the peace should bad stuff happen after America invaded.
Why, exactly, did we go to war in Iraq?
--Frank Rich, NY Times Reporter
Isn't that the question ALL of America and the world should be asking?
Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue;
it makes it a requirement for survival.
Rene Dubois, Celebrations of Life, 1981
it makes it a requirement for survival.
Rene Dubois, Celebrations of Life, 1981
When shall it be said in any country of the world,
my poor are happy,
neither ignorance nor distress is to be ound among them;
my jails are empty of prisoners,
my streets of beggars;
the aged are not in want,
the taxes not oppressive;
the rational world is my friend because I am friend of its happiness.
When these things can be said,
then may that country boast of its constitution and government.
--Thomas Paine
my poor are happy,
neither ignorance nor distress is to be ound among them;
my jails are empty of prisoners,
my streets of beggars;
the aged are not in want,
the taxes not oppressive;
the rational world is my friend because I am friend of its happiness.
When these things can be said,
then may that country boast of its constitution and government.
--Thomas Paine
"This nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law. Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.
No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That’s the principle that we all hold very dear in this country."
Tom Delay (R-TX)
"I suggest impeachment is like beauty: apparently in the eye of the beholder. But I hold a different view. And it's not a vengeful one, it's not vindictive, and it's not craven. It's just a concern for the Constitution and a high respect for the rule of law. ... as a lawyer and a legislator for most of my very long life, I have a particular reverence for our legal system. It protects the innocent, it punishes the guilty, it defends the powerless, it guards freedom, it summons the noblest instincts of the human spirit.
The rule of law protects you and it protects me from the midnight fire on our roof or the 3 a.m. knock on our door."
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.)
"What is on trial here is the truth and the rule of law. Our failure to bring President Clinton to account for his lying under oath and preventing the courts from administering equal justice under law, will cause a cancer to be present in our society for generations. I want those parents who ask me the questions, to be able to tell their children that even if you are president of the United States, if you lie when sworn "to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," you will face the consequences of that action, even when you don't accept the responsibility for them."
James Sensenbrenner: (R-WI)
"There can be no shading of right and wrong. The complicated currents that have coursed through this impeachment process are many. But after stripping away the underbrush of legal technicalities and nuance, I find that the President abused his sacred power by lying and obstructing justice. How can parents instill values and morality in their children? How can educators teach our children? How can the rule of law for every American be applied equally if we have two standards of justice in America--one for the powerful and the other for the rest of us?"
Chuck Hagel (R-NB)
"I will have no part in the creation of a constitutional double-standard to benefit the President. He is not above the law. If an ordinary citizen committed these crimes, he would go to jail."
Bill Frist (R-TN)
"When someone is elected president, they receive the greatest gift possible from the American people, their trust. To violate that trust is to raise questions about fitness for office. My constituents often remind me that if anyone else in a position of authority -- for example, a business executive, a military officer of a professional educator -- had acted as the evidence indicates the president did, their career would be over. The rules under which President Nixon would have been tried for impeachment had he not resigned contain this statement: "The office of the president is such that it calls for a higher level of conduct than the average citizen in the United States."
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)
Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure....
If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, "I see no probability of the British invading us," but he will say to you, "Be silent; I see it, if you don't."
-- Abraham Lincoln, in an 1848 letter to his law partner, William Herndon, criticizing Polk's decision to invade Mexico for the purpose of preventing future war
If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, "I see no probability of the British invading us," but he will say to you, "Be silent; I see it, if you don't."
-- Abraham Lincoln, in an 1848 letter to his law partner, William Herndon, criticizing Polk's decision to invade Mexico for the purpose of preventing future war
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president (1890-1969)
--Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president (1890-1969)
Women are like elephants. I like to watch them, but I wouldn't want to own one.
W C Fields
W C Fields
The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity - much less dissent.
--Gore Vidal
--Gore Vidal
I am only one,
but I am one.
I cannot do everything,
but I can do something.
I will not let what I cannot do
interfere with what I can do!
I can do small things
in a great way.
but I am one.
I cannot do everything,
but I can do something.
I will not let what I cannot do
interfere with what I can do!
I can do small things
in a great way.
To initiate a war of aggression...is not only an international crime,
it is the supreme international crime,
differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself
the accumulated evil of the whole.
--Nuremberg Tribunal
it is the supreme international crime,
differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself
the accumulated evil of the whole.
--Nuremberg Tribunal
My father was a slave and my people died to build this country,
and I'm going to stay right here and have a part of it, just like you.
And no fascist-minded people like you will drive me from it.
Is that clear?
--Paul Robeson (1898-1976) - from testimony before the
House Un-American Activities Committee, June 12, 1956
and I'm going to stay right here and have a part of it, just like you.
And no fascist-minded people like you will drive me from it.
Is that clear?
--Paul Robeson (1898-1976) - from testimony before the
House Un-American Activities Committee, June 12, 1956
If I have been of service,
if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good,
if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action,
if I am at peace with myself,
it has been a successful day.
--Alex Noble
if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good,
if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action,
if I am at peace with myself,
it has been a successful day.
--Alex Noble
Denial is the most predictable of all human responses.
But, rest assured, this will be the sixth time we have destroyed it,
and we have become exceedingly efficient at it.
--The Architect, from "The Matrix"
But, rest assured, this will be the sixth time we have destroyed it,
and we have become exceedingly efficient at it.
--The Architect, from "The Matrix"
"And the simplest and most accessible key to our self neglected liberation lies right here: Personal non participation in lies. Though lies conceal everything, though lies embrace everything, but not with any help from me.
This opens a breach in the imaginary encirclement caused by our inaction. It is the easiest thing to do for us, but the most devastating for the lies. Because when people renounce lies it simply cuts short their existence.
Like an infection, they can exist only in a living organism."
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - Feb. 16, 2006
Live By Not Lies - by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Following is the full text of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's essay
"Live Not By Lies." It is perhaps the last thing he wrote
on his native soil [before the collapse of the Soviet Union]
and circulated among Moscow's intellectuals [at that time].
he essay is dated Feb. 12, the day that secret police broke
into his apartment and arrested him. The next day he was
exiled to West Germany.
At one time we dared not even to whisper. Now we write and
read samizdat, and sometimes when we gather in the smoking
room at the Science Institute we complain frankly to one
another: What kind of tricks are they playing on us, and
where are they dragging us? Gratuitous boasting of cosmic
achievements while there is poverty and destruction at home.
Propping up remote, uncivilized regimes. Fanning up civil
war. And we recklessly fostered Mao Tse-tung at our expense
- and it will be we who are sent to war against him, and
will have to go. Is there any way out? And they put on trial
anybody they want and they put sane people in asylums
--always they, and we are powerless.
Things have almost reached rock bottom. A universal
spiritual death has already touched us all, and physical
death will soon flare up and consume us both and our
children--but as before we still smile in a cowardly way
and mumble without tongues tied. But what can we do to
stop it? We haven't the strength?
We have been so hopelessly dehumanized that for today's
modest ration of food we are willing to abandon all our
principles, our souls, and all the efforts of our
predecessors and all opportunities for our descendants-but
just don't disturb our fragile existence.
We lack staunchness, pride and enthusiasm. We don't even
fear universal nuclear death, and we don't fear a third
world war. We have already taken refuge in the crevices.
We just fear acts of civil courage.
We fear only to lag behind the herd and to take a step
alone-and suddenly find ourselves without white bread,
without heating gas and without a Moscow registration.
We have been indoctrinated in political courses, and in just
the same way was fostered the idea to live comfortably, and
all will be well for the rest of our lives. You can't escape
your environment and social conditions. Everyday life
defines consciousness. What does it have to do with us? We
can't do anything about it?
But we can--everything. But we lie to ourselves for
assurance. And it is not they who are to blame for every-
thing - we ourselves, only we. One can object: But actually
you can think anything you like. Gags have been stuffed into
our mouths. Nobody wants to listen to us and nobody asks
us. How can we force them to listen? It is impossible to
change their minds.
It would be natural to vote them out of office-but there are
not elections in our country. In the West people know about
strikes and protest demonstrations-but we are too oppressed,
and it is a horrible prospect for us: How can one suddenly
renounce a job and take to the streets? Yet the other fatal
paths probed during the past century by our bitter Russian
history are, nevertheless, not for us, and truly we don't
need them.
Now that the axes have done their work, when everything
which was sown has sprouted anew, we can see that the young
and presumptuous people who thought they would make our
country just and happy through terror, bloody rebellion and
civil war were themselves misled. No thanks, fathers of
education! Now we know that infamous methods breed infamous
results. Let our hands be clean!
The circle--is it closed? And is there really no way out?
And is there only one thing left for us to do, to wait with-
out taking action? Maybe something will happen by itself?
It will never happen as long as we daily acknowledge, extol,
and strengthen--and do not sever ourselves from--the most
perceptible of its aspects: Lies.
When violence intrudes into peaceful life, its face glows
with self-confidence, as if it were carrying a banner and
shouting: "I am violence. Run away, make way for me--I will
crush you."
But violence quickly grows old. And it has lost confidence
in itself, and in order to maintain a respectable face it
summons falsehood as its ally--since violence lays its
ponderous paw not every day and not on every shoulder. It
demands from us only obedience to lies and daily
participation in lies--all loyalty lies in that.
And the simplest and most accessible key to our self-
neglected liberation lies right here: Personal non-
participation in lies. Though lies conceal everything,
though lies embrace everything, but not with any help
from me.
This opens a breach in the imaginary encirclement caused
by our inaction. It is the easiest thing to do for us, but
the most devastating for the lies. Because when people
renounce lies it simply cuts short their existence. Like
an infection, they can exist only in a living organism.
We do not exhort ourselves. We have not sufficiently
matured to march into the squares and shout the truth
out loud or to express aloud what we think. It's not
necessary.
It's dangerous. But let us refuse to say that which we do
not think.
This is our path, the easiest and most accessible one,
which takes into account our inherent cowardice, already
well rooted. And it is much easier--it's dangerous even
to say this--than the sort of civil disobedience which
Gandhi advocated.
Our path is to walk away from the gangrenous boundary. If
we did not paste together the dead bones and scales of
ideology, if we did not sew together the rotting rags, we
would be astonished how quickly the lies would be rendered
helpless and subside.
That which should be naked would then really appear naked
before the whole world.
So in our timidity, let each of us make a choice: Whether
consciously, to remain a servant of falsehood--of course,
it is not out of inclination, but to feed one's family
that one raises his children in the spirit of lies--or
to shrug off the lies and become an honest man worthy
of respect both by one's children and contemporaries.
And from that day onward he:
- Will not henceforth write, sign, or print in any way a
single phrase which in his opinion distorts the truth.
- Will utter such a phrase neither in private conversation
nor in the presence of many people, neither on his own
behalf nor at the prompting of someone else, neither in
the role of agitator, teacher, educator, nor in a
theatrical role.
- Will not depict, foster or broadcast a single idea which
he can only see is false or a distortion of the truth
whether it be in painting, sculpture, photography,
technical science, or music.
- Will not cite out of context, either orally or written, a
single quotation so as to please someone, to feather his
own nest, to achieve success in his work, if he does not
share completely the idea which is quoted, or if it does
not accurately reflect the matter at issue.
- Will not allow himself to be compelled to attend
demonstrations or meetings if they are contrary to his
desire or will, will neither take into hand nor raise into
the air a poster or slogan which he does not completely
accept.
- Will not raise his hand to vote for a proposal with which
he does not sincerely sympathize, will vote neither openly
nor secretly for a person whom he considers unworthy or
of doubtful abilities.
- Will not allow himself to be dragged to a meeting where
there can be expected a forced or distorted discussion of
a question.
- Will immediately walk out of a meeting, session, lecture,
performance or film showing if he hears a speaker tell
lies, or purvey ideological nonsense or shameless
propaganda.
- Will not subscribe to or buy a newspaper or magazine in
which information is distorted and primary facts are
concealed.
Of course we have not listed all of the possible and
necessary deviations from falsehood. But a person who
purifies himself will easily distinguish other instances
with his purified outlook.
No, it will not be the same for everybody at first. Some,
at first, will lose their jobs. For young people who want
to live with truth, this will, in the beginning, complicate
heir young lives very much, because the required recitations
are stuffed with lies, and it is necessary to make a choice.
But there are no loopholes for anybody who wants to be
honest. On any given day any one of us will be confronted
with at least one of the above-mentioned choices even in
the most secure of the technical sciences. Either truth
or falsehood: Toward spiritual independence or toward
spiritual servitude.
And he who is not sufficiently courageous even to defend
his soul- don't let him be proud of his "progressive" views,
and don't let him boast that he is an academician or a
people's artist, a merited figure, or a general--let him
say to himself: I am in the herd, and a coward. It's all
the same to me as long as I'm fed and warm.
Even this path, which is the most modest of all paths of
resistance, will not be easy for us. But it is much easier
than self-immolation or a hunger strike: The flames will
not envelope your body, your eyeballs, will not burst from
the heat, and brown bread and clean water will always be
available to your family.
A great people of Europe, the Czhechoslovaks, whom we
betrayed and deceived: Haven't they shown us how a
vulnerable breast can stand up even against tanks if there
is a worthy heart within it?
You say it will not be easy? But it will be easiest of all
possible resources. It will not be an easy choice for a
body, but it is the only one for a soul. No, it is not an
easy path. But there are already people, even dozens of
them, who over the years have maintained all these points
and live by the truth.
So you will not be the first to take this path, but will
join those who have already taken it. This path will be
easier and shorter for all of us if we take it by mutual
efforts and in close rank. If there are thousands of us,
they will not be able to do anything with us. If there are
tens of thousands of us, then we would not even recognize
our country.
If we are too frightened, then we should stop complaining
that someone is suffocating us. We ourselves are doing it.
let us then bow down even more, let us wail, and our
brothers the biologists will help to bring nearer the day
when they are able to read our thoughts are worthless
and hopeless.
And if we get cold feet, even taking this step, then we
are worthless and hopeless, and the scorn of Pushkin
should be directed to us:
This opens a breach in the imaginary encirclement caused by our inaction. It is the easiest thing to do for us, but the most devastating for the lies. Because when people renounce lies it simply cuts short their existence.
Like an infection, they can exist only in a living organism."
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - Feb. 16, 2006
Live By Not Lies - by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Following is the full text of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's essay
"Live Not By Lies." It is perhaps the last thing he wrote
on his native soil [before the collapse of the Soviet Union]
and circulated among Moscow's intellectuals [at that time].
he essay is dated Feb. 12, the day that secret police broke
into his apartment and arrested him. The next day he was
exiled to West Germany.
QUOTE
At one time we dared not even to whisper. Now we write and
read samizdat, and sometimes when we gather in the smoking
room at the Science Institute we complain frankly to one
another: What kind of tricks are they playing on us, and
where are they dragging us? Gratuitous boasting of cosmic
achievements while there is poverty and destruction at home.
Propping up remote, uncivilized regimes. Fanning up civil
war. And we recklessly fostered Mao Tse-tung at our expense
- and it will be we who are sent to war against him, and
will have to go. Is there any way out? And they put on trial
anybody they want and they put sane people in asylums
--always they, and we are powerless.
Things have almost reached rock bottom. A universal
spiritual death has already touched us all, and physical
death will soon flare up and consume us both and our
children--but as before we still smile in a cowardly way
and mumble without tongues tied. But what can we do to
stop it? We haven't the strength?
We have been so hopelessly dehumanized that for today's
modest ration of food we are willing to abandon all our
principles, our souls, and all the efforts of our
predecessors and all opportunities for our descendants-but
just don't disturb our fragile existence.
We lack staunchness, pride and enthusiasm. We don't even
fear universal nuclear death, and we don't fear a third
world war. We have already taken refuge in the crevices.
We just fear acts of civil courage.
We fear only to lag behind the herd and to take a step
alone-and suddenly find ourselves without white bread,
without heating gas and without a Moscow registration.
We have been indoctrinated in political courses, and in just
the same way was fostered the idea to live comfortably, and
all will be well for the rest of our lives. You can't escape
your environment and social conditions. Everyday life
defines consciousness. What does it have to do with us? We
can't do anything about it?
But we can--everything. But we lie to ourselves for
assurance. And it is not they who are to blame for every-
thing - we ourselves, only we. One can object: But actually
you can think anything you like. Gags have been stuffed into
our mouths. Nobody wants to listen to us and nobody asks
us. How can we force them to listen? It is impossible to
change their minds.
It would be natural to vote them out of office-but there are
not elections in our country. In the West people know about
strikes and protest demonstrations-but we are too oppressed,
and it is a horrible prospect for us: How can one suddenly
renounce a job and take to the streets? Yet the other fatal
paths probed during the past century by our bitter Russian
history are, nevertheless, not for us, and truly we don't
need them.
Now that the axes have done their work, when everything
which was sown has sprouted anew, we can see that the young
and presumptuous people who thought they would make our
country just and happy through terror, bloody rebellion and
civil war were themselves misled. No thanks, fathers of
education! Now we know that infamous methods breed infamous
results. Let our hands be clean!
The circle--is it closed? And is there really no way out?
And is there only one thing left for us to do, to wait with-
out taking action? Maybe something will happen by itself?
It will never happen as long as we daily acknowledge, extol,
and strengthen--and do not sever ourselves from--the most
perceptible of its aspects: Lies.
When violence intrudes into peaceful life, its face glows
with self-confidence, as if it were carrying a banner and
shouting: "I am violence. Run away, make way for me--I will
crush you."
But violence quickly grows old. And it has lost confidence
in itself, and in order to maintain a respectable face it
summons falsehood as its ally--since violence lays its
ponderous paw not every day and not on every shoulder. It
demands from us only obedience to lies and daily
participation in lies--all loyalty lies in that.
And the simplest and most accessible key to our self-
neglected liberation lies right here: Personal non-
participation in lies. Though lies conceal everything,
though lies embrace everything, but not with any help
from me.
This opens a breach in the imaginary encirclement caused
by our inaction. It is the easiest thing to do for us, but
the most devastating for the lies. Because when people
renounce lies it simply cuts short their existence. Like
an infection, they can exist only in a living organism.
We do not exhort ourselves. We have not sufficiently
matured to march into the squares and shout the truth
out loud or to express aloud what we think. It's not
necessary.
It's dangerous. But let us refuse to say that which we do
not think.
This is our path, the easiest and most accessible one,
which takes into account our inherent cowardice, already
well rooted. And it is much easier--it's dangerous even
to say this--than the sort of civil disobedience which
Gandhi advocated.
Our path is to walk away from the gangrenous boundary. If
we did not paste together the dead bones and scales of
ideology, if we did not sew together the rotting rags, we
would be astonished how quickly the lies would be rendered
helpless and subside.
That which should be naked would then really appear naked
before the whole world.
So in our timidity, let each of us make a choice: Whether
consciously, to remain a servant of falsehood--of course,
it is not out of inclination, but to feed one's family
that one raises his children in the spirit of lies--or
to shrug off the lies and become an honest man worthy
of respect both by one's children and contemporaries.
And from that day onward he:
- Will not henceforth write, sign, or print in any way a
single phrase which in his opinion distorts the truth.
- Will utter such a phrase neither in private conversation
nor in the presence of many people, neither on his own
behalf nor at the prompting of someone else, neither in
the role of agitator, teacher, educator, nor in a
theatrical role.
- Will not depict, foster or broadcast a single idea which
he can only see is false or a distortion of the truth
whether it be in painting, sculpture, photography,
technical science, or music.
- Will not cite out of context, either orally or written, a
single quotation so as to please someone, to feather his
own nest, to achieve success in his work, if he does not
share completely the idea which is quoted, or if it does
not accurately reflect the matter at issue.
- Will not allow himself to be compelled to attend
demonstrations or meetings if they are contrary to his
desire or will, will neither take into hand nor raise into
the air a poster or slogan which he does not completely
accept.
- Will not raise his hand to vote for a proposal with which
he does not sincerely sympathize, will vote neither openly
nor secretly for a person whom he considers unworthy or
of doubtful abilities.
- Will not allow himself to be dragged to a meeting where
there can be expected a forced or distorted discussion of
a question.
- Will immediately walk out of a meeting, session, lecture,
performance or film showing if he hears a speaker tell
lies, or purvey ideological nonsense or shameless
propaganda.
- Will not subscribe to or buy a newspaper or magazine in
which information is distorted and primary facts are
concealed.
Of course we have not listed all of the possible and
necessary deviations from falsehood. But a person who
purifies himself will easily distinguish other instances
with his purified outlook.
No, it will not be the same for everybody at first. Some,
at first, will lose their jobs. For young people who want
to live with truth, this will, in the beginning, complicate
heir young lives very much, because the required recitations
are stuffed with lies, and it is necessary to make a choice.
But there are no loopholes for anybody who wants to be
honest. On any given day any one of us will be confronted
with at least one of the above-mentioned choices even in
the most secure of the technical sciences. Either truth
or falsehood: Toward spiritual independence or toward
spiritual servitude.
And he who is not sufficiently courageous even to defend
his soul- don't let him be proud of his "progressive" views,
and don't let him boast that he is an academician or a
people's artist, a merited figure, or a general--let him
say to himself: I am in the herd, and a coward. It's all
the same to me as long as I'm fed and warm.
Even this path, which is the most modest of all paths of
resistance, will not be easy for us. But it is much easier
than self-immolation or a hunger strike: The flames will
not envelope your body, your eyeballs, will not burst from
the heat, and brown bread and clean water will always be
available to your family.
A great people of Europe, the Czhechoslovaks, whom we
betrayed and deceived: Haven't they shown us how a
vulnerable breast can stand up even against tanks if there
is a worthy heart within it?
You say it will not be easy? But it will be easiest of all
possible resources. It will not be an easy choice for a
body, but it is the only one for a soul. No, it is not an
easy path. But there are already people, even dozens of
them, who over the years have maintained all these points
and live by the truth.
So you will not be the first to take this path, but will
join those who have already taken it. This path will be
easier and shorter for all of us if we take it by mutual
efforts and in close rank. If there are thousands of us,
they will not be able to do anything with us. If there are
tens of thousands of us, then we would not even recognize
our country.
If we are too frightened, then we should stop complaining
that someone is suffocating us. We ourselves are doing it.
let us then bow down even more, let us wail, and our
brothers the biologists will help to bring nearer the day
when they are able to read our thoughts are worthless
and hopeless.
And if we get cold feet, even taking this step, then we
are worthless and hopeless, and the scorn of Pushkin
should be directed to us:
QUOTE
"Why should cattle have the gifts of freedom? Their
heritage from generation to generation is the belled
yoke and the lash."
heritage from generation to generation is the belled
yoke and the lash."
"It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."
Josph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister
"People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction
rather than surrender any material part of their advantage."
John Kenneth Galbraith, American economist
"Humanity's most valuable assets have been the non-conformists. Were it not for the nonconformists, he who refuses to be satisfied to go along with the continuance of things as they are, and insists upon attempting to find new ways of bettering things, the world would have known little progress indeed."
Josiah Gitt American editor
I stress that I have not carried out this act, which
appears to have been carried out by individuals with
their own motivation. ...I have already said that I
am not involved in the 11 September attacks in the
United States. ... I had no knowledge of these attacks.
--Osama Bin Laden 9/16/2001
Josph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister
"People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction
rather than surrender any material part of their advantage."
John Kenneth Galbraith, American economist
"Humanity's most valuable assets have been the non-conformists. Were it not for the nonconformists, he who refuses to be satisfied to go along with the continuance of things as they are, and insists upon attempting to find new ways of bettering things, the world would have known little progress indeed."
Josiah Gitt American editor
I stress that I have not carried out this act, which
appears to have been carried out by individuals with
their own motivation. ...I have already said that I
am not involved in the 11 September attacks in the
United States. ... I had no knowledge of these attacks.
--Osama Bin Laden 9/16/2001
"The people will believe
what the media tells them they believe."
George Orwell
what the media tells them they believe."
George Orwell
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are [a] few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.
— President Dwight D. Eisenhower, ® 11/8/54
— President Dwight D. Eisenhower, ® 11/8/54
The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the
organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important
element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this
unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government,
which is the true ruling power of our country.
--Edward Bernays, father of the PR Industry
(Freud's nephew as well)
organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important
element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this
unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government,
which is the true ruling power of our country.
--Edward Bernays, father of the PR Industry
(Freud's nephew as well)
You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice
somebody else's life. They're plenty loud and they talk all
the time. You can find them in churches and schools and
newspapers and legislatures and congress. That's their
business. They sound wonderful. Death before dishonor.
This ground sanctified by blood. These men who died so
gloriously. They shall not have died in vain. Our noble
dead.
-- Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country
against his government.
--Edward Abbey, author
somebody else's life. They're plenty loud and they talk all
the time. You can find them in churches and schools and
newspapers and legislatures and congress. That's their
business. They sound wonderful. Death before dishonor.
This ground sanctified by blood. These men who died so
gloriously. They shall not have died in vain. Our noble
dead.
-- Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country
against his government.
--Edward Abbey, author
I believe what I said Yesterday!
I don't know what I said,
but I know what I think,
and I assume that's what I said!
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
I don't know what I said,
but I know what I think,
and I assume that's what I said!
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
The twentieth century has been characterized by three
developments of great political importance: the growth of
democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth
of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate
power against democracy.
-- Alex Carey
The American press, with a very few exceptions,
is a kept press. Kept by the big corporations
the way a whore is kept by a rich man.
-- Theodore Dreiser, 1871-1945
developments of great political importance: the growth of
democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth
of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate
power against democracy.
-- Alex Carey
The American press, with a very few exceptions,
is a kept press. Kept by the big corporations
the way a whore is kept by a rich man.
-- Theodore Dreiser, 1871-1945
The size of the lie is a definite factor in causing it to
be believed, for the vast masses of the nation are in the
depths of their hearts more easily deceived than they are
consciously and intentionally bad. The primitive simplicity
of their minds renders them a more easy prey to a big lie
than a small one, for they themselves often tell little
lies but would be ashamed to tell a big one.
-- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
Fascism -
A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right,
typically through the merging of state and business leadership,
together with belligerent nationalism.
--The American Heritage Dictionary, 1983
For the last fifty years we've been supporting right-wing
governments, and that is a puzzlement to me...I don't
understand what there is in the American character... that
almost automatically, even when we have a liberal President,
we support fascist dictatorships or are tolerant towards them.
--William Shirer, author of Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
be believed, for the vast masses of the nation are in the
depths of their hearts more easily deceived than they are
consciously and intentionally bad. The primitive simplicity
of their minds renders them a more easy prey to a big lie
than a small one, for they themselves often tell little
lies but would be ashamed to tell a big one.
-- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
Fascism -
A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right,
typically through the merging of state and business leadership,
together with belligerent nationalism.
--The American Heritage Dictionary, 1983
For the last fifty years we've been supporting right-wing
governments, and that is a puzzlement to me...I don't
understand what there is in the American character... that
almost automatically, even when we have a liberal President,
we support fascist dictatorships or are tolerant towards them.
--William Shirer, author of Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Charlie Sheen Latest To Suggest 9-11 An Inside Job
Actor Charlie Sheen Questions Official 9/11 Story
The incessant theme for the past few weeks has purpose.
Is it to CONVINCE YOU to agree with me? The answer is "NO!"
I am doing this for all of the people that already know
that the official story is a fairy tale. By me offering
evidence, quotes, and encouragement... each of you who
loves our country and KNOWS THE TRUTH needs to spread
the word.
It is not enough to KNOW, one must go public... like Charlie
Sheen, like QAD, like so many others. We cannot let those
who stick their heads in the sand and swallow what the MSM
tells us to control the information. We need to speak out.
I promise you that the TRUTH WANTS TO GET OUT. Amidst all of
the folks who said the earth was flat... amidst the jailing
of Copernicus... the TRUTH GETS OUT.
Our country has been occupied by malevolent forces that have
international interests as their guiding compass... and they
did this by infiltrating our government... yes, even the
highest office.
Do not deceive yourself. This is not about party. The forces
control both parties.
When Hitler burned the Reichstag, the TRUTH took years to
come out. The TRUTH about FDR allowing Pearl Harbor is just
coming out after 60 years. If we do not expose the criminal
elements within our midst, we will surely degrade into a
dictatorship.
Thanks for reading.
Best,
JA
------------------------------------------------------------
Famous Last Words
I have offended God and mankind because my work did not
reach the quality it should have.
--Leonardo da Vinci, artist, d. 1519
------------
*---- Quote of the Day ----*
Media manipulation in the U.S. today is more efficient than
it was in Nazi Germany, because here we have the pretense
that we are getting all the information we want. That
misconception prevents people from even looking for
the truth.
-- Mark Crispin Miller, Media Critic, professor and author
A great transcript of an interview with Mark:
[url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/interviews/crispinmiller.html]Mark Crispin Miller Interview
[/url]
Bonus Quote
When you've got a few gigantic transnational corporations,
each one loaded down with debt, competing madly for as
much shelf space and brain space as they can take, they
are going to do whatever they think works the fastest and
with the most people, which means that they will drag
standards down. They're not going to be too nice about
what they choose to do.
They'll go directly for the please center. They're going
to try to get you watching and buying right away, and what
this means is that they are going to do as much trash as
they can, because that will grab people.
-- Mark Crispin Miller, Media Critic, professor and author
Actor Charlie Sheen Questions Official 9/11 Story
The incessant theme for the past few weeks has purpose.
Is it to CONVINCE YOU to agree with me? The answer is "NO!"
I am doing this for all of the people that already know
that the official story is a fairy tale. By me offering
evidence, quotes, and encouragement... each of you who
loves our country and KNOWS THE TRUTH needs to spread
the word.
It is not enough to KNOW, one must go public... like Charlie
Sheen, like QAD, like so many others. We cannot let those
who stick their heads in the sand and swallow what the MSM
tells us to control the information. We need to speak out.
I promise you that the TRUTH WANTS TO GET OUT. Amidst all of
the folks who said the earth was flat... amidst the jailing
of Copernicus... the TRUTH GETS OUT.
Our country has been occupied by malevolent forces that have
international interests as their guiding compass... and they
did this by infiltrating our government... yes, even the
highest office.
Do not deceive yourself. This is not about party. The forces
control both parties.
When Hitler burned the Reichstag, the TRUTH took years to
come out. The TRUTH about FDR allowing Pearl Harbor is just
coming out after 60 years. If we do not expose the criminal
elements within our midst, we will surely degrade into a
dictatorship.
Thanks for reading.
Best,
JA
------------------------------------------------------------
Famous Last Words
I have offended God and mankind because my work did not
reach the quality it should have.
--Leonardo da Vinci, artist, d. 1519
------------
*---- Quote of the Day ----*
Media manipulation in the U.S. today is more efficient than
it was in Nazi Germany, because here we have the pretense
that we are getting all the information we want. That
misconception prevents people from even looking for
the truth.
-- Mark Crispin Miller, Media Critic, professor and author
A great transcript of an interview with Mark:
[url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/interviews/crispinmiller.html]Mark Crispin Miller Interview
[/url]
Bonus Quote
When you've got a few gigantic transnational corporations,
each one loaded down with debt, competing madly for as
much shelf space and brain space as they can take, they
are going to do whatever they think works the fastest and
with the most people, which means that they will drag
standards down. They're not going to be too nice about
what they choose to do.
They'll go directly for the please center. They're going
to try to get you watching and buying right away, and what
this means is that they are going to do as much trash as
they can, because that will grab people.
-- Mark Crispin Miller, Media Critic, professor and author
"I'm the commander--see, I don't need to explain, I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel I owe anybody an explanation."
GW Bush, President of the United States
GW Bush, President of the United States
"When in despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won; there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall."
- M. K. Gandhi
- M. K. Gandhi
To oppose the policies of a government does not mean you are against the country or the people that the government supposedly represents. Such opposition should be called what it really is: democracy, or democratic dissent, or having a critical perspective about what your leaders are doing. Either we have the right to democratic dissent and criticism of these policies or we all lie down and let the leader, the Fuhrer, do what is best, while we follow uncritically, and obey whatever he commands. That's just what the Germans did with Hitler, and look where it got them.
-- Michael Parenti
The problem the United States faces is that almost all of its invasions violate international law, and sometimes, as in the case of Iraq, in a blatant manner. So how do the political elite and the news media reconcile this contradiction? Simple: They ignore it. It is virtually unthinkable for a mainstream U.S. reporter to even pursue this issue.
-- John Nichols and Robert McChesney
-- Michael Parenti
The problem the United States faces is that almost all of its invasions violate international law, and sometimes, as in the case of Iraq, in a blatant manner. So how do the political elite and the news media reconcile this contradiction? Simple: They ignore it. It is virtually unthinkable for a mainstream U.S. reporter to even pursue this issue.
-- John Nichols and Robert McChesney
THIS IS A CRITICAL REALITY
Most Americans do not yet realize that a war is being waged
- not against Iraq but against each of us. It is not the
Republican Party that is charge in this administration but
a small cadre who seized executive branch power and
converted it to their own uses. Most Republicans are
experiencing a deer-in-the-headlights moment right now.
Their Party has been hijacked, their president has been
hijacked, and they do not know what to do. I remain a
registered Republican working for an effective coalition.
--Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Most Americans do not yet realize that a war is being waged
- not against Iraq but against each of us. It is not the
Republican Party that is charge in this administration but
a small cadre who seized executive branch power and
converted it to their own uses. Most Republicans are
experiencing a deer-in-the-headlights moment right now.
Their Party has been hijacked, their president has been
hijacked, and they do not know what to do. I remain a
registered Republican working for an effective coalition.
--Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber;
so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and
courage, so long are you're young. When the wires are all down and
your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of
cynicism, and then only, are you grown old.
--General Douglas MacArthur
Let me add, that the condition you live by truly is a choice you make.
so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and
courage, so long are you're young. When the wires are all down and
your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of
cynicism, and then only, are you grown old.
--General Douglas MacArthur
Let me add, that the condition you live by truly is a choice you make.
This is the true joy in life...
being a force of nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clod of ailments and grievances
complaining that the world will not devote
itself to making you happy.
--George Bernard Shaw
being a force of nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clod of ailments and grievances
complaining that the world will not devote
itself to making you happy.
--George Bernard Shaw
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does
not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-
seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always
perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they
will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away...And now
these things remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love.
--1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13
not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-
seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always
perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they
will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away...And now
these things remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love.
--1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13
Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are
small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that
much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big
ones will tend to take care of themselves.
--Dale Carnegie
small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that
much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big
ones will tend to take care of themselves.
--Dale Carnegie
But the moment you turn a corner you see
another straight stretch ahead and there comes
some further challenge to your ambition.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
another straight stretch ahead and there comes
some further challenge to your ambition.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
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