Thinking – A Lost Art in America

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Meria Heller’s Column

I like to think of myself as a reasonable, rational person. I also enjoy reading the “news” for what it is and what it isn’t. There is much in the news today that challenges the assumed intellect of their readers. Some of what is printed is a direct insult to intelligence on any level. Some of what I read is pure comedy. Most of it, lies and distortions intended to make the reader think in one particular direction (that of the publication) and not their own thinking.

Here in America, thinking is not a skill that is encouraged. In early school grades, children are encouraged to “fall in”, “follow”, “memorize blindly” and question nothing. On most American jobs, people are not encouraged to be “free thinkers” but to “follow” the rules and never question their superiors. There are actually some firms that forbid an employee from complaining above their particular station for fear of reprisal of loss of employment. Television certainly does not encourage one to think. It is there to tell you what to think, eat, buy, wear, drug, vote for and do. However, I LIKE to think. Always have. I was once accused of “pondering way too much” as if it were a bad thing. This article is sharing some of my “pondering” from a mind that probably thinks enough for many who don’t.

I’m going to start out with some powerful concepts and issues:

Abortion. Many people “think” abortion is wrong. Many religions forbid it. However, at the same time, the same people and religion see nothing wrong with sending our 18-20 year old children off to a foreign country to kill or get killed in the name of peace. I see that as “retroactive abortion” at the least. These are not fetuses, or unseen biological matter é these are children we decided to create, carry and give birth to. Children we have nurtured, invested in, taught and loved for two decades. Part of our family, DNA and heart. If we are the lucky ones, our children will come back to us: forever damaged, mentally, physically, emotionally or all three. For the unlucky parents, all will be lost. This leads to:

Peace. We are told that the reason for war is to achieve peace. This further insults any thinking person with an oxymoron éwar is peace, peace is war. Let’s take the abortion of children issue up again. By going to another country, and killing their children of all ages (sanctioned by most churches and religious leaders) we are supposed to achieve peace? Peace for who? The parents of the murdered? The parents of the murderers? What about the depleted uranium abortions we have forced upon the Iraqi’s for decades? How can our “Christian Judeo” country justify their abortions? Are we to truly believe that our leaders are worried about a few babies tossed from incubators (which never happened, by the way?) when they are willing to kill indiscriminately, yours, mines and theirs? Which leads to:

America as a “Christian-Judeo” nation. Another insult. There are many other religions and spiritual belief systems in America than Christians and Jews. This insults everyone who is not a Christian or Jew. But then, if we were to look at the supposed Christian-Judeo nation of America, it is an insult to both the teachings of both religions. What is the difference between a Christian or Judeo-Jihad, and an Islamic Jihad? What is Christian about war? Sanctions? Embargos? Where is the Christianity of Falwell, Roberson and Graham? I don’t recollect Jesus being quoted as saying Mohammed was a terrorist? Doesn’t the Torah say “thou shall not kill?” Being a good “Christian, Jew or whatever” is more than empty words yet the White House claims GOD is with them. Which leads to:

Killers, snipers, thugs and thieves. Why does the media feed us this “fear factor” 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Surely there are good acts going on in the news somewhere. Yet, we are constantly bombarded with stories to paralyze us with fear. Keep us dependent on our “government, police, homeland security” regardless of the fact that these very stories PROVE they cannot get the job done. Distraction is a wonderful thing. It keeps our minds off the major killers, snipers, thugs and thieves that are creating their havoc worldwide on a larger scale, known as the World Trade Organization, GATT, NAFTA, Enron, Tyco, Wal-Mart, Esso, CIA, Mercenaries, Mossad, Skull & Bones, Haliburton, Carlyle Group, Raytheon (the list is long and dreary) and other such true terrorists of peace, happiness and life for all people. Which leads to:

Greed. Just how much is enough? Gandhi said it best “there is enough for everyone’s needs, but not enough for everyone’s greed”. The U.S. gets attacked on September 11, and we are told to go out and shop. The President says our country will be open for BUSINESS the next day. No comfort, no compassion é just shop till you drop. How fat are we? How much of the planet’s resources do we use? How much do we waste? Where are all those “Christian-Judeo” people and the teachings of their religions when it comes to treating your enemy as yourself? Do unto others? Feed and clothe your enemy? Jubilee years? Surely, I am not the only person who recognizes the hypocrisy abounding in the media, the administration, and the religions here in America. I think that if everyone practiced, really practiced their “religion” there would have been peace on Earth eons ago. There is NO justification for war. NONE. There is NO justification for one single human being going to bed hungry. There is NO justification for one person to have to die an unnatural death on this planet. This is NO justification for pain, suffering, hunger, sickness, poverty, hatred either. There is a reason. The reason is GREED. Plain and simple. GREED. Wanting MORE than your share, more than your needs. Feeding your EGO as if you will live forever and can take it with you. Which then leads to:

Separation. Nationalism. Religion. Politics. Capitalism. Corporatism. Racism. Ism’s abound. Why? To keep us separate. Why? To keep us fighting. Why? To keep those rich and powerful, rich and powerful. As long as we the “worker bees” on the planet are infighting because of our color, sexual choices, countries, political parties, religious differences, etc., the rich can RULE over us, RUN over us, DICTATE to us, and get RICHER off us by promising to take care of us. Set up the rules. Give us a little bit of “charity” and a false sense of “security” while they laugh all the way to the bank and destroy what little is left of human rights worldwide. Not too long ago, the police and law enforcers were considered to be the “good guys”. Today they are the oppressors of those fighting for their freedoms, exercising their rights. “Black is white, and white is black”. Congress used to be of, for and by the people. They are now part of the corporate structure, as is our corporate governance in Washington. These are the “black days” the writers of the Constitution knew would come. The days Lincoln predicted. Yet, because we are not taught or encouraged to THINK, most Americans think they are still living in the same country their parents were born in or migrated to. Which leads me to really think:

What can we do? First, we must wake up out of the trance. Be willing to take the “blue pill” and drop out of the matrix of fear and illusion. Wag the Dog, conspiracy or not, it matters not. What matters is we are losing our relation to each other and every other living thing on this planet. We must awaken to the fact that separateness is an illusion. A hoax perpetrated on us for decades now. The DNA in an Iraqi, Israeli, Palestinian, Irish, Italian or American is THE SAME. Black, white, yellow, red, brown, or tattoo, we are the SAME. We all want the same things é to be happy and safe and live our lives the way we want to. Pull the plug on the “boob tube”. Toss that newspaper out, or let the cat use if for it’s only good purpose. Protest war. Protest killing. Protest any part of your taxes that go to support killing in any form. Stop the real abortion out there, the abortion of all life on EARTH. The abortion of the air, food, water, ground, seeds, humans, animals and our very future. Stand with your brothers and sisters worldwide against the “machine”. The One World Order/World Trade Organization etc., is a CANCER intending to swallow up all life, all decency, all freedom until the book 1984 looks like a fairy tale. Stop letting the media “think” for you and turn that brain on. Read the books. Listen to the shows that tell the truth. Do your homework. Walk your talk, talk your walk. Whatever your spiritual/religious belief, really BE in. Be it, or Leave it.(be/leave). Call your clergy out on their support of war; call your representatives out on the carpet for not representing you; support those few that do the right thing for peace and life for EVERYONE. It’s not enough to say God Bless America, it should be God Bless EVERYONE. Tiny Tim had it right all those years ago. Stand up against hatred wherever you see it, hear it or experience it. Think love. Think peace. Spread it around. See your inter-connectedness to all things and rise above fear. Say “fear no more, peace is the only option”.

Meria Heller is MMN‘s columnist and one of the most popular webcaster on the Internet. She hosts an international webcast heard in over sixty countries, and has for over two years now. She believes in truth, justice and humanitarianism for all living things.