Obama as president is a good sign, and is a good thing, as far as progress from racism goes. For those racist dinosaurs that still roam America, this is a clear message that their ideas are no longer mainstream in the slightest, judging a man or woman by the color of his/her skin is extremely ignorant, and the mindset is gratefully being evolved out of human consciousness. That being said, I’m afraid this is not as “historic” a moment for “change” as the media has been portraying it.
Remember the Constitution? Remember our RIGHTS that are still being violated by the Patriot Act and similar legislation?! Remember that over a million civilians have died (and are still being killed) in occupations based on complete lies?! Remember that the official 9/11 story doesn’t hold up to science or common sense? Remember that the 2000 & 2004 presidential elections were clearly rigged, and that corporations control the election process? Why did the corporate media completely ignore Green Party Candidate Cynthia Mckinney, who along with Congressman Dennis Kucinich and others, were talking about 9/11 Truth, The Federal Reserve, and Election Truth? Is Obama winning really a “miracle”? Or is it just the move needed by the people that really run the show, to get the support they need for their “Big Picture” / “Esoteric” agenda (i.e. more centralized power, less personal freedom)? Obama pushing MANDATORY health insurance (violating our Rights and giving a windfall perpetual profit to the insurance corporations), and increasing the authority of the Federal Reserve (a fraudulent private banking cartel), and Obama to bypass Congress and allow the indefinite detention of terrorist suspects without charges. Another solemn campaign promise bites the dust.(Raw Story 2009 Sept 25) are three strong indications that his message of “Change” and “Hope” is really just hype and propaganda.
If there’s another act of “terror”, as Biden, Powell, Brzezinski, Albright and the Pentagon have “guaranteed” there will be, who better then the messianic Obama to talk the People into going along with a police state agenda? If you got Obama fever, I’m not trying to bring you down. McCain/Palin symbolized the ignorant minority that we need to leave behind. I’m trying to point out that a black president is great, but Constitutional Rights are greater. A black president is great, but the end of imperial occupations and “terrorist” acts based on lies is greater. A black president is great, but the end of the Federal Reserve and our central bank debt-based economy is greater. Lets get real people, anyone who isn’t a moron isn’t racist. Can we move on to the 21st century now? ——–> http://progressivemanifesto.us/
We need to focus on whats really important, and has always been whats most important: Truth, Peace, Freedom and Rights. Naomi Wolf’s books “The End of America” & “Give Me Liberty” should be on every American’s bookshelf, if you haven’t read them yet, I highly recommend you do so.
This is a transparent game they’re playing, despite what the corporate media presents to us as reality. The “Problem, Reaction, Solution” strategy of tyrants/fascists is something all Americans should be familiar with thanks to the 9/11 Truth Movement. The evidence is so overwhelming that the official 9/11 story is false anyone with common sense would see that, if they saw the evidence (sources below). So that information is of course being repressed, and often attempts are made to discredit those giving factual info on 9/11, trying to make it out to be some “crazy conspiracy theory”, while the truth is the official story is the nonsensical theory. Yet enough people are still deceived because they trust the corporate media and don’t investigate things for themselves, so we now have the Nazi inspired Dept. of Homeland Security, suppressing dissent throughout the nation (violating countless citizen’s rights) while urging us to “be ready” (ready.gov) and to “prepare” for upcoming emergencies. And guess what the “solution” will be, just as it always has been throughout history? More centralized power, less personal freedoms. We must always consider “Who benefits”? Freedom must stay at the forefront of American consciousness as what is always most important.
‘Those who would sacrifice freedomfor security deserve neither’
- Benjamin Franklin.
And what is currently restricting our freedom above all else in America? Debt. This financial crisis is not caused simply by greed and uniformed consumers, as has become the Media’s suggestion, it was manufactured, just like many previous financial emergencies of the past. See the excellent documentary The Money Masters (themoneymasters.com) and part 3 of zeitgeistmovie.com for a good overview of the Central Banking/Federal Reserve System and how it creates never ending debt and market crashes to further consolidate wealth and power in fewer hands. There are other excellent books and documentaries on the Federal Reserve listed on the “Sources” section of the website (and elsewhere) worth seeing, but that’s basically the crux of it, and that’s what Benjamin Franklin said was the main cause of the Revolution: the colonist’s desire to disconnect from the Central Bank of England and the dependence and exploitation they caused. Unfortunately Americans forgot about that by 1913 and were duped into thinking the Fed, a new privately owned and controlled central bank for America, would prevent a future financial crisis, but of course that was not the case. We need to abolish the Federal Reserve and have our own government return to printing our money, as Lincoln did with the “GreenBacks”, and abolish the fractional reserve banking system that exploits the public and creates ever growing inflation and debt. This and more is outlined in a proposed Monetary Reform Act that should be passed by Congress immediately. The Corporate Media has been talking a lot about the Fed in recent months, about how they are doing all they can to keep the economy afloat, by “bailing out” huge financial institutions. This is simply “cover my ass” maneuvering by the Fed (and more importantly corporate theft of our tax dollars), so that the current crisis, which may get worse, will not appear (to those uniformed) to be the fault of the Central/International banks behind it all along.
And guess who Obama is appointing as Treasury Secretary? Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve! So the institution that causes financial collapses, is going to save us from a financial collapse?! And look at Obama’s other appointments, they mostly represent business as usual in Washington, D.C. Why not appoint someone who really stands for peace and justice like Congressman Dennis Kucinich? As the “bailouts” (tax-dollar thefts) keep on coming for some of the richest people in the world while millions of Americans struggle to put food on their family’s table, we can expect the dollar to lose more and more value. It’s probably wise to prepare for another Great Depression, and grow some food if you can.
” If the American People ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property, until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied. The issuing of money should be taken from the banks and restored to Congress and the People to Whom it belongs!”
-President Thomas Jefferson
So along with continued financial tyranny, what else should we “be ready” for? I suggest you read some of these “Executive Orders” that support various dictatorial powers and FEMA police-state powers (mass illegal detentions of citizens, etc.), in the event of a “National Emergency”: http://www.freedomfiles.org/war/fema.htm
Among the many “Anti-Terror” laws (Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act, Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, etc.) that were passed with little to no attention by the corporate media, were details such as allowing martial law and the suspension of elections altogether if another attack or major crisis emerges. Although suspending elections are unlikely in any scenario, you see, there’s really no need when they are rigged in the first place. The evidence that the 2000 and 04 elections were stolen is so vast it makes the Obama victory suspect; not that he didn’t get the most votes, I’m sure he did, but we should be skeptical that the people that really run America (central banks/multi-national corporations) didn’t choose him as President long before the public cast their votes. Why would they suddenly relinquish their control of America? They’ve suddenly grown tired of fascism and are now compassionate beings? I doubt it.
So what manufactured crisis may come next, leading to the “unpopular decisions” that Biden said they would have to make?
Here are possibilities:
1) Full Economic Depression (engineered by the central banks)/Complete collapse of US Dollar followed by the “solution” of a North American Union and the Amero currency.
2) Avian/Swine Flu or other biological illness outbreak (state-sponsored).
3) Another “terrorist” attack, possibly blamed on Iran, N. Korea, or their old CIA standby “Al Queda”. (Illegal arrests and detention of activists, etc. who will be labeled “enemy combatants” is also likely in this scenario.)
There is a lot of evidence to suggest all of these are possible, and even likely, due to the amount of preparation that has already been done by the neo-con/fascists to carry out each of them. (Look into each are you not familiar with that evidence.) The reason why none of it is really far-fetched is because it has been shown beyond any reasonable doubt that 9/11 was an act of state-sponsored terrorism, and therefore something similar happening while the same perpetrators are in power is actually probable. It’s important for the public to be aware of these possibilities, so that if one actually occurs, they wont be fooled again.
If there is another trauma inducing event, please don’t buy the line they feed you through their 4th Branch (aka the Corporate Media), like you may have bought the 9/11 Fairy Tale. Don’t allow your Rights (and democracy) to be ignored in the name of their latest deception.
The real “change” we should demand Congress and Obama/Biden bring is the repeal of all unconstitutional laws that have been passed in the name of this manufactured “war on terror”, and get our troops out of all operations supposedly justified by the same deception.
Over 1 million Iraqi and Afghani civilians (a fact the corporate media ignores), and thousands of our troops, have already been killed on an operation based on lies. The only thing that can probably stop their insane imperial/police-state agenda, bring our troops home and get our Rights back, is the same thing I and many others have been saying for years now: Accountability for war crimes, torture and violating our Constitution & expose the 9/11 Lie which is the foundation of the entire imperialist agenda, through quality sources of information, like these:
a) Books:
1.”The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions”, “Debunking 9/11 Debunking”, and “9/11 Contradictions: An Open Letter to Congress and the Press”, all by David Ray Griffin
2.“The Terror Timeline” by Paul Thompson
3.“Crossing the Rubicon” by Michael Ruppert 4.“The War On Truth: 9/11, Disinformation And The Anatomy Of Terrorism” by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed
It’s an old game people and it’s as simple as this: There have been a few that have always sought increased wealth and power no matter what harm that causes, and there have also always been the many that know there is much more to life than that and have no desire to harm anyone. The battle between good and evil, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. It’s time to stop buying the lies of mass murderers and “strike at the root of evil” as Thoreau said, and in this time and this place, that means abolishing the Federal Reserve and exposing the official 9/11 conspiracy theory for what is: pure bullshit.
The top 5 examples of outright insanity in our society today (excluding state-sponsored terrorism / wars based on lies, using toxic energy sources instead of clean ones, and being told eating meat and dairy are good for your health, which is covered in my other essays):
Fluoridated Water. First listen to this dentist against water fluoridation: We are told “it’s good for your teeth”, even though thousands of doctors and scientists disagree, presenting the evidence that fluoride is a TOXIN that does only harm to the body, specifically the brain, and lowers IQ. 98% Of Western Europe has rejected water fluoridation (including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden). Fluoride is a powerful poison – more acutely poisonous than lead. This explains why fluoride is the active ingredient in many pesticides and rodenticides. It also explains why accidental over-ingestion of fluoride can cause serious toxic symptoms. As documented in the Journal of Dental Research (Whitford 1987, 1990), there is enough fluoride in a tube of flavored children’s toothpaste to kill an average-weighing child under the age of 9. EPA scientists, along with many others, have called for a ban on water fluoridation, yet it continues to be added to the public water supply every day! Why?! The same goes for Chlorine, which we are told “purifies” the water,while ignoring the negative health effects as well as safe filtration/purification alternatives.
Mercury Fillings. We are told this deadly TOXIN, that dissolves constantly and emits TOXIC vapor, is “perfectly safe”, even though again thousands of doctors/scientists, and people with the common sense that poison = bad for me, have been trying to ban mercury fillings for years. I have heard of many testimonies from people who suffered from chronic depression and fatigue, and other ailments, for YEARS, then took their mercury fillings out and did a metal detox, and the depression and fatigue, etc. shortly thereafter went away. The FDA has Reluctantly Admitted Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children, (yet they are still being put in children’s teeth everyday!), what do you know? Poison isn’t good for you! A lot of people like myself have them already but cant afford to remove them, another great example of a crazy society, they fill your mouth with toxins but make it unaffordable to replace them with something nontoxic..
Toxins in our vaccines. Perhaps the ultimate example, something that is supposed to make us healthy actually harms us, and has been
specifically linked to the growing number of autistic children, thanks
to the mercury put in the vaccines by a company, whose name just so
happens to be MERCK. How sick is that?! There was even a recent rally in Washington, D.C. called “Green Our Vaccines”, where thousands attended. GREEN OUR VACCINES! Robert F. Kennedy gives an amazing speech about government cover ups and the harmful effects of toxins in vaccines. Part 1 of 2. Green Our Vaccines Rally. Why the hell is such a rally even necessary?! Why the hell are our vaccines TOXIC?! Why is a group like “Mom’s Against Mercury” necessary?! And any attempts by government officials to push “compulsory” vaccinations should be refused and resisted, we obviously cant trust that the vaccines will be safe (read about the “accidental” (!) contamination of vaccines that were released to the public with avian flu here: http://www.infowars.com/vaccines-as-biological-weapons-live-avian-flu-virus-placed-in-baxter-vaccine-materials-sent-to-18-countries/ (& new article here: http://www.prisonplanet.com/baxter-to-develop-swine-flu-vaccine-despite-bird-flu-scandal.html )They have no right to force us to put ANYTHING into our bodies that we don’t want to, that is a fundamental human right, that’s basic personal freedom! All debate as to whether vaccinations are safe or not is really irrelevant. The real issue is whether individuals have the right to control their own bodies or not. If an individual does not have that right, they are technically the slave of another, in this case a slave of the government. Of course vaccinations have a history of many ill effects, but this back and forth on what study is valid and which is discredited is really just a distraction from the core issue of freedom vs. tyranny. If the government can tell you what you can put in your body, like alcohol but not marijuana, and force you to put something in your body that you don’t want, like a vaccine, you are not free. It is always in the name of “safety” that governments violate the rights of the people, and often the “danger” is manufactured by the government officials themselves in order to justify their police-state measures, as was clearly the case with 9/11 and 7/7. Being forcefully vaccinated when you currently have no contagious disease is a “preemptive” attack on your body and a violation of your rights, for a violation of other people’s rights that you may never commit.“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin
Toxic sweeteners, like aspartame, available for free at almost ever diner table in America. Meanwhile natural alternatives to sugar like Stevia, which have no side effects whatsoever, has been called an “unsafe food additive” by the FDA. Also artificial food colorings, directly linked to many health problems, are perfectly legal. So poison is OK, but natural non-poison is bad. Welcome to the upside-down world of Corporate America. ——-> UPDATE! Synchronously, later today (1/2709) after publishing this blog post, I find a news report released today on mercury found in much of the corn syrup in America! WTF! Eat organic to stay safe!
What could be more crazy than being told that poison is good for you, and truly beneficial things are bad?
Ignore the lies you’re being told; don’t drink toxic water, eat/drink toxic sweeteners, inject your body with toxic vaccines or fill your mouth with toxic fillings, and tell your “representatives” that you want these mass poisonings of the public to end.
“Let’s be clear: Those in power are poisoning children, stealing their physical and cognitive health: making them weak, sick, and dumb.”
-Derrick Jensen, Endgame
While Big Brother keeps assuring us they’re protecting us from terrorists, and that they cant afford to protect our Rights, Health or Environment, because of their fraud known as the “war on terror” and because they’re giving to many billions of dollars to rich bankers in this massive theft called a “bail-out”, what can we do, rather than live in fear of the possible next manufactured crisis?
If we want real “national security” why not support greater health and self-sufficiency? Why not bring back Victory Gardens? Why not promote & support the use of effective natural medicines and people owning their own land so they don’t have to pay rent their whole lives and can grow their own food/medicine and not be dependent on corporations for basic necessities? Why not end our dependency on the private central bank debt-based fractional reserve system (The Federal Reserve) that our entire economy is basically run by, that is a continual crime against the American People! The Federal Reserve, a private central bank, produces money out of thin air, (that’s what the fractional in a Fractional Reserve means basically) and then charge us, the taxpayers, interest on every dollar they produce, so that we can never truly “balance the budget”; the system is designed to create continual debt, and therefore make the Public continually dependent, and solidify the control of the banks over our society.
So how can we be less dependent on bankers who don’t care about people suffering? How can we avoid poverty without participating in a rigged/unjust monetary system?
First of all, what is poverty exactly? We are told it is lack of money. But is it really? When we think of those that are extremely poor, what do we picture? Someone who doesn’t have adequate food, water, clothing and shelter. Yet, is money really necessary for those things? If someone lives in a home they own, and grows their own food, has access to clean drinking water, and perhaps even some solar power and a small wind turbine, what do they need money for? If they had little to none, but were content with their lives, would you call them “poor”? Isn’t that what we’re really after, security of the basic necessities and happiness, not money? But I cant afford to buy land or a house, let alone solar panels, you are probably thinking, and that’s the main problem that needs to be dealt with, as I will discuss more shortly.
“Though people have not progressed beyond the need to eat food and drink water and wear clothes and live in houses, most people have progressed beyond the domestic arts – the husbandry and wifery of the world – by which those needful things are produced and conserved. In fact, the comparative few who still practice that necessary husbandry and wifery often are inclined to apologize for doing so, having been carefully taught in our education system that those arts are degrading and unworthy of people’s talents.
“Educated minds, in the modern era, are unlikely to know anything about food and drink, clothing and shelter. In merely taking these things for granted, the modern educated mind reveals itself also to be as superstitious a mind as ever has existed in the world. What could be more superstitious than the idea that money brings forth food? …Most people appear to assume that when they have paid their money for these things they have entirely met their obligations.
“Money does not bring forth food. Neither does the technology of the food system. Food comes from nature and from the work of people.”
- Wendell Berry in “Orion” magazine, summer 1999.
Increasing one’s self-sufficiency makes a lot of sense, but is very difficult, and maybe becoming completely self-sufficient is not only near impossible, but not even ideal. Strong communities that support each other can be a source of needed physical resources as well as friendship, service and real fun, things our modern society greatly lacks. Being dependent on private central banks for the basic necessities of life is dangerous, as Americans learned during the last Great Depression, (which was basically caused by the banks, by suddenly shrinking the money supply drastically, to cause the collapse of smaller banks, so they could further concentrate their wealth and power to even more astronomical heights, which today is higher than ever). Trying to afford the basics while having a low-paying job is hard enough, but then it may be difficult to find any job in the first place. Unemployment keeps rising, as the bankers wallets get fatter… A population that is without the means to the basic necessities of life can be much more easily manipulated and controlled by the few that have abhorrent amounts of wealth, to further grown that wealth even more. One possible future manifestation of this has been reported on by The Natural Solutions Foundation: the possibility of a manufactured flu being released on the public, and then pushing unhealthy vaccines on an already mostly unhealthy populace. Sound crazy? Well it is! But guess what? There are people that crazy in positions of great power, and historically there always has been!
Back to the issue of poverty and dependency (on corporations/government that obviously don’t have our health & happiness in mind); being more self-sufficient and less controllable by government/corporations sounds great, but you may not be able to afford to own your own house or land. Me neither! That’s why this unjust social system has continually expanded the gap between rich and poor, and made it so a few earn in days of interest on the money sitting in their accounts what the majority would have to work for years to earn. It’s a system of DEPENDENCY, which is not easy to get out of. Most Americans think getting into debt by taking out loans and getting credit cards is just the way it has to be, and so they get into so much debt they have to work the rest of their lives just to pay it off, and never have enough to own the land/house, etc. we really need, and that money is just a manufactured tool to obtain. There are options that I’ve discovered though, for those that want to be less dependent on money, but don’t have a large amount of money to start with to make that happen.
When we make choices that rely less on fossil fuels, global finance, and long supply chains and more on conservation, savings, and local production, we become less vulnerable to crises and more resilient in recovering from them. What once looked to the larger society like “hippie” behavior from the far-out fringe, now simply looks smart.
A growing movement now is communities creating their own debt-free local currency and individuals buying very small homes, that many people can afford to buy outright, avoiding the debt (and therefore work), that is needed to live in a large house. You trade living space for increased free time/freedom, which is really a win-win, considering that a very small home would probably encourage you to go outside more, experiece Nature more, and be involved in your community more. It’s like the supposed down-side of renewable energy having a lower output than coal plants; we should reduce our consumption anyway, so having less energy available can actually be a good thing, for our finances and the environment. Speaking of which, if youre not familiar with Peak Oil and Global Warming, those are two more great reasons to be come less dependednt on corporations for the basic necessities of life. When gas prices go up to $8.00 a gallon, the cost of the food you eat that is dependent on trucks that use petroleum gasoline to get it to you will also go up simultaneously and proportionately, it will become unaffordable for most Americans. Community sufficiency is the best way we can deal with this coming situation, as shown in the documentary “The Power of Community” , which shows how Cubans dealt with losing half their oil supply and 80% of their food supply when the USSR collapsed, by creating small food gardens throughout the country, which immediately had a positive effect on the health of the population as well, since they started riding bicycles and eating more fruits and vegetables. Click here for an excellent article on Cuba’s “Green Revolution”, which included a major shift away from artificial medicines to natural ones. Also with dealing with the crisis of Global Warming, strong self-sufficient communities are again the best place to be, help will not need to completely come from the outside, resources will be available at hand.
Another idea is to work on an organic farm or perhaps to live at/create an intentional community or eco-village, where your labor/service is exchanged for food and shelter and/or ownership of some land. WWOOF.org, OrganicVolunteers.com and IC.org are some good resources for that. Another, and less drastic, thing you can do is sign up with a CSA (Community supported Agriculture) farm in your area, so that you are supporting community empowerment and not dependent on food coming from big corporations/long distances to reach you.
Speaking of health, the leading cause of bankruptcy today in America is health care costs, which thanks mostly to the Health Insurance Industry, have become so high, that if your insurance wont cover the operation/medicine, etc. chances are you cant afford to get it. The silver lining to this however is that much of western medicine isn’t really effective anyway, oftentimes it can actually make you worse off. The never ending list of side-effects from prescription drugs, along with treatments like chemotherapy, that kill more people than they save, have led many to look for more traditional medicine solutions, and luckily those don’t cost nearly as much and are much more time-tested than modern chemical medicine and health care that relies heavily on surgery and treatment of symptoms rather than causes; for example neglecting the science that shows that the leading cause of death in the US, Heart Disease, is caused by a diet that is unnatural to the human body, i.e. One high in animal flesh and cow’s milk. But how can you get all the protein, or vitamin B12 you need if you have a vegan diet?, you may say automatically, due to massive societal conditioning. It’s very easy to get enough complete protein and B12 on a vegan diet, it’s not rocket science. And if you don’t think you can be strong, take a look at some vegan body-builders, or Olympic Athletes. Once again we’ve been duped into participating in something that not only isn’t healthy for us, the environment or society, but is unethical to boot. And living an unethical life, even if you are supporting the violence/destruction once-removed, has its consequences, i.e. Unhappiness. But that’s another topic in itself, and something you have to investigate/experience for yourself to verify.
So to recap, we have a society that creates dependency, a competitive/non-cooperative mindset, ill-health, and unhappiness… all of which benefit the few while harming the many.
Meanwhile the liberating truth is out there, if we seek it out, so don’t trust the so-called “elite” to tell us what it is, it’s not in their selfish/power-crazed interest to do so.
I am fully aware that basically what is being proposed here is not a new idea to the Native Peoples of this continent; my contribution is only one of specificity. An excellent overview of this issue can be found in the documentary “Standing Silent Nation” (www.standingsilentnation.com).
In this essay, I begin with background information and arguments and finish with a short strategy plan that can be adopted by any Native Americans that believe it will be effective. I humbly submit this in support of all Native Americans in hope that it may serve as a plan of action that can not only increase the health, wealth and well-being of Native Americans, but also heal Mother Earth from the ravages of the oil, coal, uranium, timber, chemical/GMO agribusiness and livestock industries, along with the systematic problems of corporate exploitation/forced dependence and tyrannical sovereignty violations (by the DEA and others). Also this sustainable and self-sufficient model will be an example to Americans outside of Native Land (of course it’s really ALL Native Land) who have been thoroughly indoctrinated by corporate consumerism and participation in destructive industries and systems that harm the environment and their own health and well being.
Background
The amazing environmental and economic potential of Industrial Hemp is well understood, especially by Native Americans. The following is from an article by Winona LaDuke which appeared in Indian Country Today, September 19, 2001:
“The federal government should grant a waiver to Native Nations who seek to legalize the production of industrial hemp… Over the long term, the DEA’s policies and actions set back the economic, environmental, and public health needs of not only Native America, but also the broader American community.”
“Decriminalizing industrial hemp is the way of the future. The sovereign status of Native Nations raises questions about the application of DEA regulations in the face of tribal ordinances. The need for alternative economies in Indian country supports the need for change.”
In a letter to the U.S. Attorney for South Dakota, Oglala Tribal President John Yellowbird Steele said:
“The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 did not divest the Lakota people of our reserved right to plant and harvest whatever crops we deem beneficial to our reservation… we regard the the enforcement of our hemp ordinance and production of our marijuana laws tribal matters… we ask for your government’s compassion as we try to ease the pain of our poverty through hemp manufacturing… my nation needs to grow industrial hemp to aid our efforts at becoming more self-sufficient.”
Of course the immediate reaction of the US Federal Government/DEA will be something like: “Hemp is illegal to grow because it interferes with our ability to “eradicate” Marijuana.” One could argue that industrial hemp has no usable THC, and therefore marijuana laws are not relevant, and this is true. However, the backward politicians will always use marijuana as the excuse as to why Native (and non-Native) American farmers can not grow hemp, regardless of whether that makes sense or not. The “war on drugs” is of course a farce, the CIA and other governmental agencies have been involved in the illegal drug trade for a long time. They use this fake “war” to maximize profits and “justify” police state measures domestically and violence abroad. This is just like the “war on terror” which is based on the Big Lie known as the official 9/11 story (See the documentary “9/11 Press For Truth” (www.911pressfortruth.com) and the book “The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions” by David Ray Griffin, along with the research of Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice (stj911.org) and Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth (ae911truth.org), that they use to “justify” an illegal war that has killed over a million Iraqis, and tortured and illegally detained countless others, while removing American citizens Constitutional Rights through treasonous bills like The Patriot Act, The Military Commissions Act, etc. I mention this here because it is necessary to openly reject these foundational lies if we are to move forward in the interests of sustainability, peace, justice and freedom. We must openly “honor, present and serve the truth”; it is the only way to effectively reject supposed “justifications” for the violence, oppression and destruction brought by a few ill-minded individuals in positions of power.
The oppression and tyranny imposed in the name of “the war and drugs” is well documented: illegal forfeiture (property seized from citizens who were not even charged with a crime), police-state surveillance, innocents killed in “drug raids”, Native American crops being destroyed, arbitrary arrests and unjust imprisonments, etc. All of this will go on as long as we accept the unjust prohibition of marijuana. The international illegal drug trade causes more harm then the drugs themselves, and prohibition supports the continuation of this criminal market. Drug abuse and addiction is a health problem and should not be criminal in itself; Education and treatment are far more effective and compassionate to those that suffer from drug addiction.
The hypocrisy and destructive insanity of US Federal policy can be found in numerous areas, including cannabis laws. (For more on public policy solutions see “The Progressive Manifesto”.)
Industrial hemp is the tough, course fiber of the cannabis sativa plant, which contains less than 1 percent tetrahydrocannabinol – THC – the main active ingredient in marijuana. Marijuana is a strain of cannabis that contains much higher levels of THC. You can’t get high from smoking hemp, and eating hemp foods will not make you test positive for marijuana use in a drug test.
Hemp can easily replace trees for paper and building materials with a higher-quality fiber, significantly reducing the deforestation that accelerates global warming and the extinction of wildlife and plant species. Hemp is also an alternative to cotton for clothing that does not require the use of toxic pesticides. Hemp seeds are a nutritious food source, and the high cellulose content of the hemp plant makes it ideal for conversion into ethanol fuel, which can be used by flexible fuel vehicles.
Industrial hemp is legal to grow in more than 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, New Zealand, Romania, Russia and Spain. The U.S. federal government is certainly out of step with other countries concerning hemp policy. However, things are better at the state level: Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia have removed state-level barriers to industrial hemp production and research.
Drugs are placed into one of five schedules under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule 1 drug, the most dangerous category, defined as having a high potential for abuse and having no currently accepted medical use in the United States. Claiming that natural marijuana has no medicinal value by placing it in the Schedule 1 drug category goes against the findings of doctors throughout the world, and is contradicted by the 10 states that have laws allowing seriously ill patients to use natural medical marijuana with their doctors’ recommendation. It is also contradicted by the existence and use of artificial marijuana, known as Marinol, which is legal.
Many prohibitionists discredit the need for a hemp industry, saying hemp relegalization is being used as a vehicle to relegalize marijuana. The Drug Enforcement Administration said hemp legalization would interfere with its marijuana eradication program because of the similarities between the two types of cannabis plants. Therefore, hemp will probably never be relegalized as long as marijuana remains prohibited. Marginalizing the legitimacy of the call to legalize marijuana by focusing solely on hemp relegalization would be fruitless as well as wrong. After all, marijuana prohibition is an unconstitutional and oppressive policy, violating citizens’ right to control their own bodies without harming others or their property. Therefore, the call for legalization should be for industrial hemp, medical marijuana and the private and responsible recreational adult use of marijuana.
Arguments
The many materials that hemp can produce including paper, cloth, and Biomass fuel, can be of great benefit to Native Americans and the environment. Why are we using toxic polluting fuels instead of cleaner renewable fuels like Biofuel, Solar and Wind energy? Why are we destroying forests, drastically altering the Earth’s ecosystem for the worse, when we can use hemp to create higher quality paper and construction products instead? One is left to conclude that the reasons for the restrictions on the use of this plant are not based on the well being of the American people (and certainly not Native People either), but rather this law serves the financial interest of industries/agencies that would lose money and power if hemp and marijuana were a legal commodity.
The Industrial Hemp Farming Act has been introduced in Congress, along with state -level legislation, but they have not passed because of “concerns about marijuana”. This will always be their excuse and that is why I believe we should reject both laws restricting the growing of industrial hemp and marijuana for responsible adult use. Only if marijuana is legalized is it likely that hemp will be legalized, and marijuana should be legal, so there is no good reason to separate the issues; the US Federal government continues to use lies about marijuana as their supposed justification to continue the destructive and oppressive status-quo.
Why are marijuana’s many medicinal properties ignored by the federal government? Its placement as a Schedule 1 drug is in defiance to the conclusions of doctors and medical professionals from around the world. The debatable negative health effects of marijuana are minuscule when compared to the dangers of alcohol or tobacco, not one death has ever been attributed solely to marijuana use, while hundreds of thousands die from tobacco and alcohol every year in America. Defending the continued prohibition of cannabis in the interest of public health is completely ridiculous. The truth is the cannabis plant has been used as a safe and effective medicine throughout the world for centuries. A citizen’s responsible personal use of marijuana should no longer be a crime, it is an act that is certainly no more criminal then drinking wine or smoking tobacco.
The argument that marijuana prohibition protects our children is also not based in reality. Illegal drug dealers do not care how young a buyer is, and without legalizing and regulating marijuana, many children find it easier to buy than alcohol or tobacco. In Holland, where the sale of marijuana to adults is not criminalized, the percentage of teenagers using marijuana is less than half that of American teenagers.
Cannabis should be removed from the Schedule 1 category and be legalized and regulated like alcohol and tobacco – a minimum age of 21 for purchase and use, illegal for use while driving, and so on.
Marijuana and hemp prohibition costs billions every year to enforce, creates a black market that generates violence and corruption, and makes criminals out of millions of productive and harmless adults. Americans (both Native and non-Native) should once again have the legal right to use the cannabis plant for its many beneficial uses including medicine, paper, fuel, clothing and food. The book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” by Jack Herer (http://jackherer.com/) and the documentary “The Hemp Revolution” directed by Anthony Clarke are two great resources for further information on the benefits of hemp.
For those who wish to use this plant responsibly for medical or private use, and those who wish to use industrial hemp to help end deforestation and provide a source of income, food, clothing, shelter and fuel for their families, the US Federal government acts as an oppressor. Legalizing marijuana and hemp for adult use would not be a promotion of drug use, it would be a promotion of freedom and liberty that we are all entitled to.
There is no reason why we should allow lies, propaganda and outright oppression and tyranny to continue on for another generation; they are few, we are many. All we need is an effective plan of non-violent action to overthrow the destructive paradigm with a sustainable, just and healthy one.
Action Plan
There are many hemp products on the American market today, and their popularity grows every year. There are hemp clothing stores (www.hempstores.com) throughout the country as well as hemp food products (www.manitobaharvest.com, www.naturespath.com, etc.) on the shelves of countless markets coast to coast as well All of the hemp that is used in these products is imported from other nations since it is “illegal” for Native and American farmers to grown hemp. There has been a lot of resistance to this from both Native and non-Native American farmers. There is the organizations Vote Hemp (www.votehemp.com), the Hemp Industry Association (www.thehia.org) which has a Hemp Business Directory, among many other environmental groups that support hemp legalization. There are online hemp stores like Hemp.com, the Hempest.com and SantaFeHemp.com. All of these should be business partners with Native Americans growing industrial hemp. The millions of dollars being made in this industry today can be made by Native Americans along with other hemp growers throughout the world.
When I buy hemp bread, cereal, hummus, waffles, hemp milk (www.livingharvest.com, a personal favorite), protein powder, hemp seed oil, etc. and I see the label “Product of Canada” etc., I think it should say “Product of the Republic of Lakota” (or any other tribe)! And I know I am not alone with this sentiment. Millions of Americans would support Native American business if given the opportunity; many Americans are aware of the history of European colonization, the genocide, the tyranny, the treaties that were all broken, etc. Many Americans of European descent like myself would love the opportunity to do anything, however small, in supporting Native American sovereignty and enterprise, especially when incorporating the industrial hemp industry, that all well-informed Americans support for the environmental and health benefits it offers. We would not only be helping Native Americans, we would be helping ourselves through the expansion of a sustainable industry that can replace the destructive and harmful petrol-chemical/coal/timber/nuclear, etc. industries currently dominating the market. Industrial hemp, used for biofuel, paper, clothing, etc., when coupled with renewable clean energy like solar and wind power, has the potential to save our planet’s ecosystem, our health and economic well-being.
All of the stores that carry hemp products currently would certainly purchase from Native Americans instead of other nations if given the choice. And yearly, there are Hemp Festivals held throughout the country (www.hempfest.org, www.bostonhempfest.com, etc.) that promote the hemp industry and speak out against cannabis prohibition, these festivals would be ideal for spreading the word about Native American grown hemp. Also along the many cannabis law reform organizations that have chapters throughout the country like NORML (www.norml.org), MPP (www.mpp.org), the Drug Policy Alliance (www.drugpolicy.org) would surely support the movement for a Native American Hemp Industry.
If multiple tribes worked together and called on the support of these already existing businesses, organizations and festivals that support Hemp Legalization, it would be an unstoppable force. The Feds/DEA would be powerless once the lies behind their “war on drugs” and “war on terror” are fully exposed.
The potential for economic growth on Native reservations is astronomical, and of course this income is urgently needed due to the extreme poverty that currently exists on reservations. Who better than Native Americans to prosper from a new sustainable paradigm that incorporates the most beneficial plant known to man? Who better to openly reject and lead non-violent rebellion against the hypocrisy, ignorance, destruction and oppression of US Federal governmental policy? Like Winona La Duke said: “Decriminalizing industrial hemp is the way of the future.”
Peace,
Colin Donoghue
p.s. Watch the great documentary, “The Hemp Revolution”:
Our culture is filled with mythology. Some well-known myths may actually not be as innocent and harmless as is commonly believed. If we take time to think about the myths that pervade our culture, and how they may influence our lives, we can discover underlying meaning and messages that actually disempower us greatly and misdirect us from real spiritual and political truth. By becoming aware of this, we can free ourselves from mental ties that keep us from progress, both personal and political. Here I will focus on perhaps the most well known myths of all, that of Adam & Eve, and the Savior of Humanity, to show how they may actually be doing much more harm than good for our civilization through reinforcing sexism, patriarchy and disempowerment. I will give new positive ways to interpret these myths so that we can reclaim them in the interest of peace, justice, and enlightenment.
The traditional story of Adam and Eve defies common sense. It says that God forbid woman and man from gaining the knowledge of good and evil. Why would knowing the difference between right and wrong be bad? Has history or your own personal experience shown that to be true? If right was known from wrong early on and acted on, much of the horrific history of human civilization could have been prevented. (Examples that instantly come to my mind include: the South’s continued support for slavery in the 1800’s, 1930’s Germany, early Vietnam War, China’s Invasion into Tibet, Iraq/Afghanistan invasions by the US, the 2000 US Presidential election theft by Bush/Cheney, various new environmental pollutants, etc.)
The same goes for our personal lives, where we often ignore the crucial truth of harm and/or exploitation being committed (in a relationship, at the workplace, animal neglect/abuse, etc.) and by ignoring it, we allow the harm to continue and possibly get worse. A pervasive example of this is the massive unnecessary (and unhealthy) human consumption of meat and dairy, that causes massive suffering and violence to billions of animals every year. Check out GoVeg.com. Another would be the prohibition of industrial hemp farming, while hemp is the most beneficial plant available to humans (The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden?), able to provide nutritious food, clothing, building materials, fuel, medicine, etc.
How can we have progress without a sense of what’s right or wrong? Isn’t that what progress always really is? A progression from the bad to the good in varying degree?
The story of the “forbidden fruit” is a centuries old piece of misinformation used to continue the status-quo paradigm that does not encourage the questioning of authority or the progress of humanity. By telling us that having the knowledge of good and evil is bad, this story reinforces mass disempowerment of the People. Without understanding of what is harmful and what is not, how can we ever act compassionately? Why is having this “divine knowledge” prohibited for Adam & Eve? Saying that seeking the knowledge of good and evil is wrong is equivalent to saying love is wrong, that love is a sin! An idea couldn’t be more more backwards! This is real Orwellian phenomena, saying the good is evil and the evil is good. Furthermore, when we accept others claims of what’s right and wrong, especially from society’s official “authorities”, even when it defies common sense, we allow ourselves to be complicit with destructive policies, ideology and actions that cause massive harm to others and our environment. (Going along with the propaganda delivered by the mass media concerning 9/11, the elections, Iraq, and the lack of viable energy alternatives come to mind as current examples). When we allow others to tell us “this is right” (ex. the war) and this “wrong” (ex. dissent), we not only voluntarily disempower ourselves and keep our minds from comprehending the true reality, we become sheep led by wolves.
Thieves, robbers, murderers and cheats, who commit crimes recognized by themselves and everyone else as evil, serve as an example of what ought not to be done, and deter others from similar crimes. But those who commit the same thefts, robberies, murders, and other crimes, disguising them under all kinds of religious or scientific or humanitarian justifications, as all landowners, merchants, manufacturers, and government officials do, provoke others to imitation, and so do harm not only to those who are directly the victims of their crimes, but to thousands and millions of men whom they corrupt by obliterating their sense of the distinction between right and wrong.”
-Leo Tolstoy, “The Kingdom of God is Within You”, p. 343
This intentional misdirection of our understanding of Truth has also been accomplished through the “savior” mythology, where only one person, with supernatural powers, can “save” the world, and the rest of us are said to be just powerless “sinners”. This mythology is very pervasive and influential yet most don’t recognize its power; even the popularity of characters like Superman show that American culture subconsciously accepts the idea that we need a supernatural savior to combat evil and injustice (so we might as well remain apathetic consumers). In the latest Superman movie, “Superman Returns” (2006), the references to Jesus are blatantly obvious, even the title brings to mind the “Second Coming” when Jesus will “Return to Earth”. At one point in the movie Superman flies over the Earth in a clearly crucified position, and he is also referred to as “My only son, sent to save humanity” by his other-worldly Father, and even refers to himself at one point as a savior when talking to Lois Lane: “You wrote that the world doesn’t need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one.”
In the book of the movie “What The Bleep Do We Know?”, which discusses the hidden power within each of us, the authors speak to the point of the disempowering nature of savior mythology on page 204 (emphasis added): “One of the basic tenants of Christianity is the notion that ‘Jesus will save me’ [and that we are all] ’sinners born in sin’ and screwed from the get-go. It is difficult to imagine a more disempowering idea.“ Additionaly what could be a more disempowering symbol than the crucifix? We have Christians today kneeling before giant life-sized crucifixes in Church, and wearing necklaces that have a miniature crucifix with Jesus nailed to it, dying a slow and painful death, and this is supposed to inspire you to walk in his footsteps?! The message is clear: If you are compassionate and resist injustice, this is what will happen to you, you will be persecuted, suffer and die. And yet Christians today, as they’ve been taught, say that it symbolizes “How he died for our sins.” What? Does that even make sense? This is a perfect example of a “house divided upon itself”; a mind that is conflicted with itself and so therefor does not progress. Modern Christians meditate upon this image of torture day in and day out, and guess what? They don’t feel too motivated to go out and try to change the world.
Whether you admire and follow the teachings of Jesus as a historical, mythological, or religious figure, a more intelligent (and probably accurate) interpretation of the actions of Jesus of Nazareth is not to simply believe in him as the sole savior of the world, (which really makes no sense at all, since there was not worldwide revolutionary positive change after his death), we should instead look at his actions as those that we each need to imitate (in the socio-political context that modern Christianity has all but completely eliminated, notable exceptions include Liberation Theology and the perspectives expressed in books like “Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action”by David Ray Griffin & “Saving Christianity from Empire”by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer), so that the numbers of those resisting tyranny, hypocrisy, corruption and empire will be great enough so that we really can have worldwide revolutionary positive change. The tyrants of the world cannot crucify every rebel, so to speak, so the reason that injustice/fascism/tyranny continues is because not enough people become active in resisting it. From a Liberation Theology perspective one could say not enough people are imitating the actions of Jesus in the sense described in Ephesians 6:12:
“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places.”
The brilliant African-American scholar Cornel West also gets to this crucial point, in a modern context, in his book “Democracy Matters”:
“Let us not be deceived: the great dramatic battle of the twenty-first century is the dismantling of empire and the deepening of democracy… we must remember that the basis of democratic leadership is ordinary citizens’ desire to take their country back from the hands of corrupted plutocratic and imperial elites. This desire is predicated on an awakening among the populace from the seductive lies and comforting illusions that sedate them and a moral channeling of new political energy that constitutes a formidable threat to the status quo.”
Another relevant perspective from the book “7th Seal: Hidden Wisdom Unveiled”:
“Are the Romans in actuality alive and well today, continuing to suppress the greater truths, effecting the prevention of the resurgence of a spiritually aware and soul aligned civilization?”
Basically, it has always been the few oppressing the many, therefore it can be seen as a problem of actualizing, or empowering, the masses (that means you, unless you support oppression/destruction), who have been tricked into believing false mythology and ideology that deliberately disempowers them, along with being subject to more direct physical tools of disempowerment like poverty/overworking/lack of free time, hunger, sickness and illiteracy. All of this serves the destructive status-quo paradigm, it gives it the power to continue on. Additionally, if you spend much of your time thinking of cultural pop icons, luxury consumer goods, etc., you are allowing yourself to be distracted from where real meaning and satisfaction can be found in life. You are allowing yourself to be disempowered by those who would be happier if you were a simple-minded consumer who never questioned or spoke out against unjust authority.
We had the Bush Administration telling us that they will protect us from the “evildoers,” and hoped we wouldn’t do any critical thinking, or care that they were violating the Bill of Rights, rigging our elections, etc. Again Cornel West says it well:
“At this moment our imperialist elites are casting themselves as the defenders of our democracy.”
Bush, Inc. hoped we wouldnt take the next step after seeing through their deceptions, actually resisting their assault on our freedoms, environment, health and democracy. They sent the message “Just trust Big Brother and everything will be ok”… In this way they make themselves as another savior figure that we permit to disempower ourselves once again… In the book “Jesus and Empire” the author Richard Horsley writes: “In the Roman imperial world, the ‘gospel’ was the good news of Caesar having established peace and security for the world. Caesar was the ‘savior’ who had brought ‘salvation’ to the whole world.” The parallel between the Roman and American Empire is very poignant in this sense: Bush/Cheney claimed (and now Obama/Biden) to be saving us from the terrorists; we must recognize when history repeats in this destructive and deceptive way. Chris Hedges, author of “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America” described the modern American Fundamentalist Christianity that is aligned with the Neo-conservative movement as “essentially about disempowerment”in an interview with Amy Goodman on her Democracy Now! Radio program (democracynow.org 02/19/07). This is a key point, as I previously stated; both empire, and religion serving empire, function mostly to disempower the populace through various means so resistance is kept to minimal levels. Gloria Steinem, the well know Feminist leader and author writes in her book “Revolution from Within” that self-help/new age books often have “an important message about the worth of each human being, but with little mention of the external structures that undermine this worth in order to assure their own authority.” These external structures that disempower people in order to insure the continued dominance of the status-quo are too often overlooked as somehow separate from the issue of personal liberation, instead of being recognized and named as the barriers that they are.
In the book Great Mystics & Social Justice: Walking on The Two Feet of Love, Susan Rakoczy unsheathes the false dichotomy between personal and social transformation that many modern Christians, Buddhists, philosophers, “spiritual” people, etc. ignorantly accept:
“Two Temptations are enticing. One is to plunge into activism without a spiritual grounding. The other, especially insidious, is to take a deep breath, close the doors of the churches on the problems of society, and focus on a private experience of religion. For some, a “Jesus and me” religiosity is very satisfying since it allows them to seek personal holiness without attention to those outside their religious circle. This, however, is a corruption of the gospel, whose basic principle is love of God and love of neighbor.”
Returning to the mythology of Adam and Eve, Eve is made to be the villain, the cause of the “Fall of Man”, yet another example of patriarchal sexist distortion of religious and historical truth, demonizing women as was done to Mary Magdalene, made to be a prostitute. And then of course there is the non-sensical Trinity, which has a Father and Son, but the necessary Mother is missing, replaced by the “Holy Spirit”.
The story of Adam & Eve would make much more sense if Paradise was lost because they stopped eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and departed to the gray area of lies and deception of the “Devil”. A loving “God” would have never said don’t eat from this tree, but eat and live by the knowledge you gain, and remain in the Garden of Eden, Paradise. Why did Adam and Eve become ashamed of their nakedness AFTER eating of the knowledge of good and evil? If we are made in the “image of God” why would our naked bodies be something shameful?? It was because they STOPPED eating of the knowledge of good and evil that they became ashamed, they no longer knew our nakedness was good, they were banished for listening to the Devil who stayed on the Tree of Knowledge to discourage them from eating the fruit, to convince them that they would be fine without that knowledge. The characters of God and the serpent have been reversed to serve the sexist patriarchal oppressive status quo; supporters of this backwards ideology are the authors of our modern story of Adam and Eve, surely not “God”. We are told heaven is the joyful peaceful place in which God’s presence is experienced so fully that all who are there gladly do “God’s Will.” What would this will be? Would it be for carrying out trivial assignments and duties, like a king’s servant? Or would it make more sense that it would be to bring peace, love and justice to your surroundings? “God’s will” would certainly consist of the latter if we are to remain consistent with everything that is said of this God, so then in the setting of Eden it makes more sense that one would want to eat the apple of the knowledge of good and evil, so that one could then act on that knowledge and always choose the right over the wrong. By doing so, one would remain in “Paradise” or “Heaven”, gladly doing God’s will, since that is what would make one’s existence most enjoyable, satisfying and “heavenly.” Therefore God’s will and love and justice are inseparable, and those are inseparable from human happiness. In politics the Will of the People, or the majority is usually for greater compassion and justice, while the will of the few who bring fascism and tyranny have the opposite motivation: the desire for personal wealth and power. So the former is equivalent to the will of God(dess), while the latter can be thought of as the will of the Devil, producing evil in the world (as done by groups like the Bush Administration, etc).
Martin Luther King Jr. ate the apple when he declared segregation to be an evil, Gandhi ate the apple when he declared the British occupation of India to be an evil, (along with countless other examples of people declaring and facing real evil, not the bullshit propaganda that people have always been fed by tyrants) and by their so doing, humanity progressed. So the “apple” is in reality our inner conscience, which we discover through bringing our attention inward. This inward-looking practice is disrupted by countless distractions and disturbances like corporate advertising and our “entertainment” filled culture; we are being constantly distracted from our inner self, which serves the status-quo paradigm perfectly.
The Buddhist (not exclusively of course) practice of mindfulness and contemplative/concentration building meditation is a well developed practice for re-directing our attention inwards and discovering our conscience, or eating the metaphorical apple. Yet even Buddhism has been corrupted by post-modern nihilism with a completely unjustified emphasis on the doctrine of emptiness/no-self, that the Buddha himself warned would lead one astray if taken as ultimate truth. Modern “Buddhists” have done exactly what was warned against, and have strayed into a non-dualist, non-judgmental perspective on the world. I see this self-contradiction constantly in Zen teachings for example; there will be a saying about how there is no good or bad in the world, followed by a passage praising kindness and compassion as the most important things in the world. This is contradictory; if compassion is good, than hate is bad, and therefore there is good and bad in the world! This is so obvious I’m surprised I even have to explain/argue it to anybody! This same obvious contradiction is found in modern “Christianity” that tells us good works are meaningless, and only by saying a certain prayer and attending church regularly will one find salvation, through a single individual (Jesus), in the afterlife (the current life being regarded as a “lost-cause”), while Jesus taught loving one another as fundamental! This is a belief system that is completely disempowering to the individual. It puts their focus and faith in something that is essentially imaginary, so that one doesn’t take the actions necessary in the real world to ensure their freedom, peace and happiness. Another tenet of some distorted modern branches of so-called Christianity is the emphasis on a “Judgment Day” where a divine being will appear out of thin air and cast judgment on mankind. This of course discourages everyday people from making their own judgments and attempting to hold those guilty of great crimes against humanity accountable for their actions. Again we must wait for a superman to bring justice to earth, to tell us what is right and what is wrong, we cannot do it ourselves. This savior mythology is completely compatible and compliments the garden of Eden mythology that tells us eating from the apple of knowledge of good and evil is blasphemous, and that we should leave all justice seeking to “God” an imaginary figure who does not currently exercise this power on earth, but “don’t worry” say the apocalyptic Christians, “he will come soon”, just keep waiting, and do nothing to fight injustice, and don’t you dare consult your conscience and common sense, remain disempowered and subservient to the status-quo system of thought that you have been conditioned by.
Another Christian tradition that may directly concern the Garden of Eden mythology is the modern “Christmas Tree”. I’ve read the suggestion that Christmas trees may actually be symbolic of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which I personally find intriguing. In this re-working of the imagery of the tree, real apples would be hung from the tree instead of ornaments, and family members would give the apples to one another, recognizing that gaining the knowledge of good and evil was a crucial part of the religious/spiritual path.
Ultimately and for practicality however, what is most important is the truth. Most people will automatically respond in the proper way to a situation once they know the full truth of it; our inner nature is good and is always with us, despite the negativity that usually covers it. That’s why propaganda and misinformation is the main tool of the creators/supporters of any destructive system/paradigm. The focus in activism, and personal life, should be what the full truth is, the “right” or “wrong” of it follows that, it is technically secondary.In order to “eat the apple” in the real world, to act knowledgeably using our conscience, we need the best and most factual crucial information we can find. The main purpose of propaganda is to prevent people from acting on their conscience based on the facts. Instead, they attempt to use our own conscience against us, by appealing to our compassionate nature through Orwellian slogans like “Support Our Troops”, “The War on Terror”, “No Child Left Behind”, etc. The crucial information we need to evaluate with our conscience is for the most part not coming from our government or the mass media, so where do we find it? How do we see through the lies and misinformation and find crucial truth? For the political/social truth, the short and practical answer is truthful independent media/books/documentaries/speakers, etc. and one’s personal investigation. For the spiritual truth, whatever your personal practice may be, your own personal investigation and experience should be the authority. The Buddha said repeatedly to trust your own experience to see if his Eightfold Path is effective (basically a path of Loving (morality–>peace–>concentration–>insight–>happiness), which can be found in all traditions) and to not take his word for it, try it and see for yourself.
Truth has great power; when it is revealed it is a force in itself, because it activates our compassionate inner nature, our conscience . Satyagraha, a term Gandhi coined for his overall activist strategy, is translated as “truth-force” and “insistence upon the truth”. Satya(the truth)+ Agraha(to insist upon) = Satyagraha. We must each become a Satyagrahi, a practitioner of Satyagraha, in our personal lives as well in our socio-political reality, in order for there to be genuine and lasting progress.
I believe it is a 50/50 effort, internal and external revolution is needed; fighting fascism while practicing a path to enlightenment simultaneously. Because life is both personal and political, the inner and the outer, and we need to work for the progress of both to find satisfaction, and reduce our own suffering, while we help reduce the suffering of others simultaneously. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus, the Buddha, etc. all emphasized non-violence as the wisest and most practically beneficial behavior to adopt for personal and political behavior/policy. We need to center our lives AND our politics around non-violence/Ahimsa. Bush/Cheney, and all other fascist rulers throughout history represent the exact opposite, producing harmful and destructive policies, which is just furthering suffering, anguish and disharmony on Earth, as well as sabotaging our spiritual journey towards peace, wisdom and happiness.
So if the apple reveals the differentiation between violence and nonviolence in all acts and behavior, then ceasing from harm is the first stage in becoming skilled in the ways of the opposite of harming: healing and giving pleasure. Practices such as massage therapy, nutrition/natural medicine/disease prevention, tantra, yoga, etc. then all become areas of utmost importance and significance. With more time to focus on healing and pleasure in a post-backwards society, we can learn more about our bodies and Nature, diagnose and treat health problems naturally and more effectively, and realize our full potential for health and happiness.
This so-called “elite” sometimes use more direct methods than mythology and propaganda to disempower the masses, like sickness/disease being spread intentionally, or even assassination of social-justice leaders; this is a matter of historical fact. Ill-health is extremely disempowering of course, so physical fitness and health is a necessary component of the Path to empowerment/peace/happiness; good health is also needed for active resistance to fascism, oppression, etc. Not taking care of your body is another type of behavior that supports the continuation of the status-quo; there will be no revolution if all the revolutionaries are sick and in massive financial debt. Maybe that’s part of the reason why Bush, Inc. have done nothing to improve health care in America, and instead support industries that put toxins/radiation in out air, water and food? Or why the unconstitutional and criminal monetary system run by the corporate-run Federal Reserve is allowed to stay in place, driving us further and further into debt? (See part 3 of the groundbreaking film “Zeitgeist” for more on that: http://zeitgeistmovie.com/)
We need to stand against wickedness when we become aware of it, we need to “eat the apple”, or “the red pill” (to use Matrix terminology), and share it with others. You must hold some conviction in order to do this however and have factual knowledge to base your conviction on. Today it is very unpopular to speak of right and wrong of course, it is very uncool especially amongst young Americans. And in academic circles non-dualism, or post-modern moral-relativism, is the fall back position for many “intellectuals” who deconstruct every argument and then stand for nothing, certainly not social justice. I have found that if you hold any convictions (even very altruistic ones) some status-quo supporters compare you to all extremists, like some right-wing Christian speakers who have turned Christianity completely upside down. Saying the war in Iraq is wrong is to speak common sense and the will of the majority, the view is not extreme because it is in agreement with the facts and the majority of people on earth. Neo-conservative (fascist) ideology is not the will of the People. If we had a real democracy, Bush/Cheney could never have stolen the elections (read “Fooled Again” by Mark Crispin Miller for starters) as they did, the war would have never happened, nor would have 9/11 because the people who engineered it wouldn’t have been in the necessary positions of power (read David Ray Griffin’s books on 9/11 for starters on that topic). If the People know the real truth they will speak and vote for the peaceful and just solution, that is why the fascists in power must rig the elections and tell the People lies and propaganda, undermining the compassionate and rational choice of the People. Democracy and truthful independent media really are the answer but so many say “look at how bad America is, democracy doesn’t work”. That’s an opinion based on the false assumption that America IS a democracy, which it is certainly not! It’s not even a representative republic! The fact that Bush and Cheney are still in office is proof of that! True Democracy and true representation allow the debate of right and wrong to be conducted by the majority, which ensures the elimination of elitist/special-interest control.
When you watch a bill being debated at your state legislature, you’re often watching a debate over whether the bill will ultimately serve the majority of the population (be good) or serve only the interests of the already powerful and wealthy few (be bad). The well-informed majority is almost always on the side of the less harmful bill and policy, since that is in their own interest (as well as due to sincere compassion for others), it is almost always those few that represent the interest of the uncaring “elite” who stand in opposition.
So if ultimately it is our conscience that shows us the difference between right and wrong, some might say then, that morality is completely subjective and relative, different for each individual. If this were completely true however, how would we progress together as a society? Aren’t there actually some “core values” that most sane individuals would agree are “right”? Concerning personal interaction, no action is necessarily always bad, it depends on the circumstance, but that does not mean that morality is always relative! The truth is one should hold a Relative Absolutism, that is, certain actions, in certain situations, can be 100% wrong, like the examples highlighted in this essay. We must consult our conscience on a continual basis (eat the “apple”), through mindful awareness, and decide what is the least harmful and most just action (or non-action) to make. The Buddha called such action that leads to Liberation “skillful” or “wholesome”. Some actions in certain situations are certainly more positive and skillful than others, and there is a way for consistent discernment, that does not accept a completely “non-dualist” perspective on human behavior:
“Skillful actions are those that create the causes for happiness, such as actions motivated by loving-friendliness and compassion. Any action that comes from a mind not currently filled with greed, hatred, or delusion brings happiness to the doer and to the receiver. Such an action is therefore skillful or right.” – Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness, p.28
Our conscience is most clearly perceived when we are fully in the present moment; being fully in the Now also removes us from the disempowering/negative egoistic thought of the past and future, allowing us to be “aware of our awareness” which allows our peaceful (even blissful) inner nature to be experienced. There really is Power in the Now (as explained well by Ekhart Tolle in his books “The Power of Now” and “Stillness Speaks”), which can counter all the disempowerment I’ve been discussing .
Another crucial component to becoming aware of your conscience is to slow down with your everyday activities. Rushing through life causes stress as well as greatly decreasing the chances you will notice or take care of any growing problems in your life. This could mean letting your home become filthy to the point where it is unhealthy, or not maintaining your car and then one day it breaks down and leaves you stranded, or never flossing and getting regular dental cleanings and your teeth fall out in old age, or you don’t stretch and exercise regularly and so suffer the consequences, etc. We often neglect that which needs attention just as we neglect our conscience, and so problems and irritations inevitably arise.
Consulting one’s conscience on everyday relations with family, friends, co-workers, etc. is certainly very important; our personal interaction with others has direct effect on their lives, in varying degrees of positivity or negativity.
Of course the practice is difficult and we will make mistakes often, but with discipline we can rise to a higher level of being. For example, personally I have not been living by the ideals presented in this essay due to my negative habits, etc. but I continue to strive towards them because I believe in their benefits, for myself and others. First we must clarify and refine the direction, or the Way, before we can make progress. That is my intention with presenting these ideas here.
Yet shouldn’t consulting our conscience on the actions, policies, and messages given by our dominant authority figures and socio-economic/political systems, that effect far more people than we do in our personal lives, also be given priority? Isn’t that in fact what we are told Jesus did, when he denounced the hypocrisy and violence of the dominant religion and political empire of his day? So today we must be aware of those same destructive forces that live on in the current destructive status-quo paradigm. If you can see the blatant truth of the evil of the Bush Administration, act on it. Write your reps and say you want Bush/Cheney removed from office. Every person does make a difference. If the truth about the elections were known nationwide immediately and then the truth about 9/11 being an inside job was also known nationwide, would we have the “war” in Iraq, would we have the destruction of our constitutional rights? Of course not! If we had “eaten the apple” we could have prevented all this destruction, injustice, and massive suffering.
Here is another quote that uses the terms “soul’ and “inner compass” in place of conscience or “apple”, but the message is really the same:
“The major threat to external control is our internal guidance system — our souls. To us, our souls are our best friends and most trusted guides. But to the control paradigm, they’re the enemy — what has to be removed in order for external control to work. Only when we’re sufficiently disconnected from our inner compass will we follow outer demands.” -”The Paradigm Conspiracy” (highly recommended), by C. Largent and D. Brenton , p.9
When we are connected to our conscience/soul/spirit/higher-self we also become connected to an outside world that becomes much more interactive, through synchronicity/guidance and positive circumstances that follow an inner transformation. When we become happier, healthier, and more at peace through a “Joyful Rebellion” against the destructive status-quo, we also may discover our passion for Life that had been covered in negativity and inner/outer oppression. Kenneth MacLean, author of “The Vibrational Universe”, in an interview in Evolve! magazine said: “[P]assion is discouraged simply because it is such a high vibration/emotion relative to the society at large, and there is a genuine fear [by authority figures] that a passionate person is a dangerous person. There is a concern that our society would be turned upside down if people were allowed to find their own way without direction from the authorities.” Indeed, and a society that is Orwellian/backwards should be turned upside down! When our “leaders” are taking us in the opposite direction to where we should be headed, revolutionary change is needed.
Eating the Apple, consulting our conscience, is only the first step of course, action is the second. Knowledge is only valuable if acted upon. For example, knowing of The Law of Attraction/Manifestation (described well in the film “The Secret”, derived from the ancient tribal practice called Huna), which is all about self-empowerment and taking responsibility for oneself, it’s pretty much the opposite of the savior mythology belief; it only benefits the individual who becomes more conscious of their thoughts and really focuses on the positive possibilities rather than the negative.
In conclusion, Adam and Eve, in this perspective, would have stayed in Paradise by always choosing the positive over the negative; by acting in accordance with the knowledge they gained from the apple (their conscience), thereby always choosing good over evil, experiencing that it was always to their own benefit, bringing them continued happiness. The same may hold true in the real world, right here, right now.
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The most destructive Myth of the 21st century, the 9/11 Myth:
The illegitimate fascist war criminal [IFWC, if you like] Bush Administration, kept using their official story on the events of 9/11/01 as an excuse to label dissenters of their policy “terrorists”. [They used that bullshit story as “justification” for their illegal occupations which have killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, the torture, the illegal detentions, etc. too, and that's why 9/11 Truth is so important, but I better get back to isolating a single issue, lest I break journalistic rules.] This false labeling of individuals as terrorists has been used especially with environmental and animal rights activists, and this phenomenon has even been given a name by activists: “The Green Scare”. This title is of course referring to the “Red Scare” fear mongering police state measures of the 1950’s which the current IFWC’s are repeating in the 21st century in a new form. What is of particular concern here is that environmentalism and animal rights happen to be the most important issues concerning the saving of our planet’s ecosystem, and hence, us. How so? I’m glad you asked.
We should obviously care about how we are affecting the Earth’s’ ecosystem for the worse because the health and survival of our species depend on in it. This exceedingly obvious statement is considered a radical notion however by the petroleum, nuclear, coal, logging and livestock industries. That’s how backwards their current relationship to the earth, and common sense, has become in 21st century America. The glaciers keep melting, the temperature (and cancer rate) keeps rising, the weather becomes more destructive, and we just let these corporate fascists continue to lead us on a path of devastation and suffering. Earth Day passes once again while the obvious solutions to our sick ecosystem, hemp paper/fuel, solar/wind/tidal/geothermal energy, electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, etc. still remain mostly unsupported by those who undemocratically control our tax dollars. Most Americans would love to power their homes with sun and wind and have their car run on plant-based fuel or renewable-sourced electricity, but cannot due to high costs and lack of availability. (Oh sure, we can vote for candidates that support clean energy, once they start counting all our votes, and we have campaign finance reform, but that’s another issue.)
There are some things that affect the environment though that we have power over on a daily basis. Albert Einstein said:
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet”
Here’s an amazing fact that is extremely under-reported: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that animal wastes pollute U.S. waterways more than all other industrial sources of water pollution combined. And yet instead of calling for an end to factory farming, environmental groups often suggest reforms that would have little impact. And its not just the water that the livestock industry is polluting.
From ODE magazine, December 2007:
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published a report in 2006 called Livestock’s Long Shadow.
“The FAO concluded that the livestock industry accounts for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. That’s more than is produced by every form of transportation combined.”
“Consumers are told to conserve by switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, to take public transportation more often, to turn off the TV when they’re not watching. Why aren’t environmental organizations telling them to eat less meat?”
Vegetarianism is the “elephant in the room” that isn’t being discussed because of ingrained conditioning as to what a “normal” diet is.
Native Americans, as I’m sure you know, honored the animals that they killed with their own hands, and said prayers of blessings for the spirit of the animal. They also used as much of the animal’s body as possible, for not only food, but clothing and shelter materials as well. Modern treatment of animals however, through factory farming and scientific experimentation, shows anything but honor and respect for these forms of life. Modern North Americans have almost completely lost daily reverence and communion with the wildlife (still surviving) and domesticated animals that share this continent with us. This is most apparent when we look at the consumption of animals as our food.
Could you slaughter your own lamb, chicken or piglet? If not, transferring the work to another person or machine is simply an act of transmuted violence. This violence no longer has to be so commonplace. Getting vegetarian foods today, especially at the supermarket, is extremely easy. The supermarket near my home sells many vegetarian foods, along with veggie meats, even vegetarian corn-dogs. So today it has become just a matter of choosing the real meat or the veggie meat while in the market, no more effort is required to choose the non-animal selections. Both are high protein, but one involved suffering, violence and environmental destruction, one did not. As Americans we no longer must hunt animals for survival, we only have to make choices at the supermarket, farmers market, a community garden, or even your own garden.
“Children can, generally, make the philosophical switch easier than adults because the plant-based diet and related issues of compassionate living resonate perfectly with the innocence of childhood. To treat one animal as family and another as food, to continually feel sick and tired, to consider preventable open-heart surgery as “routine” and part of the aging process, or to watch others suffering are ideas that are inherently not acceptable to children. It seems to me tolerance for such ideas can only be achieved by repetitive cultural teaching of numbness. Being numb to animals in pain, numb to our effect on the ecosystem, [numb to thousands of civilians being killed by the US military/CIA/Blackwater, etc. I would like to add], and even numb to our to our own body’s cries for proper care are hallmarks of adults and older children in mainstream society.” -Kerrie Saunders, PhD www. drfood. org
I have seen video of the hellish experiences cows, pigs, chickens, etc. go through during captivity, transport and slaughter; it is perhaps the greatest motivator to change to a vegetarian diet. Short documentaries like “Meet Your Meat” show you first hand the painful history of the animal flesh we eat, often without any thought of where and how it made its way to our mouth. If ever there was a hell on earth, it is the experience many animals go through in becoming our food and during animal experimentations. Isn’t there something ethically wrong with tormenting those who have never harmed us, and who cannot defend themselves against us? Rather than go into the gorish details of what I know occurs, I will leave it to you to investigate this for yourself.
I have heard some repeated counter-arguments to adopting a vegetarian diet, and all have been unjustified. To the argument that we were “meant to” eat meat, I ask “says who?” Scientifically, we have the jaw structure, digestive system, etc. of an herbivore. The most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, The China Study, concluded that human physiology reacts best to a vegan diet!
Religiously, did you have a conversation with God and she/he/it told you you’re meant to eat animals? I doubt it. Actually the Bible says the opposite, on the first page! And I quote from the book of Genesis, page 1:29:
“Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
Also from the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls it is written that Jesus said:
“For I tell you truly, man is more than beast. But he who kills a beast without cause, though the beast attack him not, through lust for slaughter, or for its flesh, or its hide, or yet for its tusks, evil is the deed which he does, for he is turned into a wild beast himself.” (Ch. XXII)
To assume that animals were “made for humans to eat” lacks any plausible foundation. Seed bearing fruit however is obviously designed and intended to be eaten, so its seeds can return to the earth in fertilizer, so new fruit may grow. And many plants, like hemp for its nutritious seed, and many vegetables, can be harvested over and over again without resulting in the death of the plant; another indication of its design to be used for food. We do not find such obvious design for food consumption in animals, who feel enormous amounts of physical and emotional pain like we humans do when are bodies are cut or our children are taken away from us and killed. A vegetarian diet is also better for own well-being; meat and dairy products are generally loaded with fat, hormones, antibiotics and pesticides. All of these can lead to disease and cancers. (Some also believe that eating animal flesh lowers our vibration due to the violence associated with it, and is therefore an obstacle to a spiritual path.)
The argument that you can’t be healthy and get the protein you need without meat and dairy is completely false. You can, and the protein from vegetables is more easily absorbed by the body. The human body does not require meat to reach optimum health, and in fact some of the most fit and healthy bodies ever to walk this Earth were formed with vegetarian diets. Many of the world’s top athletes have vegetarian diets; the two men that first broke the four minute mile were vegetarians. Olympic track stars Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrel were both vegetarian when given the title as World’s Fastest Man. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses was vegetarian, and the list goes on and on…
Our DNA is 98.3% identical to a chimpanzee; to separate ourselves from the animal kingdom as a wholly different being is foolish and illogical. When most people are asked why we can eat and wear animals, they usually answer with something like “because we are superior”. Unfounded claims of superiority have been used to justify slavery and genocide; could our notion of superiority over animals that supposedly justifies unnecessary mass killing for food also be unfounded?
Getting back to the environment, a major reason for continued deforestation, along with not using hemp, is the expansion of land used for livestock. Therefore a meat eating diet can be directly linked to an increase of global warming and all the destruction that will increasingly bring.
About ninety percent of all our agricultural resources are used for the feeding of livestock. This food could be used to feed the hungry and starving instead and for growing environmentally beneficial crops like hemp.
From page 191 of the book “the World Peace Diet”:
“Everyone on Earth could be fed easily because we currently grow more than enough grain to feed ten billion people; our current practice of feeding this grain to untold billions of animals and eating them forces over a billion of us to endure chronic malnutrition and starvation while another billion suffer from the obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer linked with eating diets high in animal foods. The drugs we take to combat these diseases are discharged through the urine, flow into the water and become yet another major stream that adds to the pollution of our Earth.”
From environmental destruction to inflicting torturous pain on other beings, the modern meat industry is a clear example of something “bad”. That’s right, I made a moral judgment! I must be an extremist! (Or so says modern Sophists in America society conditioned into suppressing the use of their own conscience). The experience of pain in other mammals, birds and fish is virtually the same as our own. For those that say that there is no difference between killing plants and animals, the obvious answer to them is that they are ignoring the fact that animals feel pain, plants don’t. Animals have feelings, have consciousness on some level, and so therefore should be treated as such, not just as animated food. Would you like to be imprisoned, tortured and then brutally murdered so someone could eat your flesh for dinner? I didn’t think so. Nonviolence remember? The foundation of the Revolution? Speaking of which here are some salient excerpts from the excellent book “The Nonviolent Revolution” by Nathaniel Altman: “In addition to its impact on animal welfare, a vegetarian lifestyle offers additional ‘ahimsic benefits’ towards one’s body, the environment, and the right utilization of the earth’s resources….The practice of feeding plant protein to livestock instead of directly to people places a tremendous strain on the earth’s resources, and contributes to the shortage of food around the world… In addition, a vegetarian diet calls for far less water than a diet containing meat… [which] utilizes some 2,500 gallons of water per day (including irrigation ,animal drinking water, and the large amount of water needed for the actual processing of meat), while the pure vegetarian (vegan) diet uses only 300 gallons per day. [According to Dr. Aaron Altschul of Georgetown University]
Some more poignant information:
From Alternatives magazine, winter 07-08, an article by Bruce Friedrich:
“Even leaving aside all the animal welfare issues, a vegan diet is the only reasonable diet for people in the developed world who care about the environment or global poverty… Environmental Defense, on its website, notes: “If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains… the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. Roads.” Imagine if we stopped eating animal products altogether… Vegan foods cut out the factory farms, the slaughterhouses, and multiple stages of heavily polluting tractor-trailer trucks, as well as the resources (and pollution) involved in each of those stages… Choose vegan – and preferably organic [and local] – foods. It’s bad for the environment to eat animals. It’s time to stop looking for loopholes.”
And since I’m a fan of being blunt and cutting through the bullshit when appropriate, I’ll share such a statement from the book “The Real Forbidden Fruit: How Meat Destroys Paradise And How Veganism Can Get It Back” by Jeff Popick:
“There are many well-intentioned people who consider themselves to be environmentalists, and yet many of these people eat animal products, even though it is animal products that are primarily responsible for the demise of the environment. Eating meat kills animals, people and the planet. To be an environmentalist, one must be vegan.”
I know black and white statements are unpopular among apathetic post-modern nihilists, but the truth must be told. (By the way, non-dualism/non-judgment is an idea that permeates all areas of modern culture, from those that are “cool” to those that are “square”, from the young to the old, from the academic to the spiritual, and it is corrupting the progress of mankind. Instead of citing those that have backwards/insane ideas about morality and the environment, why don’t you stand up for the sane perspective?) If we want a healthy, peaceful and sustainable world, that means: No war, No nukes, No coal, No clear-cutting, No petroleum, and No meat.
And any attempts by government officials to push “compulsory” vaccinations should be refused and resisted, we obviously cant trust that the vaccines will be safe (read about the “accidental” (!) contamination of vaccines that were released to the public with avian flu here: 
