When it comes to spreading lies and causing fear in America there is no one better at it than the Republican party. Whether it's weapons of mass destruction or the release of a fresh new tape from al-qadea, they always know what and when to bring out the fear in some Americans. It's worked since this country was founded and will always work on some.
Patriotism and trust will never allow us to become nothing more than what we are, one track minded distrustful of everything not American culture.
That word patriotism, what does it mean? Love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it. I live by that yes, but love of this country is not all that I know. Only 17% of Americans have a passport. What does that say about our reality of the rest of the world. What shapes our impression of the world. The television and the government is what puts impressions in our head of other cultures.
I first traveled overseas in my late twenties six years ago. I can tell you it wasn't what I expected. Europe really opened my eyes to a whole new world which I found weird at first because it was new. Why was everything so small in the U.k.? Little fridges, small flats (apartments) and mini cars. People treated me like a superstar because of my accent. Everyone wanted to know what was going on in America. They asked if I knew Michael Jordan or if I have ever met J.lo. One person actually believed there were shootouts on every corner in America. I had to explain that is not the case.
I've also traveled to Jordan. I found a world which was nothing like I was led to believe. Before my travels, friends and family discouraged me from traveling to the middle east because they said there would not be safety anywhere. The adventurer in me had to see for myself. My grandmother on the day I left cried, because she feared something would happen to me.
Once I landed in Jordan and got settled I was amazed. The only way I was able to tell I was in another country was the skin color. The streets the cars everything looked like home. My friend who is from there, took me to a nightclub where I saw some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. I could go on and on about my travels, but it would take forever.
The point I'm trying to make is that America has no real clue why terrorists want to bomb and kill us. They don't know the real reason that makes them look at someone who is of middle eastern descent at the airport and why they become fearful. They don't know why a black person sometimes is not scared to speak out against racism, but rather views him as a radical. But I can tell where those views were shaped, our government.
Sarah Palin has been saying that Obama does not see America how "we" see America. She claims to be a patriot. What is a patriot again?
Is being a patriot owning slaves and then being hailed a hero in American history as many of our past presidents have? Is being a patriot lynching over 5,000 people because you no longer want them in country you forcefully brought them to? Is being a patriot electing five presidents who were members of the KKK and then glorifying them as great leaders? Is being a patriot electing a man like Strom Thurman who wanted to keep segregation in South Carolina forever and to keep voting for him till he too old to run anymore? Is being a patriot belonging to an organization in Alaska who wants to secede from the United States and become it's own sovereign land? Is it patriotism to befriend G. Gordon Liddy a convicted felon who orchestrated Watergate? Is it patriotism for CEOs to make hundreds of millions of dollars while defrauding the American people and send the world into an economic recession?
I am not always willing to accept what a politician or the government tells me is fact. I make up my own mind. I questioned my government and John Mccain when they said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and we needed to invade. I do not let the government form my opinion of other cultures to where I have fear or distrust of them. I want to know why you hate me, rather than just drop bombs on you and then you crash planes into my buildings. If there is no more land to conquer, why are we still fighting wars? We don't unless our government tells us.
This is why I look at John Mccain as not someone who wants to inform the American people about a shady Barak Obama, but a man with only 28 days left before election day getting desperate. Instead of us becoming fear mongers who fall for more government propaganda let's make the decision based on the issues that if ignored will lead us into a economic climate like those countries who we "fear" the most.
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic.
-- Unknown.
What our Government Told us
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