Idolatry in Modern Society

"God is spirit and we must worship him in spirit and in truth." - a old-time call to worship

Attention must be paid to the area of general human failings that exist in all political, religious, social and business entities.  We must become aware that these are learned behaviors and we must unlearn them. Idolatry is a most noxious learned behavior.  One of the root causes of idolatry is belief without reason or examination and it is ubiquitous.  One must realize that idolatry is a two-way street.  For example, a cult leader cannot be a cult leader without followers, a god cannot be a god without worshipers, a capitalist cannot be a capitalist without wage slaves and all are caught in the web of idolatry.  Some other forms of idolatry include the pecking order, one-upsmanship and keeping up with the Jones.

No one is exempt from the phenomenon of idolatry.

No one person can be right all the time.  We are all human and therefore, we are sometimes wrong.  To idolize someone, to the point that everything they say is gospel, is an example of not being able to think for yourself.   You must gain the ability to glean out that which is true and correct, ignoring that which is not.  Those who become idols (or claim to represent them) want to teach you what to think, not how to think, because if they taught you how to think, you may find some disagreement with their precepts and that would erode their power base.  There can be a fine line between learning how to think and what to think, often when we feel that were are learning how to think, we are just being fed regurgitated rhetoric on what to think.

An idol should strive to be a teacher not an idol, because one has the responsibility to try to bring others up to their level, and not to glare down at them from above.  I would like to make the following point about teaching. It is the most noble of professions, but it has been compromised by economic expediency.  Teachers are reduced to churning out cogs to maintain the status quo.  We are trained to go out and spend money in order to keep the socio-economic machine running.

 If we cannot overcome such failings, humankind will not evolve.  Those who claim to have the answer for betterment of humankind use these human failing in their rhetoric, dogma and practice.  Proclaiming they will make the world a better place for everyone, but because they are caught in the web of these human failings as well, they are no better than potential Oprichniki* who would be destined to become more oppressive and cruel than those they strive to supplant.

Human needs must be put ahead of economic expediency.   The expectations that people learn to have about relationships are linked into economic need, not human need.  The epitome of relationships in modern culture is marriage, but look at the history of marriage.  Just within the last few hundred years, marriage was used by patriarchal societies to amass wealth and power; women and children were mere chattel.  The reality is that marriage is not about love; it is about what's best for the socio-economic system.  Marriage is an archaic institution that should be abolished.  Marriage attempts to force you into a mutually exclusive relationship with underlying dynamics of ownership of one's partner.  To expect one person to meet all (or even a majority ) of the physical and emotional needs of another is an exacting demand and there are few people capable of this.  One may find that having a small number of stable, on-going non-primary relationships of a platonic and/or sexual nature would replace or eliminate the need for a primary relationship.

 The essence of politics is working together for the common good and tactics in politics is politics. Theoretically, politics is the will of the people. If your tactics do not serve the will of the people they are suspect; if your tactics are suspect than your politics are suspect, as well, and everything you do is tainted. 

The idea is firmly entrenched in the whole political spectrum that changing the political system will change the social structure of society for the better.  Have they forgotten their dialectics?  It is more likely that it will happen in the reverse manner: an awakened and mobilized people will change the political system - the way people get things done... and whatever change that comes from this historic force will be better (more advanced) than what we have in the present....

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* The Oprichniki were responsible for the torture and murder of internal enemies of the Tsar. Notorious for their violent means of enforcement, they could be compared to modern "death squads" or even secret police. Guided by Ivan, they laid waste to civilian populations. They dressed in black garb, similar to a monastic habit, and bore the strange insignia of a severed dog's head (to sniff out treason and the enemies of the Tsar) and a broom (to sweep them away). The dog's head was also symbolic of "nipping at the heels of the Tsar's enemies." They were sometimes called the "Tsar's Dogs" on account of their loyalty to him. They also rode black horses in order to inspire greater terror. The Oprichniki were given orders to execute anyone who was disloyal to Ivan IV.

Fuck the Right Wing

The National Socialist movement, in the United States, has wasted a great deal of time and energy playing to the right wing... pretending to be patriotic and law abiding... I guess the reason for that is some people think the right wing has secretly stashed away the lost Nazi gold and if they 'play ball' they will get some of it... Fellas, it ain't going to happen. All we've ever got from the right wing is bullshit. What have we got to be 'patriotic' about? That these assholes in the Government have sold the people out to the big corporations and banks? Yeah, "America is wonderful" - now what?

We have waited since the end of World War II for the tumblers to line up and the big steel door to swing open. Well people, this is it! But you aren't any more ready than you were in 1967, or 1973. (If you can even remember way back when...) Remember Commander Rockwell getting the shit kicked out of him at the Pentagon - playing to the right wing - his tiny band all bloody and beaten? Remember the picture of him laying face down in front of the Laundromat? (Shot by one of his own guys...) Remember when the NSWPP was a party? (Before Mr. Cabbage decided to be St. Paul...) 

All the bullshit always comes from the right wing. Yeah, somebody said: "When Fascism comes to the USA it will be draped in the flag and carrying a Bible." What horseshit! You think you can do business with the Christians? They hate your guts. All they are waiting for is the end of the world. They don't want a better world - they want to be with Jesus! (And Jesus has been dead for two thousand years...) When Fascism comes to America it will be carried to victory by the people! Fascism is a socialist mass movement (and it has always been one)...

The right wing is a Mongolian fire drill... they have been retreating ever since the year one... giving ground to the Enemy... talking the same stale bullshit. Nothing ever gets done, nothing ever changes. There is no counter-attack. They say, "God, guns and guts made America great." Ha, there is no evidence that any of these even exist in America, let alone are a factor worth considering. So you have a gun? If you are afraid to shoot it off it isn't worth a damn. Once you do shoot it off the Government is going to blow you away... End of story. Because action is futile unless it is coordinated. And, you can't coordinate action if you don't trust each other - If you refuse to cooperate with others who have the same interests as you do...

One guy shoots it out with the Federales... everybody else watches it on the news... the guy becomes a 'martyr'. So what, he's dead or in prison now. 

"Oh, what a hero that guy was," they say. 

Who gives a fuck? He was a loner. A man of 'principle' in a world where principle and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee. Loners don't count for much because they can't win. The most constructive thing they can do is rig themselves up to a nuclear device and blow up a city... maybe that would get somebody's attention - especially if there were seven loners and each blew up a city!

Is that what we want - attention? Or do we want to change things? Neither makes any difference to a dead man. What matters is when all the loners get organized... When their actions are coordinated... When they succeed in overthrowing the rotten System and creating a New Order... Now, that is something that will bring you fame and fortune and glory... but to do this you have to win the struggle and triumph over all adversity, and somehow survive while everything around you is turning to shit... because it is not enough to die for your beliefs - you have to live for them!

Nobody wants to sacrifice himself to preserve the status quo. Because, frankly, it sucks. More and more people are realizing how bad it sucks everyday. That's why the right wing, and all the 'tea baggers', can't win. And, if they can't win then what good are they? 

That's why the Germans said "Hail Victory" (Sieg Heil) - because everything else is bullshit! The key to winning the struggle is playing to win. There is no such thing as a second place winner. You either win or you lose.

And, that's the Truth....

Tom Burnett Speaks

That black guy - and I voted for him,

Broke EVERY campaign promise he made.

He gave the actual, physical control of the Coast Guard to BP.

He let Bernanke, Summers and Geithner finish giving away the country to the rich and famous.

He is whining because we don't want him to keep borrowing 2 BILLION dollars a DAY from the Chinese to finance the TSA and the other wars against Americans and everyone else while Americans are beginning to starve.

He is letting the US slide right back into another sub-prime housing bubble which will get the REST of our money.

He is hiring bastards like Alan Simpson - and grinning like a damn lawn jockey while everyone in congress blames AMERICANS for wanting the Social Security we paid into our whole lives - while congress stole that money and replaced it with worthless US treasury bills - which are now going to default - and we are screwed.

This is stupid.  THEY MADE THE LAWS.  THEY REMOVED THE PROTECTIONS WHICH WERE IN PLACE TO PROTECT US.  THEY STOLE THE MONEY AND SPENT IT - AND THEY WON'T EVEN TELL US WHERE OR WHY. 

THEN THEY BLAME US FOR BEING STUPID ENOUGH TO LET THEM!  SO IT'S REALLY OUR OWN FAULT IF WE HAVE NO JOBS OR HOMES OR FOOD!  WE SHOULDN'T HAVE LET THEM DO IT!  I agree.  We ought to hang the bastards, every one of them.

Sorry for yelling, but the Arab Spring will be nothing compared to the Great American Civil War II. What the HELL are people thinking?  "THEY" aren't going to put "US" in FEMA death camps.  "WE" are going to put "THEM" in.  Except 'death camps' are too good for them.  Chain gangs are a much better use of government lawyers.  Cleaning up leaky nuclear plants.  Shoveling shit at polluted superfund sites. Filling potholes in the roads.  Guarding the border.

Oh, Senator!  You don't want to work?  You are 64 years old?  SO AM I, YOU DUMB BASTARD!  BUT INSTEAD OF BEING RETIRED, I'm a goddamn farmer so I can eat.  Not so I can go on cruises or inspection tours or ride in a limo.

I have never been on a cruise.  I will never get to Europe - I probably won't ever be able to get back to the US mainland.  I did get a fully paid vacation once.  Viet-Nam.  I only go to Oahu when I have to go the the effing hospital and I'm treated like a terrorist instead of a decorated combat veteran by people I'd shoot if they tried that groping shit with my child anywhere but at the airport.  

But they can do it there and I have to smile watching them rip diapers off 95 year old women - with terminal cancer - in wheelchairs.  If I say anything, I get beaten and arrested. I can't even afford dues for OathKeepers anymore - or a magazine subscription.  I used to like reading science magazines.  Now I have to go to the clinic to read National Geographic.  How cool is that? 

Bin Ladin may have been killed, but he won. He bankrupted the world and made Americans into cowards and sheep.  Some of them.  Not me.

It's too late to fix.  The world is off the cliff and is in free-fall but no one will admit it.  When it hits bottom, a lot of lives will change.  If the Department of EDUCATION sent a SWAT team to my house to take me to debtor's prison...something would change.  If the TSA set up a roadblock on my private road to x-ray my produce...something would change.  When an elderly American veteran, who has no one to talk to, goes to a VA center and tells a psychiatric counselor that he hates the president - but instead of getting a conversation - which is all he wanted - he gets arrested and charged -SOMETHING HAD BETTER CHANGE!  You don't treat combat veterans that way. Volunteers. Patriots.  Wounded. Scarred. You don't piss on us. Eventually we will piss back.

If the government doesn't grasp WHO THEY WORK FOR - AND THAT THEIR ONLY FUNCTION IS TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR THE CITIZENS - NOT WORSE - something will change.  It will be a hard change, but the government isn't to big to fail.

~ Dr. Tom Burnett

Wake up America!

Arab World in Chaos

As we watch the so-called "Arab Spring" we cannot but wonder what unseen forces are at work in these uprisings against the local governments. Is it a genuine desire for "freedom" and "democracy" or is it the handiwork of the CIA and its western counterparts around the globe?

Could it be possible that "Arab Spring" has been engineered by Corporate Capitalism in order to grab the last remaining oil resources on the planet?

Whatever the reason, the Arab world is in turmoil and disarray. It brings to mind the famous saying, "Whoever the gods wish to destroy they first turn mad".

Today it is anti-government protests in Yemen... supposedly another country on the brink of a civil war... Yesterday is was Iraq and Afghanistan and then, Since 18 December 2010, there have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt; a civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its regime; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen; major protests in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman, and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara... What in the world is going on?

An interesting repercussion

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters tried to occupy parts of Wall Street in order to express their anger at the existing fiscal system which favors the rich at the expense of ordinary citizens. The idea was to camp out for weeks or even months to replicate the kind of protests that erupted earlier this year in the Middle East.

The action was called by its organizers “The United States Day of Rage” which bears references to the “Day of Rage” in Saudi Arabia in March this year.

Similar actions, although lesser in scale, were organized in a number of other American cities.

The New York police met the protesters ahead of the game. By the time the protesters approached Wall Street, they found the area shut off, with metal barricades manned by police officers blocking the way.

In fact, this particular action apparently did not inflict much harm on the U.S. establishment. But the discourse surrounding it makes it possible to suggest that it may have long-lasting consequences.

In fact, despite the fact that the action was relatively small in scale, there are too many similarities with the events in the Middle East that have been labeled “the Arab spring”.

First, the organizers did not conceal that they are taking inspiration from what happened in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere across the Middle East. As one of the activist group wrote on Twitter, “Americans, it is now our time. The Tunisians did it, then the Egyptians. It is OUR time. It is OUR America.” Another group asked: “Is America ripe for a Tahrir moment?”

Second, the methods used by the organizers are copying the methods used in Egypt and Tunisia where the revolutions against the oppressive regimes were called “Twitter revolutions”. The use of social networks like Twitter and Facebook has become a tool that no law enforcement agency or special service can effectively confront.

Third, like in the Arab countries, the participants did not belong to any particular social or political group. There were scores of different organizations participating in it – from the left to anarchist to right-wingers. What united them was the common protest against corporate America that has usurped and corrupted the electoral process.

Now, some analysts ask, why hasn’t this kind of action taken place long ago, while the rest of the world is protesting against similar phenomena? One of the answers may be that until now, the protest movement in the U.S. has been channeled into in a more or less established movement, the "Tea Party", which still hopes to alter the existing system through electoral process.

But presently more and more Americans express doubt that the election process is as free as the establishment claims. The organizers of “The Day of Rage” wrote, “Unfortunately, free and fair elections are a thing of the past in America. Because of recent Supreme Court decisions, money is flowing freely and unaccountably into the American electoral process. Elections will be swayed by interests opposed to those of the people. Corporations, even those owned by foreign shareholders, will and do use money to act as the voices of millions, while individual citizens, the legitimate voters, are silenced and demoralized by the farce of American Democracy.”

And if the people fail to prevail through the legitimate electoral process in 2012, won’t it give a new impetus for the “American Tahrir Square”? And won’t it, then, mean that the “Arab spring” was just a beginning of the fall of Corporate Capitalism?

Indeed, people living in glass houses should not throw stones. This is probably something the U.S. Administration did not take into account while wholeheartedly supporting all kinds of “democratic revolutions” in the Middle East.

One thing is certain: Nothing is ever going to be the same....

Anti-Corporate Rally Held in St. Louis

"Darkness descends over the political process just as it has descended over government operations. Black Friday is black indeed, since any control we the people might want to assert over our future appears to have been effectively blacked out. But what of our universities, the third major institution of our society, and traditionally thought of as bastions of independent thought, investigation, pursuit of truth, and therefore light? But a university is first a foremost a product of the society within which it is embedded. Embedded in a free society, a university can be a beacon of light. Embedded in a totalitarian society, a university’s mission is to transmit the darkness." - Who We Are and What We Want, (RASP pamphlet)

Some 400 activists from across the country attended the anti-corporate Midwest Rising: Convergence 2011 in St. Louis, last month (Aug. 12-15). During the four days of action and training, people learned how to be better organizers and also how the capitalist system oppresses working people in America and all people everywhere, and destroys the environment.

The long weekend, hosted by Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, was filled with solidarity and empowerment for change in our communities. The first day featured workshops on organizing against oppression, neo-liberalism and capitalism. 

Following the workshops, a rally at Bank of America protested the bank's fraudulent attack against working-class people by refusing to modify their loans and foreclosing on them. People decided that they would pull their money out, but the bank was not having it. Not only did they not let people in to withdraw their money, but they had the nerve to have the St. Louis Police Department station riot police around the corner.

More than 100 people attended the action at the busy Market and Eighth Street intersection. Many passing motorists honked in support.

The Convergence continued the next two days with films and discussion on education and the environment, including a showing of the film "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman." Sunday was training for direct action and how to handle a situation involving blocking of intersections and dealing with police response against protesters, including being arrested.

Aug. 15 was the big hour and moment to show St. Louis corporate bosses that the people mean business and we hit hard. Midwest Rising split into different groups with one hitting Verizon to show solidarity and picket with the CWA workers on strike. Other groups protested Arch Coal for mountain-top removal and in support of the battle to save historic Blair Mountain; Monsanto for producing genetically-modified foods; the Board of Education for allowing education funds to be used instead to provide a tax credit for Peabody Energy, the world's largest coal company; and Representative Russ Carnihan's office, to ask him why he took a trip to Israel paid for by AIPAC.

Around mid-morning, people from the Appalachian-Arch Coal contingent showed up to support the CWA workers. Then, demonstrators were to head downtown, but the First Student bus company, which has a contract with the school board, refused to provide transportation, so protesters took the Metrolink to the downtown action.

Protesters gathered in a park and after a song, more than 100 people marched down Market Street and held the busy intersection connecting Bank of America’s regional offices and Peabody’s world headquarters until the police forced demonstrators onto the sidewalk. Fifteen people were arrested and taken to the notorious St. Louis City Justice Center. The action made a strong impact on families and workers in the area.

More of these rallies will be held across the country - because the people are getting sick and tired of the Corporate Capitalist System. It would be a shame to let this grass-roots movement against Corporate Capitalism be subverted by those with ulterior motives. So, get out there and get militant. Also be vigilant and operate in the stealth mode... You can be sure the agents of the Enemy will be present.

Nonetheless, we cannot afford to pass up these opportunities to create a climate for change....

Military Socialism

To really understand the concept of Socialism you have to look no further than the military. Let's take the Army for instance: If there was any question about how socialist the army is, they removed all doubt when they adopted their last slogan: Army of One. That sounds positively communist. Why don't they just call it the collective? And in the US military everyone pledges to support one another no matter what. No one gets left behind. Everyone gets government provided housing, health care, and even government clothing. The military is the most socialist institution we have.

People who join the military are taken care of. They are fed, provided with cheap or free transportation and accommodations, and given discounts on groceries and other goods. All this, thanks to collectivization. Of course, you have to be willing to kill others and die for your country. But in modern war everybody within the territorial confines of the nation is expected to do the same. A nuclear device detonated on a major US city will not ask to see your identification card, or which side you are on. And yet non-combatants are not entitled to the 'benefits' of military service - only to pay for them.

Our troops receive all kinds of benefits we would deem 'socialist' if they were provided to the population at large: medical care, housing, childcare, education assistance, pensions etc. Now, you may be quick to point out that maintaining a military is vital to securing the freedom and prosperity of our nation, and that we should be obliged to take care of our troops — I am inclined to agree — but that doesn’t negate the fact that the military is by definition a socialistic institution.

America actually tolerates a great many such institutions: the post office, public schools, unemployment benefits, social security, medicare, emergency services and so on. However, no one but the most hard-line libertarian idiot would suggest we do away with these programs.

That said, I’d like to point out that we socialists differ from the mainstream only in where we draw the line. Most people see no ideological conundrum in publicly funded defense against threats to our freedom. We socialists count the downhill slide to plutocracy among those threats.

In other words, Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy. The term plutocracy is generally used to describe these two distinct concepts: one of a historical nature and one of a modern political nature. Both indicate the political control of the state by an oligarchy of the wealthy. We call it 'Corporate Capitalism.'

Corporate Capitalism is the single greatest threat to the people of the World that exists today. Far more dangerous than North Korea, Iran, or all the terrorists put together. The aim of Corporate Capitalism is the destruction of nations and the enslavement of humanity... The end result: Hell with a happy face.

It has been said, "If you distribute the wealth evenly, it stops moving and the incompetents gain control over the competent." 

The interesting thing is that Corporate Capitalism is cutting salaries, stock dividends are almost as certain as winning the lottery, new technologies are being invented and produced by the Chinese, existing equipment is obsolete, and money is being spent cutting the costs of operation with no thought to the future.

It used to be that manufacturing and selling products was the way to make a profit. But nowadays, all attention is focused on cutting the costs of operation so that business can show immediate profits in the short term. Our industrial base is gone, our jobs have been 'out-sourced', and our country is going down the toilet. If we ever hope to be a mass movement in this country we have to champion the cause of the people - not the cause of a few rich people who are already on their way out. 

If WE don't get rid of the System somebody else will. 

Under the present System, the incompetents have already gained control over the competent. 

Therefore, I'll take Socialism over Corporate Capitalism any day....

Victory is Ours

The victory that so many have dreamed about is ready to fall into our hands like a ripe plum... It's just a matter of time. I can see it so clearly that the vision truly amazes me. Yes, there is still much work to do. But the steps on the path that leads to power are as plain as day... It is comforting to know with absolute certainty that our day is at hand. (Well, perhaps not that comforting to those who oppose us...)

Therefore, I would like to make an offer: (Call it a 'peace proposal'.)

In the 'New Society' there will be room for everybody... There will be no fear, or hunger, or want. Men will live in harmony with each other and with Nature. We will strive for excellence. We will respect the individual. And, we will serve the people. War and duplicity will be obsolete. We will not have to lie, cheat and steal to earn our 'daily bread'. Humanity will advance by honest labor, and all will share in both its division and in the wealth it creates.

If you should decide to oppose this vision of a New Commonwealth there are several options. Shall we explore them together?

We might disrupt your activities and make life very exciting for you. But, we would rather convince you of our sincerity by appealing to reason. That is, provided that you are sincere in your beliefs, and in your desire for a better world.

We might 're-educate' you. (In special centers designed for that purpose.) But, we would rather have you just as you are, because there is not that much difference between us. All men want the same things... People everywhere want Peace and Freedom! Why not put aside our differences and work together for the common good, and for common goals?

If you have 'romantic visions' of being a revolutionary we would be happy to oblige your fantasies. However, be mindful of the risks. After all, things did not turn out very well for 'Che'. Still, all dramas and secret fantasies must be acted out. It is only natural...

Where will you go when the whole world turns against you? Where will you hide? We offer sanctuary to those who are astute enough to grasp it. All you have to do is reach out...

Those who do not pose a threat will not be harmed. Those who see the error of their ways will not be persecuted. There is no shame in changing your mind. There is no dishonor in admitting your mistakes. We shall not be petty or vindictive.

However, to those who are not contrite, and to those who oppose us with acts of violence, we must simply say, "Everyone will receive a full measure of Justice."

We might make the 'evil-doers' disappear and erase all evidence of their ever having been on this planet. Historically, whole families have fallen prey to these kinds of disasters. Do you have any relatives now living on the planet Earth?

If you are an 'enemy of the people' it is necessary that your thinking be modified; because, in your present state, you are a danger to yourself and others. To carry out edicts and policies that are harmful to humanity will be considered a criminal act. Don't do it. Your job is simply not worth obliteration. We know that you are loyal and brave, but we hope that you are not also stupid... The victory of humanity is a certainty - don't go against the wave of the Future!

Let us be optimistic and positive! We can and will work together. The alternative is merely a waste of time, energy and resources. Everyone knows that this is true. So, why would you want to sacrifice yourself for a system that is on its way out? Give yourself, instead, to a noble cause - the Future!

If you can do this then you are already one of us. Give some thought to 'pledging your alliegiance'. 

Remember: Desperate times call for desperate measures....