Post: #1

Mike Prysner, an Iraqi war veteran, speaks out.  He is what I would call one brave soldier!

#

And how about another video that's well worth watching.



And, a video from another war veteran, Scott Ewing:

#

Scott Ewing Part 2:



And a link with a more of the same type of videos, but many of these have been removed, supposedly for Terms of Use violations.  More likely they are now gone because they are even more horrific than the ones that are still up!

Post: #2

Thanks for posting these videos up Mark, I've always had support for the troops, but have always been against the war. The more and more I hear about these occupations, the more my mind draws parallels between the German Nazis we Americans love to despise, ridicule, and characterize as 'evil people', and our own intentions and procedures. In the same manner we look back at the Nazi war machine and think "How could they have done these atrocious things?", "How could the German soldiers comply with orders of mass executions?", "How could the German people stand by and watch the events unfold in front of their faces?", others in the future may look back at the American people and ask those very same questions.

We are hypocrites. We pride ourselves on "saving" the Jewish people from extermination. I remember hearing derogatory comments towards the French because we had to "save their asses from the Nazis". But all we are doing is the same thing as the Nazis. We are not exterminating 'Jews' but we are exterminating 'Terrorists'. The label of 'terrorist' is only broader and not rooted in ethnicity. But the result remains the same. We are using their presence as justification for criminal, and beyond immoral, behavior, the same way Nazis used the presence of Jews for justification of their crimes.

Studying psychology, I can see how the government/politicians use the knowledge we have about the human mind against its own citizens in order to keep up support for their agenda. Milgram's studies of obedience come readily to mind. The saddest thing is that the average American laughs in the face of psychology while they boldly assert that they make up their own minds and that no one could convince them otherwise, while ironically and tragically, they are indeed having their minds made up for them.

The power of denial is strong, and many Americans are indeed denying the truth of the events that are taking place abroad, in our name. Even last night, I was riding in the car with some friends (whom I consider to be relatively well educated), and we saw a cat that had been run over in the street. We discussed checking the body for tags, in order to contact the owner. We decided not to and my friend justified it by saying "I'm sure someone else has already done it." I laughed, because that's a perfect example of Diffusion of Responsibility. Kitty Genovese died because of this phenomenon, when everyone assumes someone else has already taken responsibility and acted on it. When I pointed it out to him, he denied it and vehemently stated that he was sure someone had called the owner. Then referencing the Kitty Genovese example, he said the cat isn't that important, but if someone was getting stabbed in front of his apartment, that he would go out with a bat and protect them. I told him he had a good heart, but I don't believe that he really would, and that the studies have shown many people will say one thing, but act in a completely different manner when actually placed in such a situation.

There are many studies that have shown results that are contrary to what we want to believe about ourselves. None of the original participants in Milgram's obedience studies would have said they would be willing to shock a fellow participant with up to 450 volts of electricity, a surely lethal intensity. However, an overwhelming percentage of participates did in fact do so. Even this evidence he refused to accept, categorizing it as a 'difference in perspective'.

Seeing as how this situation wasn't serious, or more importantly, didn't have any permanent, life changing consequences, it wasn't a big deal. But if the majority of the population is even close to that level of denial, then we may be in big trouble..

How will the American people choose to write history? Undoubtedly, no matter what the outcome, some will still hold the view of 'liberation and freedom'. Hopefully the majority of people will see war for what it really is, and will see our politicians for what they really are -- parasites and manipulators.

Post: #3

(12-22-2009 5:07 PM)Phya Wrote:  How will the American people choose to write history?

They may not have to worry much about it, as there just may not be any soveriegn nations around in the future, including the U.S.A.

Obama's latest parlor trick; Granting Interpol special priveleges, exemptions and immunity!  https://pherotruth.com/Thread-One-more-s...Government

Post: #4

Phya, that is an eloquent and powerful post! Too many times we are willing to point the finger of blame at others, terrorists, billionaires, corporations, liberals, elitists, outsiders, insiders, whites, blacks, the establishment, the anarchists, the lazy, the rich, the uneducated, the ivory towers. The finger of blame truly points right back at me, at us, at the American who lives on the fat of our abundance and complains and litigates and hides from reality and responsibility.

The sad part is that running out to protect a neighbor is easy compared to giving up our instant gratification world.