Before and After
May 17th, 2006 | by Dr. Forbush |In olden days before the Internet it was written, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Edward George Bulwer Lytton (1803-1873)
This seems to be a reasonable assumption. A person writing a pamphlet, for example, like Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” was able to start not one but two revolutions. A little known piece of history was that Thomas Paine tried to start a revolution in England before he came to America in 1774. And, when he arrived in America he found that America was ripe for revolution. He spread his revolutionary words anonymously through out North America and made a good penny doing it. But, not only that, after he left America he went to France and was instrumental in the spread of the revolutionary word there as well. So, one man, three countries and one pen were able to bring about enormous change.
Today the strength of the pen means more than ever before. However, instead of a pen we are armed with a keyboard connected to the world through the Internet. And, because of its easy access to the community of the world mankind may be saved by individuals like Thomas Paine spread their ideas around the world.
Like the sword, however, power is neither “good” nor “bad.” When evil men wield a sword great damage may be done. And, with a weapon more powerful more damage may be done. We have seen this already with the damage the right wing extremists have done to America by spreading the lies of the right and making it possible for George W Bush to be elected despite the truth.
It may seem hopeless for those who look out among the masses of Americans believing the lies of the right. In your heart you know the truth, but you can not make those you love believe the truth. Sitting around the dinner table at Christmas or Easter you might find yourself arguing with your cousin or uncle, begging him to believe the truth. And, after those meals you go home and feel the pain of a broken relationship. “Can you ever forgive their ignorance?” you think to yourself. But deep down you pray that these people you love will come to see the truth. This must be the feeling that a disillusioned Fundamentalist Christian must have when they see the people they love reject their extremist views of religion. The feeling is the same, but the truth is the solution.
Truth isn’t always easy to come by, but it seeps into reality through the cracks in the doors and windows of constructions that the liars create. The truth surfaces when people see the inconsistencies in the web of lies. The liars hope to hide the inconsistencies by directing attention away from them. Time erases memory, and liars use this to their advantage. Forgetting certain facts and highlighting other “facts” is the strategy used by liars to keep their lies alive. But, when the old facts resurface the inconsistencies resurface as well. Pointing to the inconsistencies over and over again is the best way to shine the light on the ongoing deception.
One example of this is the fact that the Bush administration pressed for war by lying to the American people by scaring them with the potential of being attacked with nuclear weapons. Both George W Bush and Condi Rice warned us “…the smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud.” But today these liars tell us that bad intelligence, bad terrorists, or bad Saddam make the current ongoing destruction in Iraq worthwhile. Well, at least that is what they said until Karl Rove has decided to change the lie and put a new face on it.
Yesterday Karl Rove began to tell us that people like George W Bush, they just don’t like the War in Iraq. What?!!! George W Bush is the man responsible for this WAR, and Karl Rove is trying to deflect the criticism of this debacle? Is this not deception? The Obfuscaters in the White House are deceiving us in the hopes that the most naïve will say, “Oh, that’s right I’d like to have a beer with this guy.” Or maybe, “He has a cute way of saying nuclear. He’s just like me. I mispronounce words too.” Or even worse, “He’s stupid just like me. I like that.”
But, this is when we need to use the pen just like a sword to defend the truth. We need to use the Internet to remind the world of the lies that were told by this guy that Karl Rove is trying to paint as your Buddy-In-Chief. It is your duty to go out there and remind us about those lies that this guy told us, and we all need to repeat them often.
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Don’t forget what Stephen Colbert said, “Reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
Cross Posted @ Bring It On, tblog, Blogger and BlogSpirit
2 Responses to “Before and After”
By Paul Jordan on May 17, 2006 | Reply
“The primary crime of Organized Crime is plagerism, Government already exists.”
pjordansr 2006
I wish that statement weren’t true, but alas, we have let a criminal element in. I commented earlier that I really do believe in the Mouse That Roared, we can strike with a keystroke and impact something, somewhere. To remain silent is unthinkable.
By ken grandlund on May 17, 2006 | Reply
Paine was a remarkable man for his times, despite personal quirks, something we all posess.
I used Paine as my inspiration when I began to blog, hence my blog name, Common Sense. When we use the power of our voices to rise up against injustice, we honor the men and women who formed this country some 230 years ago.
It is serendipitous, I think, that the viability of the internet has come along and blossomed into the personal pulpit that it is just when we are experiencing assaults on or civil liberties. It is a tool of free expression and we must use it as best we can. As long as we can.