WAR...what is it good for? I'll tell you...

Recently the amazing Ken Burns documentary, The War, has been on PBS and let me just say, if you haven't seen it do yourself a favor. If you have kids I think it's a must that you watch it with them. Not only for the fact that it's a great history lesson-one that school can't even come close to teaching-but also because it shows how when a war is a "just" war , the nation sacrifices and gets behind the soldiers and their president.

World War 2 was a horrible event in history. One that was inevitable, unavoidable and necessary. Even if we hadn't been attacked at Pearl Harbor we would've been drawn into it eventually in Europe. Hitler was literally planning world domination and had actually developed plans to eventually invade the United States (as did Japan). We basically had no choice. It was a good thing we did as it turned out quite nice for democracy (and communism) but not so much for Nazism and socialism. Either way it shows what a real war is and why they should be fought (for the sake of saving humanity - not controlling oil and military contracts).


It's a travesty to me what is ignored in this country nowadays. Blackwater, Political corruption, Halliburton, Focus on The Family, The Bush Family (I could go on forever)-why do these things even exist in a supposed free thinking, forward, progressive society? Whatever happened to Separation of church and state? How the hell does a right-wing neo-conservative evangelical puppet become leader of the most powerful country on earth? The American people brought this on themselves and should be seriously ashamed.

Things need to change drastically.
We need serious social, economic, and political reform.
There needs to be a revolution.
From all the recent "re-emergence" of racism (it never went away- it was just swept under the rug) to the war on the middle class, the war for oil in Iraq, and the blatant, outright acceptance of hatred towards homosexuals, illegal immigrants, Muslims, and many others. This country is in a downward spiral. It never truly learned from it's past mistakes, it never truly tried to make up for them. The wounds never healed and now they are infected again. How can you expect attitudes and behaviors to change within a generation? It's not possible. It takes several.

People want to fight a war?
There is no need to leave the country.

A war is being fought everyday here. The war on "drugs". It's really a war on the people of this country (mainly the poor). It's reason to make more billions of dollars and control more millions of people. It's a travesty that the same people that are "crusaders" in this war by arresting and convicting people for drugs, then go home and take their percocets, valium, zoloft, paxil, oxycontin, lunesta, and on and on and on. American Hyprocrisy at it's best.

We need people here to stand up and start pushing back. Pushing back against the government, against the President, and against conservative ideals. They are poison to this country and work to segregate and subjugate people.
It's astonishing to me that the Vietnam generation are the ones responsible for the Iraq generation. They set it up. They control it. They benefit from it. I guess either not that many people were truly into it, or it really was all just a joke.

What a shame.

When people die young, especially influential people, we always wonder what if...

What if they lived?
What others accomplishments would they of achieved?
What influence would they of had?
What would be different?

I've always wondered that about Bob Marley. He died way to early, but accomplished more in his short life and then 100 people do in a lifetime. He represents the true power music can have. Not just to affect people but also politics, countries and movements. He was a true genius, and the greatest songwriter in the history of music. His influence is still felt today and will always be felt.

I'll end by posting the lyrics to his song, WAR.

If you really must fight, pick your battles carefully...

See at bottom for link...


WAR

What life has taught me
I would like to share with
Those who want to learn...

Until the philosophy which hold one race
Superior and another inferior
Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
Everywhere is war, me say war

That until there are no longer first class
And second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man's skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war

That until the basic human rights are equally
Guaranteed to all, without regard to race
Dis a war

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace, world citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion
To be pursued, but never attained
Now everywhere is war, war

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique
,South Africa
sub-human bondage
Have been toppled, utterly destroyed
Well, everywhere is war, me say war

War in the east, war in the west
War up north, war down south
War, war, rumours of war
And until that day, the African continent
Will not know peace, we Africans will fight
We find it necessary and we know we shall win
As we are confident in the victory

Of good over evil, good over evil, good over evil
Good over evil, good over evil, good over evil

See a great performance ( a little changed) of this song here by Sinead Oconnor. Her infamous SNL Pope skit. I LOVE IT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owa_CFBAWpw&feature=related