WAR IS ALL THE RAGE THESE DAYS

WAR IS ALL THE RAGE THESE DAYS

        Non-violence is out of vogue. How could it be otherwise? We have been at war for over thirteen      years. So since the war began all the propaganda and mentality to support war have been the order of the day. You are a hero for merely putting on the uniform not for what you do in it. Young Adult Fiction is full of post-apocalyptic stories of horror and chaos. It is a dark threatening world out there and you need to protect yourselves from all these people who want to demand your conformity. What a great way to appeal to teenagers. The world has to be full of scary people and things to continue to see the need to fight. Some of this string of reality may be healthy but we are overdosed with it.
         The dark side is immigrants are now threats to our democracy, white police officers are trigger happy when approaching blacks, and refugees are invited terrorists to our land. We are consumed with paranoia. Violent oppression of minorities is usually greater when we are at war. So the majority being whites are demanding their country back in order to make it great again. These feelings are only going to get worse as war abroad continues. When everyone is convinced of the war mentality we will have to fight each other here at home. We offer the explanation more guns will lead to less violence as the violence continues to grow.
          Politicians are now instead of compromising choosing sides in preparation for the Armageddon that is on the horizon. If you do not believe me listen to Glenn Beck and others on the right. Beck and some other talk radio host are now hawking different commodities based on the unavoidable collapse of society. You need to buy gold because when the economy collapses your paper money will be worth nothing. Or be sure to buy ready-made food supplies to prepare for when the government collapses and food is no longer available. Buy guns to prepare to defend yourself against a government gone rogue. I want to ask which is it? Is the government collapsing or going rogue? It’s both I am sure.  Amazingly as they try to prepare you for the fall of our government and economy they assure us they are the true patriots with the best interest of our country. Myself of course have the viewpoint people who talk me down and act like I am some threat to their existence are not consider my best supporters.
              They even talk about non-violence. Beck especially talks about arming yourself with guns but use non-violent methods to deal with our political crises. He does this in one breath and in the next breath spends fifteen minutes ridiculing and slandering people who he disagrees. I guess he missed the memo where non-violence included your language.
              Now here is my suggestion. Let us return to a mentality of non-violence. It would help with bi-partisanship. There would be no more inflammatory language, name calling, or demonization. All things necessary for a war mentality to whip up the masses to go to war. There would be no more Us and Them language. We would recognize each other as brother and sister in the same family. There would be no more not listening to each other. It would still be time to make peace not war. There would be no more my viewpoint or the highway. A viewpoint is something a soldier is to never lose so they can be more effective. Politicians have to support the boys no matter what in a war mentality. There would be no more we need to meet violence with more violence. This is a war mentality. There would be no more need to deny the other sides facts and information. In a war mentality facts that do not support the war are propaganda. Finally decisions would not be based on fear or ideologies but love for one other.  
 
          Now of course some will say that sure is pie in the sky thinking. Of course you would we have all been captured by a culture in a war mentality for thirteen years. Non-violence is not in vogue but maybe we can start a new fad and get out of this rut we have driven ourselves into. Maybe just maybe with a little touch up here and there non-violence can make a comeback.