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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Arvin Hill
Published Letters: 85 Editor's Choice: 2
That's the problem. It is time for the truth to be told and we cannot bring ourselves to tell it.
We can speak the truth until we're blue in the face and drained of our last salty tear. As long as one doesn't mind being excoriated, belittled, harassed and ignored - and that's just from Democrats - voicing unpleasant truths is as worthwhile, and dangerous, as it's always been.
American culture, as dictated by our national religion of Consumerism, is largely monolithic in its lack of intellectual curiosity. We prefer myth to reality, and every institution competing for the money in our pockets and the blood coursing through our veins is more than happy to present that myth as truth. There's big money in myth. Truth, not so much.
Most Americans have no idea such a dichotomy even exists; to the extent they entertain the occasional doubt, precious few are willing to part with the only belief system they have ever known. The American Myth is an old pair of jeans - baby soft, with worn holes and busted seams - that we know we'll never fit into again, yet cannot bring ourselves to discard.
Those who possess some awareness of where myth and truth intersect and diverge are richly rewarded for using that knowledge for material gain. No one is easier to exploit and control than the American man or woman who accepts conventional wisdom at face value. I should know: I'm in advertising.
Conversely, speaking the truth - regardless of how one chooses to deliver it - is more likely to yield social alienation, a conflagration at your next family gathering or a long, long wait for a brand new job that pays half as much as your old one.
Face it: In our society, lying pays. It might even get you a Medal of Honor or a seat in Congress or The White House. At the very least, even for a peon like me, the skilled liar gets the promotion over the skilled worker who feels compelled to tell the truth.
Myth is America's drug of choice. It's a damn hard habit to break.
WHY ARE YOU WASTING YOUR TIME?
It is folly to assume that publishing opinions - particularly opinions which challenge the authority of our One Party State - is (a.) useless, and; (b.) without risk.
A couple of months after starting my blog - and well before the illegal surveillance story broke - I received a series of hits from military installations, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Federal Judiciary, and some other Washington, D.C. footprints... all in less than a half-hour. Believe me, it was a sobering experience. It was one thing to know fellow citizens disagreed with my opinions, but it was something else entirely to see that my government considered me, on some level, a threat. It was jarring. And it confirmed my belief that post-911 USA had become something other than a Constitutional democratic republic.
Since that time, I've had little, if any, doubt that my every correspondence and phone conversation has been recorded and dumped into some file somewhere. People scoff when I relate this story. They find it hard to believe that some malcontent with a blog getting fifty hits on a busy day could be considered a threat by the mighty U.S. government. But it isn't blogs that cause Uncle Sam such concern - it's ideas. Luckily for The Federales, ideas rarely extend beyond signing a petition or writing letters to politicians and media outlets which care not one whit what you or I think.
I was rattled by the experience, but I didn't let the intimidation stop me from publishing opinions which remain unpopular and troubling even among those who are often mistaken for my allies.
So, Anonymous, when you ask, ever so rhetorically: Sure, it's fun to spout your opinion, but really, would you be spouting it if you knew you'd go to jail for it? I can answer in the affirmative, and not without some trepidation. At the rate my country is descending into a totalitarian nightmare - and considering the general apathy and carelessness of the compliant citizenry - the prospect of being incarcerated for expressing opinions deemed "dangerous" by The State isn't as far-fetched as it may seem.
You also write: So your letter writing is all quite futile. Safe, but futile. If you can accept the possibility that "letter writing" isn't the "safe" activity you thought it was, then you might also reconsider the futility part of your assertion. Although I've struggled with the same sentiment with regard to blogging, the truth is, we don't really know how our words will affect any given reader - and, despite our curiosity, it isn't necessary that we do. Even if opining publicly serves no other purpose than to provide others with an indication they are not alone - isolated and powerless - that is no small thing, my friend.
Lastly, you err by assuming the person sharing his or her opinions online is otherwise disengaged from other forms of activism. Some are and some aren't. Better to focus on the content of the message than making ill-founded assumptions about the messenger.
Don't let your frustration, understandable as it is, get the better of you. Leave the instant gratification mindset behind, once and for all, and make a serious effort to understand the generational nature of the struggle for freedom and justice. Doing so will allow you to see that, although we may never see progress in our lifetime, there is honor and value in every act of resistance, no matter how insignificant such acts may appear in the Here & Now.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
