I discovered the following interesting blog post while browsing. I think the author might have been a bit frustrated over this cartoon business!
Unless you're living under a rock, you will no doubt have heard about the latest outbreak of violence by muslims in various parts of the world in response to derogatory cartoons lampooning Islam. But have you also heard that the Danish newspaper involved also refused to run cartoons critical of Christianity a while ago because they would "provoke an outcry"?
Here in Australia I have heard much criticism (and outright hate speech) against muslims in recent days because of the violence, tragedy and destruction wrought in the backlash against these cartoons. Yes, what has been perpetrated by a minority of religious fanatics is wrong, and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. But, as the old saying goes, "It takes two to Tango". Where is the condemnation of the media barons who rubbed these cartoons in the face of these people, all the while trumpeting the sacred values of "freedom of expression"?
We live in an age where mainstream media hypocrisy and double-standards are reaching sickening new lows. Muslim fury may have exploded, but it was the newspapers of Europe, New Zealand, and elsewhere that lit the fuse. Why can people not see that muslims are reacting like robots to a stimulus that has been intended to provoke them into just this kind of anger?
It is beyond overdue that the media giants of this world - the TV stations, the newspapers and tabloids, radio broadcasters, and their owners, editors and journalists - be held accountable for propagating slander and lies to the detriment of humanity at large. Yet still they distribute the same lies, one-sided narratives and opinion masquerading as "facts", day after day, and get away with it scott free! "Iraq has WMDs!" they scream, paving the broad path of public opinon for the rolling US war juggernaut to inflict psychopathic, conscienceless murder against hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. In the aftermath, as questions begin to arise, the media look around with a guilty little grin and say, "Whoops! Guess we were wrong after all", and proceed in the exact same direction as before, with minimal reprisals from a citizenry too docile or selfish to care.
And now, with yet another invasion of the Middle East on the horizon, the air-siren wailing of mainstream media propaganda begins to crescendo to the same, if not louder, volumes as before. "Iran has nukes! We must defend our 'Western values' of freedom and democracy!". All the while papering over the inconvenient facts that there is no real proof of a nuclear weapons program, and Iran IS a democracy of its own. The right-wing columists and neoconservative shills yell out, "But it's not a REAL democracy! It's run by religious crazies!" while simultaneously lauding the appointment of Christian ideologue judges to the Supreme Court and extolling the virtues of government-funded "faith-based initiatives" over home-grown secular social programs. Separation of Church and State? "It's responsible for the moral decay of our society!" they shriek. The putrid stench of hypocrisy rolls from their every pore in sickening clouds.
Religious fundamentalism of ALL kinds in this world, whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, needs to be challenged. It needs to have a mirror held up to it so it can be SEEN for what it is, but this can only occur if the interests involved in presenting such a mirror do so in an unbiased, objective way for the good of ALL humanity, not merely one or two groups of beneficiaries (such as other belief systems ganging up on a chosen target).
Yet we can clearly see this is not the case at the moment. Or at least, some of us can. The majority appear to simply buy into it. They willingly open up their skulls like a tin of fruit and allow their preferred newspaper and news channel to simply pour pre-formed opinions in like a bowl of jelly mix, where it soon sets into a quivering mass of reactionary hate and lunacy, all ready to wobble in indignation at the latest perceived outrage against their life of SUV-driving, hobby-filled convenience.
Another significant (and perhaps slightly more intelligent) section of the population have an ingrained skepticism of what is spoken at them by the government and media, yet are unable to reconcile this skepticism with a belief that society and its leaders are basically good "deep down", instead of rotten to the core. This clash of conflicting viewpoints in their minds causes negative emotion, and stirred momentarily to find an outlet for their suppressed anger they lash out at "liberals" and "activists", claiming that they offer problems and negative commentary day after day, yet offer no practical solutions for what is to be done.
These types seem to be too lazy, cowardly or self-absorbed to consider a simple point: It's not up to anyone else to decide for them what they should be doing with THEIR lives. They claim to have a "balanced view" and always "consider both sides" of every story, yet barely differ from the majority described above. They wish to have and form their own opinions (which are very rarely anything new or innovative), but still prefer not to do anything unless someone else can be found to act as a scapegoat for any negative consequences that might disturb their equilibrium. They are cowards who dream themselves as heroes.
There are also many (a minority, yet numbering in the millions) who know that "things just aren't right" and are willing to try and open their minds and overcome programmed beliefs, yet don't have the will to speak out against the social tide that is reshaping Western democracy into the bastion of Neo-Fascism, for fear of reprisals. "What can we do?" they cry out.
Think of something simple. A direction; an AIM, and start doing it. And if you're really, really stuck for suggestions, then I'll suggest one, just this once - just to get you started. It's a very simple idea, something that will actually free up more of your time to figure out what you really CAN do to help fight the social pathology sweeping the world in these perilous times. It's this:
Turn off your TV.
If "cold turkey" doesn't work for you, try it a bit at a time. For the hour(s) or so that you normally watch "Teenage Idol" or "Sitcom involving people having sex"(tm), just turn off the TV, and do something, ANYTHING, else. Something that interests you. Something that you might think others might be interested in. Whatever. It can be anything. Just don't watch that brain-numbing idiot box.
Television is the biggest weapon in the hands of the enemy, and the battle is, and has always been, for your mind. If you don't know where to get your news from without a TV, start searching the Internet. Alternative news sites are flourishing on the 'net, as people turn away from the mainstream media in droves - hungry for real news, objective commentary and simple TRUTH. But don't believe everything you read - always try and verify for yourself if what is being reported or said is true. Compare the reports in the alternative media against those from the bigwigs; see for yourself what is (and more importantly, what isn't) reported, and HOW it is reported. Begin to examine the ways in which psychology crafts the influences you receive from the larger world. Don't assume anything.
Where we go from here, I leave to you. The UNIVERSE gives you the potential to realise true freedom. No nation, no state, no society or culture or system of government can guarantee freedom - the ability to BE is a divine attribute. And you don't need to worship the "one and only true god" in order to realise the nature of the divine. Life is religion, or it can be if you are willing to follow your heart and not the doctrine of pleasure and pain that the rulers of this world would seek to trap us within.
The opportunity is always there. It's always been there, and it's there right now.
Red Pill, anyone?
