American Shock

America Knows Ahead of Attacks on India?

2008-12-02T07:53:00.001-08:00

Was the US Government fully aware of the possible terror attacks on India, yet the Indian authorities were undermining the warning message? The BBC reported is disturbing. If India was negligent, its authorities must be blamed on being lax on securities. Also, police response was far from perfect.

The US warned India about a possible threat at least a month before last week's Mumbai attacks, US media have quoted unnamed officials as saying.

One official said India had been told of an apparent plot to launch an attack from the sea, the AP agency reports.

The reports came as India's navy chief said there had been "systemic failures" in the country's security and intelligence services.

At least 188 people are now known to have died in the coordinated attacks.

The allegations are likely to add to the growing public anger that the attacks were not prevented.

India's home minister and the chief and deputy chief ministers of Maharashtra state have all resigned amid criticism of the government's handling of the crisis.

The Role of Government

2008-11-20T19:03:00.001-08:00

For a great amount of time, perhaps for the greater part of the civilization of the world, mankind has been under authority. And, when it came to the origin of the rights of this authority, it had always been force. Barbaric rulers of an uncivilized people would not answer questions with arguments or reasoning, but rather with brute and unrestricted force.

To what right does a man, namely the king, or despot, or dictator, to what right does he have to control the lives of all the men around him Philosophers, who are sometimes little better than absolute products of the societies they develop in, would defend these ridiculous and cruel governments.

They might point to the sky and say that the gods praise such an emporer, or that without a ruler there would be disorder and chaos, and the rights of the people would not be respected at all. Whatever the case may be, no thoughtful or intelligent person today believes that any ruler should have absolute power, that there should be no check to his political abilities. Today, we hail the system of representative government as the great liberator, the mechanism of society that allows each of its members to engage in the process of governing the whole. For a great deal of the world, this system of representation has replaced the system of monarchs and kings. There are still countries in Europe, even ones we consider "progressive," which hold positions for kings and queens, whom weild powerful political powers.

Revolutions were waged, in which millions of people would die, so that the system of monarchy was completely removed and the system of representation installed. What was the essential desire of these revolutionaries, when they were overthrowing their governments What hope, or goal even, was it that they desired to achieve, when they entered the battlefields to end the power of despots and kings Without a doubt, I think that everyone knows the answer to this: people wanted to create a government system of representation because it most effectively allows the people of that nation to govern themselves. The people of every nation and of every age have given an importance to the matter of governing their own lives.

When the government of the time decides to take some action, whether it is military, or commercial, or domestic, or international, or when it raises or decreases taxes, or starts a war or not, all of these are issues of the whole body of a nation. The citizens of that country make up the tissues and organs of this body. Their ancestors from far ago had come together as countrymen and as citizens of the same nation, that they might offer mutual aid and benefit to each other. The social contract was created based on the principles of reciprocity. As members of a collective based on a reciprocal ethic, the members of this society believed that they each had an equal say in the determination of the future of this body they called the group.

The most effective method, to the opinions of these people, for creating a system in which all of their opinions were counted was that of a representative government. People would elect a person to rule over them. The creed that was attached to this representative system was that the people would be able to choose the person who would rule them, and therefore, they would be able to create a system of government that would be effective.

If the people desired to alter the military standing of the government, or the policies of commercial dealings, or the matters of national, international, domestic, or other affairs, then the people had the right to vote. By this vote, they could alter the government's standing on these affairs, by choosing a representative to change these policies. In this respect, the people had control over the government, or so was their justification for this sentiment. The forms of government that are based on dictatorship or despotism or monarchy, these forms of government were regarded as the enemy of the people, and with reason. If men are to be in control of their lives, then a king with great military might is in the wrong, when he can simply enforce whatever regulation or policy or law that he desires.

With that respect, it seems that there is enough justification for the theory of a representative government. The trial of representative government has been tried in all parts of the world. What has its result been When trying to understand the mechanics of a representative government, there are certain things that must be taken into consideration.

First, the representative government, no matter what branches it has, or what formation it might take, or whether it is combined with a hereditary government to create a sort of hybrid, no matter any of these circumstances, there is one thing that must be considered above all: there are two classes, the ruled and the ruling. That is to say, there are essentially two types of people: those who are given the power to rule, and those who are not given the power to rule. Individuals who support the idea of a republican government will not argue me in this fact. There is a clear distinction in this society of who is in chargeand who is under rule.

The second observation that must be considered is that of human nature. That is to say, each individual person, whether ruled or ruler, has that set of emotions that we understand human beings to have. Particular to our inquiry, the emotion of self-interest is to be considered. When we look to the ruling parties, we see they are humans, not robots -- they are conscious beings, not constitutions or charters or laws. As human beings, they have this desire of self-interest.

What is it that this self interest impels them to do I imagine some government enthusiasts, some aspiring promoter of the republican form of government, will come up to me and say, "They will do what is best for all of society. They will only enact good laws, improving the society and their world." If it is true that every politician thought this, then I imagine there would be no need to have a representative government at all. After all, if a politician honestly thinks this, no matter what politician, then I imagine that kings and queens would feel this as well, and that there would be no effective difference between a representative government and a dictatorship. In fact, if one can bestow upon every politician the character of a saint, then I see no reason why such a character cannot be bestowed upon every member of the ruled class.

There is a not-so stunning realization that is had here. The only reason, at least as far as supporters of the representative government go, the only reason why government exists is to protect the rights of the people. If it proves to be true that all of mankind is saintly, without even a slight inkling of sin or cruelty or brutality, then there is no need for government, since there would be no infringement of anyone's rights. So, we come to the realization, that mankind is not inherently good, nor is he inherently evil.

Returning to the abovementioned question, what would the desire of self-interest lead the ruling class of society to do Since like any humans, they have a self-interest that cares for their personal security and welfare, we can expect that the ruling class will act not completely unlike the ruled class. What kind of interests do people normally have Usually, to secure and protect their own rights: the right to life, liberty, and property. As members of the ruling class, the easiest and most effective way of maintaining these rights is the capability of power.

Power. By this word, I mean the ability to enforce a rule, or suppress an outbreak, or otherwise repress the natural tendencies of others. We see demonstrations of power everyday, in our police forces and our militaries, united with courts and prisons, judges and juries. The ruling class wants to maintain their power, because it is in their own best interests. There can be no doubt or skepticism towards this one fact. After all, if the ruling class -- a group made up of kings and queens, presidents and governors, senators and congressmen -- if these people truly were saints and had the interests of the people as their best desire, then government would have no purpose of existing. The ruling class, to maintain their interests as human beings, want to maintain their power. That is, above all, their primary interest, as determined by their disposition in life.

I don't think any educated person honestly doubts this. The ruling class has the interest of maintaining their power, above all other interests. The rights of the people, the liberty of the citizens, all of these are second grade interests to any politician. There may be some exceptions to these statements, but it must be admitted to act as a general rule. What does it mean, then, for a ruling class to boulster its power Among these first acts, there is the act of criminalizing the act of treason.

When I speak of a treason, what am I talking about Treason might rightly be regarded as perhaps the only act that is truly inspired by the will of free men and turned into a living life realization by men who are not only free of heart, but liberated of mind and with an undying will power. For a collective of people to demand that their opinions be regarded, that the land they work must also be the land that they own, these are the true calls of freedom and liberty.

It can be granted without a doubt, that treason and rebellion, an armed revolution backed with the peasatry, may be considered the most sincere and the most honest reflection of the people's will. The vote has done nothing. The representatives have done nothing. The system of representative government has been a failure like every philosopher predicted. It was not enough. The people took up arms to change things for themselves, through direct action! And yet, this most sincere, most honest form of the will of the people, of delivering power to the individuals who inhabit the countryside and the city, is considered TREASON! It is an act of TREASON for any person to believe that they have a right to live their life as they desire.

And what is the punishment for this crime of Treason In all nations, there seems to be a uniformity here: the punishment for treason is death. There are no negotiations, no arguments, only the logic of the guillotine, only the sense of justice ommitted by the gallows. Why is it that the most sincere form of human expression has been punished with the most brutal forms of punishment Because, the ruling class has the interest of maintaining power, and by destorying any other uprising of power, they have succeeded in maintaining their positions.

Opposition to the government, that is to say, a support of the peoples' right to be heard, and an opposition to the government's right to smother them -- yes, true treason! -- has been regarded as the uptmost of crimes. But, only by the governments of the world. What other acts have been forbidden by the governments of the world The actions of freedom of speech. The very first presidents of the United States of America made it a crime to say a single word when it was a word against the government.

I'm sure you are all familiar with the Alien and Sedition Acts. Every time that the civil rights of the people were curtailed, every time an innocent person was behind bars for expressing some thought, it has always been for protection of the nation. Well, I cannot speak for anyone else, but I am more inclined to feel afraid than to feel free, when men and women are placed behind bars without any evidence against them. Why should I be forced behind bars and into a cell for expressing thoughts that naturally arrise when I am surrounded by these observations

The greatest punishments have be reserved for the greatest crimes. Second to Treason: Tax Evasion. When the government decided to issue an unpopular war, disregarding entirely the wills of the people who elected them to de their bidding, those people refused to pay their taxes to fund such a war. Such criminals include Thomas Henry Thoreau, who sat in a jail cell because his senator and his representative had decided that imprisonment of the people was by for more important than freedom of the people. By evading taxation, people are refusing to support a government that has neither their trust nor their intention.

These scoundrels are locked up and their property seized anyway. Sedition is another one of those greedy crimes, it reads as though it is to defend the state and the people, but when it is given to the police man, it is an excuse to abuse, to violate, and otherwise enslave every person he desires. The Patriot Act is nothing more. Far from giving us freedomof security, it has given us the fear of covert spying, of undercover police officers who have a proven track record of violence and brutality. Those individuals who have proved themselves barbarians to the world have gained a width of power with the passage of the Patriot Act.

If the most sincere acts of truth, honor, and independence are the greatest crimes in our government, then there should be no question as to why freedom of speech has been limited so much. The argument of the politician has always been: If men can speak as they wish, if they are allowed to think thoughts and say words, and develop ideas, they may come to the conclusion that we are vestiges, that the government of the world is a tyrant, denying the people their rights.

It is no secret that the government has for long outlawed Anarchist literature, that it disallows it from being printed in this country or imported from other countries. Then there is the investegation to what literature people are reading. Library records are tracked by the government now, so that the opinions of the people can be monitored. By decreasing the power of the independent citizen to think and believe as they wish, the state grows stronger with ferocity. The FBI and CIA were hardly created for "national security," so much as they were created for the security of the ruling class. There was never a need to protect citizens from terrorist bombings until the government had agreed to unjust trade agreements.

If anyone doubts this, they can check the track record of 3Com and Enron, companies both that had the ears of the government, created tens of millions of dollars for investors, but left tens of millions of people broke, unemployed, and with no future. Imagine the same catastrophe taking place internationally, imagine everyone knowing that it is the fault of the United States, and then you will understand completely why there are people willing to do all that is possible -- even sacrifice their own life -- to destroy the empire.

The ruling class has secured its rule in several ways: by making it illegal to question that rule, and punishable by death, as well as curtailing freedom of speech and all civil liberties that would peacably question that rule. Finally, the government has instituted a propaganda program.

Every school, every government rally, every speach delivered, by these government officials -- they can all be regarded as propaganda at its best. They will discuss lukewarm issues, things that are of least importance to the people. They will discuss how to decrease the national deficite, how to gain exclusive oil and mineral mining rights to a third world nation, increasing the pay of soldiers, annexation of third world nations, among other things.

Not once will they discuss how the government is a whore that tracks down the actions of the public, nor will they discuss the armies of unemployed, the tens of millions, the one hundred million Americans of this nation that do not have enough food to eat. Not once will this be discussed. The children that are starving in the streets, the education that is used to create an early response to authority, all of these institutions that exist today to make people think that it is just to have any government at all -- these things will stop people from thinking altogether.

In what ways have the ruling class established their rule Through treason, through curtailing civil rights, through avoiding the issues and issuing propaganda in the form of "public education." Here we have understood rightly the desires of the ruling class, as they can be seen in any nation, in any people. Every torture chamber has united with every presidential podium to deliver a message to the people that with power in the hands of a small, few select, the safety of all can be guaranteed. Yes!

There is no doubt that the first and sole interest of the ruling class is to maintain their power as human beings, and if this interest was absent, then it would be absent in the class of the ruled, and cruelty and brutality would wholly be absent from the people, and there would never be any need of government to begin with. The most ironic of all facts that must be admitted by everyone, is that if George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Paine, had these three figures been erected today, in uttering less than one hundred words, they would be put to death by the Supreme Court on account of treason. Finally, with the state defended, by the laws of treason and the mockery of civil liberties, there is a final blow that humanity takes, and it is in formal education.

Our schools may adequately be regarded as institutions of brainwashing. Children attend at a set time, go to class at a set time, agree to rules that they had no decision in choosing, follow a procedure of "learning" that is opposition to actual education. The facts that are given to the children in these inane textbooks are highly swayed and it seems that more attention is paid to the 200 years of our nation than the thousands of years that brought our way of life.

Before any child is allowed the right to use the bathroom, they must ask permission. Allow me to repeat that. Before a child can commit an action that is most human and most natural, they can be denied this right by a superior. The rules are formed for the betterment of the teachers, not of the taught. Every teacher is regarded as a professor, or a Mr., or a Mrs.. Orders are given with more fluency than a military bootcamp. The fine contradiction that exists in compulsary education is this: BY TRAINING CHILDREN TO BECOME SLAVES, WE ARE EXPECTING THEM TO GROW UP AS FREE MEN. No greater contradiction can exist in our modern society than just that.

So, it must be accepted, that to elect a senator, a governor, a congressman, a president, or any othe erroneous position, is essentially to put into place a tyrant, who can boast that he has the will of the people behind him.

If the Anarchists were to create a system of public rule, a method by which we choose laws and vote down other laws, it would be a common gathering of men and women, to discuss the issues, and to say what they will of them. By choosing one man to lead all other men has created very little difference than having a man chosen for you, which is what two hundred million Americans do every four years complacently. By Anarchy, I mean this: that there is no ruler, and that every law that is created is created by the will of the people, not the will of a person. It must be accepted as a philosophy that adheres to justice as much as it adheres to the will of the people. Two concepts which are based on the ideal of a better world.

We see there primary vices in the system of representative government: the interests of the representatives are opposite those whom they are supposed to represent, the boulstering effectiveness of power (in essence, making it more difficult for the public to see the mistake they've made), and propaganda on behalf of the system of government. It is not enough to simply have control over an area. Those in power must have the ultimate power of a district. Thus, we have the system of representative government. It is, I must admit, not much an improvement from the monarchial system. In fact, it may be worse, in that it lends itself some credilibility which the monarchy were forever without. People looked to the monarchial system, they saw the dictates of the kings and the arbitrary rules of the queens, and they all know that it was injustice, that it was the greatest form of debauchery and deceit. When the republican system came along, people felt -- for a moment -- that they were in control of their lives, that they had some voice when it came to matters of public affairs. But, they found themselves destitute of any real control.

The reality of the present system truly hits us when we realize that so many people hold the same view. Every person simultaneously feels powerless in this system, as they are forced to vote for leaders that they don't believe in. This past year was known to the Democratic Party as "Anybody But George Bush." People who voted for George Bush felt that he was insufficient to governing the whole body of the United States, just as those who voted for John Kerry would tell you, "I only voted for him because he's not George Bush." In France, an identical situation would come up, but only worsened to a great deal.

Their slogan would be, "Vote for the thief, not for the Fascist." The alternative they had to a Nazi regimist was a man whose hobbies included stealing funds from the public and abusing power to the point that would make kings seem just. And that is just the point I am trying to demonstrate in this treatise: rulers are rulers, no matter the origin or justificationof their power, and as rulers, they will abuse their power, exploit their people, and do what they can to maintain their power. I have ample evidence of this point. For one, I have the greatest piece of evidence of all. Americans are feeling more and more powerless with every passing year, as they find that the social ills that fill their lives with misery and pain remain unchanged. An ethic of "choose the lesser evil" takes hold on the minds of the populace. We start to feel that there is nothing that we can, that throwing our vote away is just as powerful an act as choosing the lesser evil.

One may interject, saying that the people are not sheep, that they can take control of their lives and have done so in the past. Yes, I know this. The error in such reasoning is thus: the government does what it can to maintain its power in the face of the people trying to make a genuine expression of their interests. The Patriot Act, for example, was used by the government to imprison and otherwise obstruct the path that American revolutionaries today are on. It's not protection. It's control.

As much as they say that this is for the protection of the public, to save us from a handful of airplanes falling out of the sky, they think that a thousand distant prisons and an enormous police state is a more pleasing alternative. Police and law enforcement officials search buildings for certain types of literature. Not only has this happened to me, but it has occured to my friends on more than one incident. Certain ideas, thoughts, and beliefs are considered too dangerous by the government for the people to have. Free speech, free press, free minds. Our American government has made clear where it stands in these areas, so it is our obligation as American citizens to revolt. If anything, I am as guilty as Thomas Paine. When I am persecuted for my conscience, then I can only know that I am not free.

We now have an accurate view of the representative system: it is ineffective and more apt to deceit than it is to any other vice.

When one thinks of the system of Anarchy, the greatest questions are asked. Does it not mean chaos Does it not mean unrestricted violence Does it not mean the greatest and most brutal form of cruelty -- completely unrestricted Does it not mean a perpetual war of every man against every other man

What is it about state power that makes it such an enemy of freedom and happiness The answer is clear: state power hands authority over to people whose only intent can be to create misery and vice -- those who run the state. And whether these people are picked by raffle or ballot, the actions they commit are always the same. Anarchy means the absence of government, the absence of oppression, the absence of power belonging to a small and select few and being held within the hands of the people. It is a simple yet beautiful idea, one that has captured the inspirations and hearts of every man to fall in love with freedom.

Punkerslut

About The Author

Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been writing essays and poetry on social issues which have caught his attention for several years. His website provides a complete list of all of these writings. His life experience includes homelessness, squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of high school, getting expelled from college for "subversive activities," and a myriad of other revolutionary actions.

The Punishment of America?

2008-11-20T18:42:00.001-08:00

The failure is sundered within each of us, it festers as blame to others, a manifestation of the shame that belongs not to ourselves but of the participants of a deadlier game. Yet innately the affectation begins with our own visceral manumission of guilt, and sadly, empirically lies buried in our own personal failings.

We ponder all that which seems inherently wrong. We awaken to ourselves each morning and gaze at the soul that stares back at us, and ask, "What do I know of such things?" Politically we are involved in a myriad of wars ; our own political system has become moribund and incapable of decisive and thoughtful long-term beneficial actions. At the same time we have managed to cause a global warming process that may not be reversible, with unfathomably catastrophic consequences. Yet we no longer trust our scientific community, as we undermine their ability to help them help us make informed decisions. Corporations are now the new soulless leaders of the same communities that we raise our children in: our children, pain and agony none withstanding, are but fodder for their institutionalized thought and labor. Lobbyists are but jackals, which obfuscate and enable the lack of clear and forward thinking that would be required to navigate through these complicated times.

Woe be to the participants: the excoriated politicians, the confused and parsed scientists, the unfeeling and automatonic corporations, the jack-booted lobbyists with their narrow-minded obfuscations, and still there are bureaucrats, the ever-plodding stewards of the status quo. All are to blame. It becomes utterly confusing and so we consequently throw up our hands and hope that serendipity might take us all to the promised land of Biblical and Koranic paradises of no responsibility and perfect harmony for all eternity. When we each awaken in the morning and look in the mirror, the failure should be obvious. Our visage stares back at us in mute mirth smirking at our lack of insight. How convenient that they should all provide themselves as cannon fodder for our obvious shortcomings.

Chaos complexity theory applies here in its truest sense. Things are not so simple, and become ever more complicated and require ever more attention then before. The problems today are more complicated; any pandering to a simple explanation is an abject definition of ignorance. There are no backwoods colloquialisms that fit a particular situation, present day analogies aside. The query remains, what we know as a collective, intrinsically defined by what we know individually, and how we apply this knowledge so we can make informed decisions in our lives as well as a people. Requiring less dooms us to failure as the founders of democracy failed in old Greece.

Guilt is a primordial emotion we all feel, and all are too familiar with its cold narcissistic touch. We wrap ourselves in a comforting cocoon of justification, but as the feeling is primordial it is useless to try and escape its darkening touch. It declares us to be unfit fathers and mothers, a chronic waster of valuable time, its ball peen steeliness pounding into us the failures that we truly are. But what an enlightened group we have become, and let us pat ourselves on the back as congratulations are due, as the self-help nation is within its goal of declaring victory on its war on guilt, puncturing its effectiveness and regulating it to some type of psychosis. Perhaps there might be a reason for guilt for it to be a primordial emotion, as is it possible that the survival of our species requires this most irritating and pervasive type of thought. Does complete victory deign us capable of justifying anything?

The fault is our own, in each and every one of us. Ask yourself what you know of history? Middle eastern history might be of value at this point, but what pray tell do you know of any of the underlying political issues of the day? Have you researched them, or are you listening to the ever-shortening descriptions provided by someone else you may know, or perhaps the 15 second sound bite doled out by our media? What do you know of the education system we currently use? What do you know of stem cell research? Are any of the short synopses you've heard something that you would be satisfied with if you or your loved one's life depended upon it? What is string theory? For that matter, what is quantum physics? It has been around for 75 years, and is it really too complicated, or are you really so lazy you just couldn't spare the time? When was the last time you picked up a book, a real book, not a piece of tripe? I know you suffer from the guilt, I do and I read fifty or odd tomes a year, we all suffer, and should.

Guilt is defined as the punishment one can receive when guilty of a moral wrong. Our punishment is as aforementioned and fully justified for the innate failure within each of us not to take the time to be overly educated and informed, to never reach for what we do not know, to not search and forever fulfill the emptiness of our knowledge. Guilt has judged us and is providing the punishment as we speak.

Economic Problems of the United States

2008-10-06T03:09:00.001-07:00

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden opened up his debate with Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin by blaming excessive deregulation as the root cause of the economic woes of the United States . Biden claimed that American creditors were baited into borrowing more money than what they would regularly need. For instance, a creditor was persuaded to borrow $300,000 for a housing loan when what he actually needed was only $100,000. Wall Street turned loose, without stepping the brakes, thus causing the present economic chaos.

During the debate, Palin paled in comparison with Biden, except for some gutshy remarks. She lacked the arguments and the facts and figures, in comparison to Biden who was able to convincingly list his arguments, delivered with flair and gusto. Palin clearly lost to Biden the momentum in the debate.

As of this writing, the $700-billion bailout bill was already approved by the Senate, and there were some positive reports that some of the congressmen who voted against the bill have now changed sides and would readily endorse the bill when it is up for voting next week.

But for one thing the $700 billion bailout money is not a carte blanche. There will be restrictions. Companies which avail of the plan will not be allowed to pay excessive salaries to their chief executive officers, no more millions of dollars in salaries, bonus and retirements benefits.

Biden also promised that if the Democratic ticket wins, there will be a timeline, to end the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, in which the USA is spending $10billion a month . Palin quickly termed the withdrawal as raising the flag of surrender. When Americans are watching their sons and daughters getting killed in the warfront, the two wars are becoming hard to defend because they get into their emotions and their pockets.

It is not very hard to predict a victory for Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the next November elections, in fact, the polls already predicted and advantage for the Democratic team. - Eye Opener Column from Sunday Post Newspaper

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You - John F Kennedy (JFK)

2008-10-02T15:32:00.001-07:00

In the life of this great nation, a few of its presidents have emerged from the pack as truly historic and memorable even more than others. Of course, the presidents from the generation of the founding fathers certainly fit that bill including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. And presidents that served the country in times of great crisis also are deeply honored in memory. But in recent memory, there probably no other president that brings up emotions of respect and admiration as much as that of John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy seemed to capture the hearts of the American people in a way that was unique in presidents before or since. Part of it may have been the era in history that the country was in when he became the President of the United States. The historic time between 1950 and 1970 was a time when the largest generation of youth, now known as the "baby boomers", was coming of age. With them a new youth movement brought a sense of optimism, a "can do" attitude and to some extent a sense of revolution. They were looking for new ways of seeing things, a new vision of the future and new leadership and John F. Kennedy was the perfect man of the hour to provide that leadership.

So much about Kennedy's presidency has an aura of romance and almost a fairy tale excitement of it. From the naming of his family estates "Camelot" to the love affair that the public had with the strikingly beautiful presidential couple, Jack and Jacqueline Kennedy. That touch of magic extended to everything he did and virtually everybody in his family including his younger brother Robert who was idolized as well and almost certainly would have served as president had he not been tragically assassinated during his early bid for that office.

But this was not to say that Kennedy was not a phenomenal leader. He faced serious challenges. The Cuban Missile Crisis may have been one of the most frightening show downs between a nuclear Russia and a nuclear America that has ever happened in history. When it became clear that Russia was beginning to build bases in Cuba and arm them with those terrible weapons, this was no time for a weak president. Had Russia been able to bully Kennedy or intimidate the young president and put those missiles in Cuba, it seems certain that the outcome of the cold war would have been one of failure rather than success. But Kennedy was not bullied or intimidated and using the power of his office, Kennedy stood his ground and stood ground for all Americans and forced the Russians to remove those missiles.

But this was not the only great accomplishment of Kennedy's administration. It took a leader who had great vision and ability to inspire a nation as nobody else than John F. Kennedy could to set the sights of the nation on landing on the moon. But Kennedy put that desire and that high calling in the hearts of his people and the nation rallied to finally see that man step out on the moon and declare, "This is one step for man, a giant leap for mankind." That was one of the proudest days in American history and it was Kennedy who inspired us to that kind of greatness.

As much as the life and leadership of John F. Kennedy perfectly exemplified the optimism and youthful zeal of a generation, his tragic assignation changed the country forever as well. On that sad day of November 22, 1963 when Lee Harvey Oswald gunned down America's beloved president, the hearts of Americans changed forever.

This was one of those days that almost everybody who was alive at the time, from school children to grandfathers remembered where they were when they heard the news. Since we laid to rest this great leader, the presidency itself has never been the same. While Americans will always respect their presidents, that sense of adoration for the man in the White House disappeared forever. But the thing that did not disappear was the ongoing adoration of the man, John F. Kennedy, who inspired a generation and a nation to look forward to greatness and in the famous words of his inaugural address in 1961…

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Let’s Hope Americans Never Loose Their Sense of Calling and Destiny

2008-10-02T14:54:00.001-07:00

America is a vast country covering thousands of square miles of land that traverses tremendously diverse climate and landscape. From high and majestic mountains, to wide deserts to vast fruitful plains that seem to go on forever, the sheer size of the physical landscape of America is breath taking.

Obviously, this was not always the case. When those earliest settlers landed on the east coast and carved out their stark settlements, they had no idea of huge expanse of land that lay to the west. It took the bold explorations of surveyors such and Lewis and Clark to report back how stunningly huge the amount of physical space that was available for America to inhabit .

At first, the very idea of becoming a nation was seemingly impossible for the early settlers to grasp. They came here to escape persecution, tyranny or to make a new home for their families. If they could have looked a few hundred years down the line into the future and seen the powerhouse of a nation that would grow up from their work in those early years, they would have been stunned that this country grew to be such a world force. So the earliest challenges of settlers and early leaders of the citizens of the young America was to grasp the scope of what they were about to set about to achieve.

But grasp that scope they did. It seemed that the physical majesty of what was to become the nation of America inspired a concept that was just as grand as the land itself and that was the concept of Manifest Destiny. Manifest destiny was the force that drove those settlers and explorers to drive their wagon trains across sometimes impossible terrain through difficult weather conditions and facing many dangers from animals and Native Americans alike to build a nation that spanned form the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans.

This was the dream of the early settlers of this country. They did not just see a new nation but one of importance, of an almost holy calling to become a virtual utopia of democracy and opportunity. And part of that utopian vision was the idea of a nation that spanned ocean to ocean and from Mexico to the Canadian border as well.

When you think about it, its phenomenal that a people who did not have space photographs of a landscape or high speed travel such as is common today to get a vision of a unified nation of such vast size and scope. But it was more than just physical size that spoke to the hearts and souls of those early Americans . Manifest Destiny spoke to a vision of greatness for America that was birthed in the hearts of even these early citizens.

The size of the country was to be a reflection of the majesty of the human spirit and the magnificence of the American experiment to build a nation built on freedom, the will of the people and on democracy and opportunity. Today such concepts seem ordinary and for that we can thank the early founders of this country for catching that dream together and making it a reality.

Many have criticized Manifest Destiny as greed or empire building. And to be sure, mistakes were made and many people died or had their individual destinies hurt in the wholesale rush to the west that America experienced in its early decades. But what is not diminished is that sense of calling and that sense that America was put here for something great. That calling lives still in the hearts of all true Americans as we find out how we too can help our country fulfill its Manifest Destiny to be a voice for freedom and liberty in the world. Let's hope Americans never loose their sense of calling and destiny. Because if that dies away, something holy and magnificent will die with it.

Prepare for the American Thanksgiving

2008-10-02T14:37:00.001-07:00

Each year America has a holiday in November that has taken on almost a religious reverence which we call Thanksgiving. We give this holiday so much honor that it ranks with us along with Christmas and Easter as an important holiday in the hearts of family and as a nation. But this holiday, so rich with tradition, has it origins in the earliest days of the founding of this nation.

The early years of the explorers to come to the American continent were difficult ones indeed. Those explorers, we now call The Pilgrims, faced harsh weather, unpredictable relations with the natives, disease and other challenges as they carved out homes from the wilderness they found here. Because their earliest homestead were in the northeast, the winters were harsh and their ability to build houses that could keep them warm and to find sufficient food was a constant worry to the men and women trying to raises families in America.

So anytime they received help from the native population, it was viewed as a gift from God and accepted with the greatest of joy and celebration. A Native American chief by the name of Squanto saw the plight of these new neighbors and saw to it his tribe helped these young families to survive. Besides providing food and wisdom about how to build structures that could keep them safe in the winter, Squanto taught them to fish, how to prepare eel and other strange sea creatures they harvested and how to farm.

This act of friendship was the origin of our revered holiday of Thanksgiving. The Virginia Colony established the tradition of holding a day of collective prayers of thanksgiving, and that tradition continues today. Except it is not just a day of thanksgiving for the kindness and generosity of Squanto to our forefathers. We take advantage of this day of reverence and thanksgiving to be grateful for all the good things that God has blessed this nation with.

The foods we use to celebrate Thanksgiving were ones that the pilgrim travelers found native to this country and the foods that, with the help of Native American teachers, they learned to capture, harvest and prepare to feed their families and prosper in their new home. Turkey was a game foul that was in ample supply to the pilgrims once Squanto showed them how to hurt the bird with reliable success.

The vegetables we love to have on our traditional menus also had their origins in the early lives of the pilgrims. Potatoes, cranberries, sweet potatoes, green beans and all the rest were vegetables that the pilgrims had to learn to harvest, farm and prepare from natives of the land. So in many ways, our modern holiday, despite the dominance of football games and the upcoming Christmas holiday, retains the atmosphere of those early celebrations.

And the meaning of the holiday, despite commercialization, has been retained. Americans have much to be thankful for . The abundance of the land, the health of the most prosperous economy on earth and a society that is free and able to encourage freedom in other cultures are just a few of the things we celebrate at this holiday time. But for most of us, it is a time to gather family and friends near and be thankful to God for our health, for the blessings of jobs and for the privilege all Americans share to be able to live in the greatest nation on earth where opportunity is ample that any of us can make it and do well if we work hard at our chosen area of expertise. And these are things truly worthy of giving thanks for.

Understanding the US Civil War

2008-10-02T14:02:00.001-07:00

America has been part of some devastating battles over her long history. World War I and World War II were tremendously difficult conflicts and ones that taxed the nation's resources to the maximum. But none of those conflicts can compare to The Civil War not only for the brutality and devastation of human life but in the damage to social fabric that was caused by that terrible conflict.

America is proud that it has never had a battle on its native soil. Other than Pearl Harbor and 911, we have never even been attacked on our own soil. So it took a war of brother against brother, American against American to make even the possibility of war within the borders of America even possible.

The war's statistics are staggering for a relatively short conflict. The war started on April 12. 1861. It was the confederacy that drew first blood attacking Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The battles of the Civil War and legendary. We have come to honor the dead of both sides of this bloody conflict by preserving many of those historic battlefields even to this day.

Throughout the war, the North was at an advantage in preparation, equipment and supplies. But General Lee, who commanded the confederate army, was a brilliant strategist and the battles often resulted in massive casualties on both sides. When the final tally was drawn up, over 970,000 American citizens died from the Civil War. While that may not compare numerically to the huge losses in the two world wars later to come, this figure represented 3% of the American population at the time. And since the huge majority of the war dead were from America's youth, the hope for her future, the set back this war had on the development of America's economy was truly remarkable.

In modern times we look back on the Civil War as a titanic battle to bring an end to the horrors of slavery in this country. And to be sure, the Civil War is and will forever remain a central part of black history and the beginning point of the civil rights movement in America. But the causes of the Civil War were complex and diverse which only made negotiation and resolution of the war more difficult in advance of conflict.

Part of the issue that was being fought out was the rights of states for self determination as balanced with the rights of the federal government to determine affairs in the individual states. On the surface, this may seem trivial compared to ending slavery but put in context, it was a critical relationship to iron out in light of our not very distant memory of our revolution against England for trying to impose unreasonable controls on the colonies.

American's are fiercely independent people and that independent spirit was born in the battles of the revolutionary war where America stated firmly that they would no longer bow to a king or let the centralized government have such sweeping control over individual lives. The outrage over how England tried to put the colonies under servitude was the foal that caused the explosion known as the Revolutionary War. And much effort was made to assure there was language in the constitution and other critical documents to assure that the federal government would be severely limited from interfering in the lives of its citizens.

Beyond that the preservation of the union as one country was also in contest in the Civil War. But it was the moral issue of slavery that made the Civil War such an emotional issue and one that caused people to fight with such ferociousness to defend their side. In the end, even Abraham Lincoln made slavery the central rational for the war and determined that the end of this barbaric practice would be the legacy of this horrible conflict.

But one thing that also was a legacy of the Civil War was the determination that we, as Americans, would never turn our war machine on our own citizens again. The war tore families apart and literally caused brother to war against brother. Since reconstruction and the union of America, the country has had a bruise in its national psyche over this war and that bruise reminds us that we are one people and we would always be one people devoted to the causes of truth, justice and the American way of life .

The Greta War In America

2008-10-02T08:24:00.001-07:00

The history of America is decorated with some of the great conflicts that have ever been fought by civilizations and for great ideals. This was never truer than in World War II which was sometimes called the Great War. As is so often the case, it was not a war that America wanted to become part of. So often, it is when aggressors bring war to America that she is forced to respond. But in all cases when America responds, it is with a fury that her enemies will seldom forget.

When you think about it, the very idea of a world war is terribly frightening. And in every way, World War II was a world war because it caught up virtually every country and every continent in a global conflict that went on for years. The enemies of America and her allies were well armed, intelligent, determined and powerful. But America was up to the challenge and it will be up to the challenge again if the likes of Hitler dare to threaten civilization like this again.

World War II was also virtually a textbook case of flawless collaboration with our allies. Working together with them almost like we were one country and one army we deployed our forces across multiple theaters of combat from Europe to Asia to Russia and across the globe. We had to fight more than one enemy. Hitler's Germany alone was a frightening enemy as it spread its evil influence across Europe capturing country after country and threatening to swallow up the continent whole and then move on to capture lands in central Asia and even America.

But we also had powerful enemies in German's allies, particularly Japan. When this frightening enemy struck our forces at Pearle Harbor, it was a blow to America that could not be ignored. For Japan, they had hoped to cripple the American military and remove all hope from the American heart to be able to strike back or become part of the conflict. They got exactly the opposite as every man, woman and child in America rallied to build the kind of war machine that would bring the Axis powers to a crashing end, no matter what the cost.

But the most important thing that America said to the world when it took on Hitler's armies and defeated them was that totalitarian rule of free peoples would never be tolerated. Hitler had dreams of world domination like the great kings of ancient Rome of the early Germanic empires. But America had thrown off dictators when we founded this country and declared that we would not become the pawn of kings or tyrants. We were not going to turn over that hard fought freedom to a madman while there was a fighting will left in this country.

It was not an easy battle or one without cost. Thousands of America's youth gave their lives to preserve the freedoms that had been won by our forefathers. Our leaders had to show a resolve and a unity that they would not blink in the face of a challenge and they would not let down the brave American soldier or the civilian population that stood behind them until Hitler and his allies were in defeat.

The world saw what America was made of in that great conflict. It saw that a country that was gifted with great wealth and prosperity was also willing to turn those resources to defend its borders and defend its allies. It was a stern lesson for our enemies to learn that America was not a country to be trifled with in combat. But then we showed that we were not a vindictive country when, even in defeat, we reached out to Japan, Germany and other defeated peoples and helped them rebuild from that awful war. This too is a testimony to the American sprit and the American sense of fair play. Let's hope that an enemy never rises up again to test that will because they will find as Hitler did, that America would not fail to respond to the call to battle or the call to honor which is her legacy.

America's Involvement in Vietnam War

2008-10-02T08:12:00.001-07:00

In the annals of American history , there may be no other country name that evokes such emotion as the country of Vietnam. The history of this conflict is more than just a military struggle. The impact that the Vietnam conflict had on American culture and foreign policy for many decades to come makes it a truly watershed war in the life of a relatively young country.

Vietnam was not, on the surface as clearly a moral battleground as World War II or the Civil War had been. That in itself made it more difficult for Americans to understand and become patriotic about as they had been in prior wars. Yes, as in past conflicts, we found ourselves defending our allies, the South Vietnamese against the attacks of a communist neighbor to the north. And in that way, it became a struggle to assist an ally, a military objective that America had long embraced.

But the war was not just with the North Vietnamese. To a very large extent, the war was against the Chinese and the Russians who were using the theater in Vietnam to wear down the American fighting force. It was a war that had been going on for many decades before the Americans got involved as a regional battle.

Many foreign powers had gotten involved and left defeated so when America entered this conflict, it was a very different kind of war than we had been used to. The armies mixed with the population. There were no uniforms and formations and battle theaters as battle could occur anywhere at any time. Combine that with a hostile jungle setting and the complete absence of any battle protocol and you had a formula for failure if not a very difficult road to success.

Vietnam also is a watchword for the tremendous resistance movement that rose up on American soil to try to stop the conflict. This resistance movement became deeply entangled with a huge change to the social fabric in the rise of the youth movement, the hippies and the fast moving surge of the civil rights and the woman's rights movements. This made the era of the late 1950s through the early 1970s tremendously difficult to navigate as a nation.

Vietnam did follow somewhat of a predictable path of invasions, major battles, set backs and regrouping of our forces. But the military faced a huge challenge in facing the many new war scenarios this difficult combat setting presented. As the casualty count grew, without a clear cut definition of victory and with very few clear victories to demonstrate to the American people our superiority, the ability of civilian leadership to sustain the support for the war effort became jeopardized.

Vietnam very much represents a transition in how America viewed conflict. We came out of the huge successes we had seen our military bring in battle. The defeat of Hitler and the axis powers in World War II gave America a sense of confidence, of divine calling to prevail militarily and the concept that we are the good guys and we will always win. But we did not win in Vietnam and that was and is a hard lesson to learn.

America demonstrated its devout dedication to the concept of supporting an ally in a warring situation when it committed troops to the Vietnam conflict. But there were many lessons to be learned about preparation and going into a conflict with a strategy that had a high probability of success. In wars to come in later years such as Grenada, the Balkans and the Liberation of Kuwait, we demonstrated that America had learned those lessons going in with a massive force and achieving victory before we got bogged down in a long civil conflict.

So we can applaud the bravery of our troops and the willingness of our leadership to learn from a tough war like Vietnam. The lessons to be learned from Vietnam are still being worked out. But in the end, we will be a better nation and a stronger nation because we put ourselves on the line for a friend, even if the outcome was not the desired outcome.

Americans Are Not Quitters

2008-10-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

It was one of those moments in American history that the people who were able to watch it for the first time felt like they were in a science fiction movie. But with televisions cameras on every move, the nation and the world watched on July 20, 1969 as three American astronauts landed on the moon.

The project had been in the works for years to be sure. You have to wonder with the phenomenal amount of work, expert engineering and the amazing genius that created the rocket ships and everything that would be needed to make the flight possible, if even those in NASA sat in mute wonder and had goosebumps when "Buzz" Aldren was the first man in history to put his foot on another world and pronounce those famous words –

"That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

That phrase, which itself was carefully prepared, has a lot of wisdom in it. Sure, touching another world for the first time in human history was a tremendous accomplishment for America. But more than that, it signaled a new era for humankind everywhere. All of a sudden, the moon wasn't a far away myth, full of mystery and magic. All of a sudden, people everywhere felt like they too could touch the stars if they put out their best efforts too.

It was also a huge moment for the unity of all people. Few things cause the world population to come together and link arms and be one people, not separate countries. Most of the time, it's a terrible global disaster that makes us all bond together. But this time was different. This time is was a moment so phenomenal that everybody stopped and watched and everybody knew that this was not just a great accomplishment for three astronauts and scientists that put them there. This was a great accomplishment for mankind.

American history is populated with tremendous events, both bad and good. But it's worth a moment to sit back and reflect on what the first moon landing meant and continues to mean for Americans and the American spirit. You have to wonder if any other nation would have had the ability, the creative powers, the powerful minds and the collective will to see this kind of amazing accomplishment through to success.

It's even more amazing when you remember that just a few years earlier, on September 12, 1962 that President Kennedy challenged American to rise to this challenge in a speech at Rice University. It takes a lot to make something as historic and earth shaking as landing on the moon a reality and visionary leadership such as Kennedy showed that day was a big part of why this landing made history.

This amazing achievement points out something outstanding about the American spirit. Americans are a people who dream big. And to land a man on the moon took big dreams. But we didn't just dream to put a man up there, it was not acceptable unless we got everybody home safely as well.

For the most part the American space program has had a phenomenal history of success in breaking through barriers that nobody had every done before. Yes, there have been set backs and tragedies along the way. But Americans are not quitters and through all the struggles we face, we face them together. But we never forget to look up at the stars and dream of the day that yet again we see an American set foot on another world and plant out flag in that soil to be signal forever that America was here!

Historical Events That Changed America

2008-10-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

American history , or really history in general is not always marked with outstanding events, stunning personalities or remarkable speeches. Much of the history of a great nation is slow steady improvement, set backs and then how a people recovers from those set backs. But in the context of American history, there are a number of truly phenomenal moments when everything changed. These are not just one day events, although some are that sudden. But these are events that once they transpired, Americans thought of themselves , the world and their place in the world completely differently. And it's worth noting what those events were and how they changed Americans forever.

Obviously the revolution itself and the founding of the country changed a small group of colonies who thought of themselves as Englishmen far from home. When the independence of America was done, that vision of ourselves was completely different. We were now a proud new nation, a new type of nationality that had its own view of the world and its own hopes and dreams as well.

World War II was the kind of event that once we underwent the tremendous trial, struggle and victory that such a war demands of a people, we never could go back to seeing ourselves again in the same way as we thought before the war. Our victory against Japan, Germany and their allies gave us tremendous confidence that we could affect world history for the better. But it also gave us a tremendous sense of responsibility. When we dropped those bombs on Japan, everybody on the planet began to understand the horrible power that was now in the hands of mankind, for a season in the hands of America and the huge responsibility for the fate of mankind that came with that kind of power.

Pearl Harbor while part of World War II deserves its own mention because of the fundamental change to how America viewed itself in relation to the world. Prior to that attack, America considered itself invulnerable. Like a teenager that thought they could never be hurt, we had never been attacked on our homeland before. But Japan proved that they not only could attack us but that they could hurt us very badly. Yes, we responded with a fury but from that moment forward, we knew that we, like everybody else in the world, were vulnerable and we had to start behaving differently in a world full of both friends and enemies.

Outside of the military world, the famous I Have a Dream Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 did not just change the black community forever. Yes, that speech had a mighty impact on the way the African American community saw their future and it gave inspiration and hope to a struggling civil rights movement that spurred it on to victory. But it also affected all Americans because we started to see ourselves as a community of many cultures, many races and many orientations. It was the beginning of acceptance in this country. But that is a process that is far from over.

In modern times, the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 had a drastic effect on the minds and hearts of America and indeed on the world. We are still learning how that effect will finally show itself as the ripples of shock, fear, anxiety and reprisals are still going on. But to be sure, as with Pearl Harbor, the effects on our feelings about our place in the world and our vulnerability were certainly be changed forever.

Who Is US President George Washington

2008-09-30T13:28:00.001-07:00

It is impossible to reflect on the truly great leadership that has been one of the real blessings of this nation without including the name of George Washington in that list. In fact, in almost anyone's "top ten" list of truly great presidents, Washington would almost certainly top the list. His stature in American history is legendary and the respect Americans have for this their first president borders on adoration of myth.

In fact, there is a lot of myth and some humor about our first president that reflects the love people have for this great leader. From the many quips about his supposed wooden teeth to the thousands of places around the nation that proclaim "George Washington slept here", to the mythical story of how he threw a silver dollar across the Potomac as a child or his response when he was caught cutting down a cheery tree and responded to the accusation "I cannot tell a lie", Washington's myth is strong in the national memory of this great leader.

Washington never set out to become the greatest president of all time or even to be in a position of leadership in the new country he helped to start. He was the one who originated the concept of a "citizen president" and he believed so strongly in that concept that he refused to run for a third term because his time as citizen leader was over. This tradition was sustained with little exception until it was codified into part of our constitution in the form of the 22nd amendment.

But before Washington was a great political leader, he showed his tremendous leadership skills on the field of battle. He learned the art of warfare serving honorably in the French and Indian war and his influence and the respect he had earned during that conflict netted him the title of commander and chief of the American Army when the continental congress created that role in 1775. Small wonder when he ascended to the presidency some years later, he carried the responsibility of commander and chief with him to the presidency where it continues to reside today even though few of our modern presidents have the military credentials of Washington.

When commanding the troops during the revolutionary war, a famous incident that has been captured beautifully by artists was his decision to cross the Delaware in New Jersey to stage a surprise attack and win the battle against the British. It was yet another brilliant maneuver that showed his firm grasp of military strategy and only served to add to his fame and reputation as an outstanding leader of men.

After the war, Washington again was interested in retiring from public life but he was never one to turn away when his nation needed him. And needed him it did as he presided over the Continental Congress to assure the successful drafting of the US Constitution. Of the many great accomplishments of his life, his ability to provide leadership and inspiration to that assembly to produce this masterpiece of American political ligature would certainly be ranked as perhaps his finest hour.

George Washington was rewarded for his superior leadership skills when he was given the awesome responsibility of serving as the nations first President of the United States . His wisdom and insight into what the nation needed at east stage of its early development made him the man of the hour for a struggling republic. Few recognize that one of his greatest contributions to the presidency was recognizing that the nation was torn and weary of war. So using his considerable influence and negotiating skills, Washington signed a number of important treaties that resulted in years of peace that were needed to turn the country from thoughts of war to thoughts of building a great nation.

Washington never tired of providing leadership for two terms as the first American president and it was he who decided not to serve a third term and returned once again to private life. But his impact on the nation and the world was profound and long lasting. It was the kind of nation shaping influence that truly earned him the title associated to him to this day of "father of the nation."