Dummy Boy Loc: Michigan

“Sanity is not about confrontation. It’s about filtering. Having a stable and happy life is about saying “no” to crazy people, not about inviting them in and then hoping that confrontations are going to make them sane.”

Is it necessary to always be prepared for the inevitable? What if the inevitable isn't the inevitable-do we understand what peace means? Or do we live in in Orwellian comfort zone?

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Without a constant state of fear, the "what if's" and "could happens", we'd have to talk abut the "what is" - and nobody wants to do that. Fear of criminal attacks, physical and cyber, fear of terrorist attacks, diseases, economic loss, ideological losses, religious losses, you name it - in fact - many do, repeatedly. What I find remarkable, is that we still fear the same things we did 10 years ago, despite being promised by all sorts of folks that they'd keep us safe from those things.

The phrase "beyond human control" seems to have no validity anymore, as though we don't believe such a thing is possible. That makes sense, in a way, since we're so closely tied to virtual reality, believing that smart people can simply hit the reset button and make it go away, and our addiction to f**e reality TV, makes us think there are no consequences for what WE do, but fear what other people will do to us. Cosmic karma perhaps.

Dummy Boy Loc: Michigan

In effect, we and many other societies are generally motivated by fear. The Church sells fear of the unknown with the creation of the afterlife and many religions speak of doing good as way of achieving enlightenment or a higher purpose. And today, It wasn’t enough to have friendly cops walking around, they have been turned into heartless buffoons that are supposed to command our respect. One commands respect by being respectful to all, not by sticking a gun in your face if you say the wrong words. Clearly, there are legitimate reasons to be fearful, and we created a reason to be fearful. The Patriot Act empowered the government to treat everyone as a criminal. It was the easiest way for leadership to emerge from the masses. Create a boogeyman, destroy the boogeyman become a hero.
Many are worried that are kids can’t pray in school anymore, or that they are being forced to convert to Islam. Frankly, not one person that has made such statements can provide an example. They even remark that it is inevitable because of sharia law. We have canon law as well and yet no one is being forced to convert to Catholicism. I have 3 kids in school, who report that their biggest problem is being tempted with drugs. Parties with drugs and booze. They understand the right thing to do, which makes me proud that they stand their ground. Hopefully, they carry that through life.
Have a good day…and keep your head down. That’s the last thing I said to my brother when he was deployed to Baghdad.