International Day of Peace

Today, September 21st, is the International Day of Peace , and I am grateful for being asked this very important question so that I can reflect on how I can become a better instrument of peace in this very troubled world we live in.
The main opposing force to peace in our communities, schools, cities, country and world is the same, it is lack of democracy and misinformation. Luckily the worst of the misinformation, and those that propagate it and also work to undermine democracy, have become easier to see as the national and international situation has fallen victim to these forces of propaganda, fascism and destruction to an increasingly high degree.
I have recently become infatuated with the myth of Adam and Eve, and particularly with the details regarding the Tree of Life, which brought forth the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Isn’t it strange that such knowledge would be forbidden? Wouldn’t knowing what is really good and what is really wrong actually help humanity rather than harm it? This myth serves as a cultural subconscious backdrop supporting status-quo conformity and suppression of any questioning of what is claimed by “authority”.
With the ongoing conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Israel and Lebanon, there is a lot of discussion on whether these acts of mass violence are just, if they are serving the greater good or whether they are in fact making things worse. Our current illegitimate government that has stolen two elections (If you doubt this, read “Fooled Again” by Mark Crispin Miller for starters) would have us believe that the military invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are doing the world good, and especially Americans, by protecting us from terrorists. The truth is that these are acts of imperial conquest, benefiting those in the military-industrial complex at the expense of the well being of the rest of the world’s citizens. The event that is constantly used as justification for these wars of aggression is of course the attacks of 9/11/01. The official story of these attacks has now been thoroughly disproven by many reputable officials and scholars, most notably by the nation-wide organization Scholars for 9/11 Truth (st911.org), the books and presentations of Dr. David Ray Griffin, and films like Terror Storm and Loose Change. Injustice is always supported by the blurring of what is really good and what is really wrong, it has been behind the greatest atrocities that have ever occurred.
To sum up the truth of America 2006, we have an act of state-sponsored terrorism, engineered by an illegitimate government, with ongoing and expanding illegal war where thousands more continue to die, while clean energy, universal health care, a national living wage, etc. are all put aside. When our government and tax dollars have been hijacked by fascists, how can we best be an instrument of peace? The answer is the building of a real democracy, where the will of the People is actually expressed in public policy and exactly what I and millions of others are doing: speaking the crucial truths that too many Americans are ignorant of thanks to our right-wing corporate media. I’m sure some of you reading this will think this is all ridiculous conspiracy theory. You believe everything Bush says about 9/11, and you could never believe that they are that evil. You think what I am saying here is too radical, too confrontational, because you have not looked into the massive evidence proving that these “conspiracy theories” are in fact true. And so the wars go on, more innocents die, the quality of life in America decreases further; this is the reality when misinformation and fascism rules the land.
We must eat of the apple of knowledge of good and evil, we must investigate the truth with open minds, and digest what is revealed to us and act upon it, no matter how disturbing and radical it turns out to be.
To quote George Orwell: “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”. Indeed we are living in such a time, and the consequences of this continued deception are continued violence, suffering, tyranny and oppression. Speaking the full truth against the propaganda of the powers that be has always a crucial way to become an instrument of peace; to play a note that will actually bring change, rather then just get lost in sounds of half-truth filled dissent that has never, and will never, bring a lasting peace to our world.