Oct. 24, 2001 - 21:12 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Paradise Of Fools

Like a football unfortunately caught by a gust of wind, I seem to see our country on the whole going rapidly in two directions both the wrong way I think. One is a past mistaken sense of absolute security. The other is something I saw during World War Two. Which is an unreasoning paranoiac hate of others who have the slightest difference in appearance or avowed difference in belief or religion.

A very panicked US populace has allowed I think for our hard lined would be rulers to pass legislation that allows indiscriminate wiretapping, jailing for any or no reason, and secret searches of anyone.

Will I go to jail or disappear just for stating how I feel, what my opinion on things and public figures are ? I feel that it is more apt to happen now than ever before. But I will insist on having my say, ignorant and unrefined as it is.

To point up my thoughts are two things, the removal to desert prarie of people of Japanese extraction in World War Two. How the hell come did we have more to fear from them than we did from people of German and Italian ancestry ? Three groups, two who were to live their lives and do business as usual but one group who obviously looked different and had different lifestyles who were automatically enemies to be put in prison camps - - - Stalag No. What ? Just recently some form of reparations has been given to those who still live -- those who died in the interim are just GONE.

The era of McCarthyism named after the Grand Inquisitor McCarthy who in his campaign to bury communism managed to ruin many lives. Great balls of fire if McCarthy had been after KuKluxKlanners perhaps fifty per cent of the men of our country would have seen the inside of the slammmer or worse. My state had a KuKlux governer in the 1920's. But I guess the Klanners did enough persecution on their own and didn't need any help. My golly, if they had of been after Ku Kluxers my dad would have been ran in.

Yet, the Ku Klux Klan had many members swept up in the mania of the age who were just giving lip service. 'Twas the thing to do, a new costume to wear, a new lodge to belong to without large expenses.

And come to think of it, if communism in its Utopian philosophy had been adhered to, it would have been a wonderful thing. In the early years most families were in themselves communists, loyal to their families, share and share alike.

My opinion on the reason it has never worked in one united country ? Three words, Greed, Fear, Jealousy ! I could rant on, but I think my point is proved.

Somewhere along the line, even during the Cold War our country as a whole laid back, relaxed and seemed to take the attitude the we could NEVER come to harm ! Oh, we were trying to be cautious I guess, I remember going to the City and County building here in Denver and having to be checked through, after Columbine things got a wee bit tighter. But on the whole we were living a life wrapped in cotton wool here in our country. It couldn't ever happen to us, yeah right, but all along it has been happening to us, to our people military and diplomatic in overseas installations. In a way it did happen here as the people of our country who died because of terroristic activities in foreign lands all had relatives or friends back here in the States.

Paranoia and disregard of reality are two extremes. Too many people get hurt because of paranoia and also too many people get hurt because of sheer inattention and carelessness. Ergo, as an ancient Greek once said, "Everything in moderation," would seem to be how we should operate. Do our police action where it is needed, take cautionary action here to guard our people Stateside in a common sense manner with out delay or discrimination.

A thing that worries me, are we going to set up a puppet government somewhere who later will use our training, our arms and ammunition against us as Bin Laden and his ilk are doing with things we gave the "rebels," in Afghanistan ? We seem to have a propensity to pick out some of the scummiest people in the mistaken idea that if we sponsor them with money and arms they will turn pure as the driven snow. Yeah, right, seems as if we enable tin horn dictators to dig in and establish themselves in fortified enclaves and thus govern their people dictatorially and cruelly as well.

I wonder if as a nation we will be able to rapidly move in many different directions to correct our goofs, or maybe try to continue to exist in this Paradise Of Fools . . . . . . . . . . . .

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