During the last episode of American political extremism in the 1950s, there was a movie called Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Pod-People took over normal citizens turning them into obedient, albeit unsavory folks. That's America today, Pod-People who affect their own demise. It's what happens when crazed Republican conservatives get too much power. Almost overnight many Americans have mutated into neurotic pussies, cowards, afraid of shadows and even terrified of cartoon advertising signs. We are accomplices in our own enslavement. Admittedly, I don't know exactly what the term "terrorist" means today. Our conservative masters don't want us to be able to pinpoint its meaning. The strategy is to keep the term vague, general and frightening like "demon" or "phantom." Such ghosts are much more scary. Frightened citizens more quickly surrender their rights to conservative masters. In the pre-Bush era when conservatives and Christians were merely an unpleasent aroma, "terrorism" was a military or social strategy. It was a method that some nations (mostly the United States) used to achieve domination over others. Terrorism wasn't an end in itself. It was a means. Eighteen hundred ballistic missiles aimed at other nations, each missile armed with clusters of nuclear bombs; that was terrorism. Great navies and huge air forces maneuvered to scare smaller nations; that was terrorism. America was the playground bully. We terrorized the world with threats and fear. It was pretty ugly! The world, especially the weaker nations, didn't like it. They thought they deserved respect and dignity. Silly them. But the little nations learned from America's terrorism. They realized that if terror worked for America, it would work against America. A small gang of furious international criminals resolved to do unto America what America had been doing unto the world. In September of 2001 a few of them flew jet liners into three buildings. They killed about 3000 more-or-less innocent people and a few military types. The militarists were anything but "innocent!" The "terrorist" death toll was about half the number of Americans who died of heart disease on the same day or about twice the number who died that day of cancer. The so-called 9/11 attacks represented about three weeks of traffic deaths. The point is that while it was a catastrophic, tragic and dastardly attack, lots of things around the world are far, far worse. American capitalists killed more victims in the Bhopal, India chemical attack. More victims died in the Indonesian tsunami. Ten times as many perished in the 1990 Iranian earthquake. The world is full of risks. Normal persons learn to cope with the uncertainties of life. The September 2001 attacks shocked most Americans. Americans don't cope with shock the way the rest of the world customarily does. After decades of bullying and intimidating others, most Americans were angry that they, too, were vulnerable. Suddenly the bully was the victim. That was disturbing! The attacks had other deeply troubling psychological effects on many Americans. America is a very arrogant, self-important country. The attacks made many persons feel humiliated. A mere handful of "backwards," "uncivilized," "desert-dwelling" "primitives" had attacked us and done a fair amount of damage. That was insulting, demeaning and startling to American arrogance. Even worse was America's crazy Christian ego. Part of Christian mythology is that Christianity is the only true religion, favored by some god or other. It's right! And right makes might! The criminals who attacked on 9/11 were some flavor of Muslim. Christian crazies couldn't have Muslims hating them. The suckers might stop believing and, worse yet, stop shoveling in the dough. The whole object of terror whether done by America, Arabs or other bullies, is to scare the victim into doing what the bully wants (give me respect or your lunch money, or your oil), or to scare the victim out of doing what the bully doesn't want done. In other words, terrorism is a tactic aimed at forcing compliance with one's will. America used it to create an unwilling empire around the world. The obvious question becomes, "what did/do the 9/11 attackers want?" What was/is their aim. Clearly, one goal was simply to hurt us back because they believed (perhaps rightly) that America had hurt them, or at least their people. Of course, they had other, deeper aims, too. The 9/11 attackers hoped to provoke a war in which their flavor of religion would destroy other flavors of religion. Like fundamental or "evangelical" Christians, Muslim fanatics are insecure in their religion. They feel threatened by other religions and by truth. They must fight against the infidels. They see their own religion as weak, faulty and vulnerable. The 9/11 attackers wanted to clip American arrogance to weaken American economic exploitation and to destroy American liberties. Like Christian crazies, Muslim fanatics are very untrusting of freedom and liberty. Free persons decide for themselves. They might freely decide to do things the established religion doesn't like. Religious bosses would lose their power. Why do you think the devil was invented? Catholic terrorism. The 9/11 attackers were astonishingly successful! With one attack they succeeded in almost everything. Bush, conservatives, Christian crazies and many normal Americans were sucked right into the scheme. They started doing the "terrorists'" job for them; scaring themselves, spooks, ghosts and goblins. Foreign attackers don't have to threaten us or scare us. We scare ourselves. We see danger in blinking cartoon lights, in lost luggage is a bottle of water on an airplane. It's a kind of psychosis. "Only sheep flee when no on is persuing!" The "terrorists" have won because they've recruited us to scare ourselves. You have a much better chance of winning the big lottery than of being killed in a "terrorist" attack. Your kid is twice as likely to die in the army as to die in a "terrorist" attack. Fear a traffic accident, a heart attack, cancer or murder. But don't feat a "terrorist" attack. Since September of 2001 a great deal of our liberty has been stripped from us. It wasn't taken by foreign attackers. It was taken by Bush, conservatives and by your neurotic government. Certainly, Bush and his cadre of evil-doers have caused far more harm to Americans and to American liberties than a few foreign attackers. They are the real "terrorists." It's too late now, many of our freedoms are lost forever thanks to Bush and his ilk. The lesson for some future revolutionaries is try to avoid putting fools into the White House. Try to avoid extremists, conservatives, war mongers and Republicans. They are bad for your health and your freedom. Rebecca's Bargain Antiques Collectible Vintage Photos Fine Prints - Old Maps Sheet Music - Old Books Elegant Antiques and Collectibles "Any fool can make a rule" Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) You are welcome to use or republish any of our material. Please give www.prisoners.com credit as the source. Return to the New and Interesting Menu. Return to the Politicians and Politics Menu. Return to the Main Menu. Go to our site's Search Engine. Send us Your Comments, Questions or Input.