I awoke to write a story floating in my head and I headed for the computer and out of bed. My mind's eye, the imagination that springs from listening, reading, and learning moved me toward doors in unseen places. The sound of loud voices and serious plotting, but a childlike urgency to make themselves known. But why the anger and the need to reveal themselves now? It is my thought, although I do not or could not know, that there is a war within and from behind the doors of those unseen places at the heart of the defense, military, and police complex, finance, and government's puppet masters.
That there are persons who for sometime have wanted to let each other and us know who they are and just how powerful they are and powerless we are. Ever since the last election, poor strategy by them revealing to themselves some fallibility. After all, they picked a team too weak to carry the win and the opposition hammered them. A vote of considerable consensus by the American puppet's had carried the day. It was a day which would cause the unintended consequence of exposing who is really in charge and just how ruthless and detached they have become.
So, how could these brilliant and powerful puppet masters let us know their real strength. We the American puppet's who for so long have believed, as my student's in the hood describe "Thinking we are all of that and a bag of chips" or "We have been smellin ourselves" dillusionary in our own importance. So it was time for the puppet masters to make the strings pull at our powerless bodies and ever dieing brains, and show us just who has the ownership. It was easy with the justification of terrorism and fear, to buy with our own money, the props needed to make the point to all of us, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, the great shrinking middle class, young or old. Their narcissistic ego maniacal need to control and have the world watch while we were given the message, without concern for the individual indignities or violation of our laws which govern our civilized society. No worry of that if you function within your own set of laws and move people around on a computer screen and fight robot wars that separate you from the damage you do. So came the first tug and then the second!
The amazing machines to reveal ourselves to ourselves are put into place. The string is pulled and the arms of passengers who bought a ticket thinking they had the freedom of citizenship and the American promise of the land of the free and could travel without personal intrusion, arms placed above their heads. They are standing in front of the world in a position that looks more like they are a criminal, legs apart and a technological scan of their most private possession, their body is taken and kept by unseen owners. They get an unwanted and asked for dose of radiation as a further message at what can be done to you without your true consent. You have been stripped of your dignity, your sense of self empowerment or the belief that you are truly living in the land of the free. You are now bewildered and rightfully confused and upset.
The second tug for some is even more harsh. Strangers hands touching your body with your permission coheres by the understanding that if you refuse you can be fined, detained, or miss your flight and maybe forfeit your hard earned money for the price of the ticket. Worse, you might have to hold your child which every lesson you every taught them about letting strangers touch their bodies inappropriately is trashed. Tragically you must watch and in some cases have to be part of this nightmare by having to hold your kicking and screaming child for their first encounter with the future and the relinquishing of freedom and personal dignity. Why would your child ever trust you now after you allowed them to be touched by strangers and you did not stop the assault? Children don't forget. How can we explain to them that this was for their safety when their safety has already been put in jeopardy by what has just happened to them?!!
For children it has gone farther in the messages that media and government have loudly played out for them on the trashing of the competency and caring of their teachers and schools. Yet, their parent's continue to send them as the law demands, although the children are unaware that they and their parent's are mere puppets in this tug of power and greed. All of this in the name of union busting and the move to do away with the Department of Education and break apart the public school system for the For Profit privitized business of charter, parochial, and private schools and the siphoning off of that piece of the American budget pie. A sorting mechanism to find the "best and brightest." For the sake of children?! Really?!!! For some children their futures will be the For Profit privitized prison system as controlled workers. Of course, this comes as the failure of poverty and the need for an inexpensive working class. Maybe all societies over history have functioned in a like plan, but we always thought we were better then that. Follow the money!!
Make no mistake, I am grateful to have, at least today, the freedom and privilege to write these thoughts without a knock on my door. What I would hope for is that the future will not deny this to our citizens, some that are not yet born or others not yet naturalized. That somewhere behind those unseen doors and because even puppet masters are people too with children and grandchildren, family and friends, there may just be hope for civilization. Maybe there is courage within those doors to back away from the theatrics and overt messages of power, to making a better world by putting the money spent on telling us who we are not and training the people on the ground and providing them with what is needed for our true safety, freedoms and protections,
By now the puppet masters must know we got the message. The unintended consequences of believing you have divided and conquered a people who have enjoyed and honor freedom may be the collective scream and resistance to keep paying for the abuse against themselves and their children. Without their money you can't buy more strings for the apparatus that would have them work. Something to ponder and take seriously. Yesterday seemed so simple, although it never was. And now, I think I will go back to bed and try to but pleasant thoughts in my head.
