Thursday, June 12, 2008

Basic Instinct

You know, sometimes it feels so good to be right about stuff, especially when it seems that you've been swimming against the tide. There is a certain self-satisfaction about being able to say "I told you so." The war in Iraq is a good example of what I mean. Not only was I against the war from the very beginning, I told Poncho "Something about this whole thing stinks". It didn't feel clean. No offense to any used car salesmen, but that is how the war in Iraq felt to me. Like we might get cheated. (And of course we did.) I felt that this war was being sold to us. I recognized tactics and strategies used on the American people that were meant to: bamboozle us, rally us, rile us, confuse us, redirect us, distract us, etc. etc. I have pretty good basic instincts, but why couldn't other people see what I saw? Why did they believe all the propaganda? Why didn't they question our leaders? Why didn't they say no? (I did. I wrote my representatives.)
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When it turned out that my suspicions were correct, that we'd been lied to, and that the American government had played us like proverbial fiddles, I didn't feel much like saying, "I told you so." In fact, I wished I hadn't been right about the war in Iraq, and about our own government which sacrificed our democracy for their own agenda. I felt sad that our country had come to this. I felt bad that the people allowed themselves to be hoodwinked. I felt ashamed to be part of an America I could barely recognize anymore. I didn't want to be right. I wanted to be proven wrong!
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When I learned that Nexus was infiltrating our neighborhood, not only was the invasion of Bradbury Township comparable on many levels to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, I also experienced those same negative feelings. Nexus was being "sold" to the community just as the war in Iraq had been. People were lied to about Nexus, and the same tactics and strategies were used by the government and the corporation itself to bamboozle the public for an independent agenda. This whole deal wasn't for the "good of the community", as advertised. It was solely for the good of Nexus the corporation, as well as a few individuals within the community who stood to gain from Nexus remaining in our community.
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Again, I was swimming against the tide. Again, I wanted to be wrong. But the more involved I became in trying to keep Nexus out of my neighborhood, the more I dug in, researched, learned and experienced, the more certain I was of just how right I am about them. I even gave them ample opportunities to prove me wrong. They never did. They only proved that my basic instincts about them were right on target. Its a BINGO, folks. As we stand now, the community continues to be bamboozled. But just like it happened with the war in Iraq, the Truth about Nexus will eventually come out. Its only a matter of time. I believe that once folks realize what has been done to our community, they will no longer stand for such oppression - by either the local government or any corporation which takes away the constitutional rights of We The People. Yes, as a community, we aren't the sharpest blades in the drawer. But that's also because so many people are trusting and totally unaware of the tactics used to keep them in line. One day, you can be assured that there will be an epiphany that will change the way people think about Nexus. Once that bubble bursts, it will never be the same. It is impossible to "un-know" something. And eventually, everyone will be unable to un-know what happened in Hannabelle's town.
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And when everyone knows what I know about Nexus and the local government of Onamia, I'm pretty sure I won't feel like saying "I told you so." But then, maybe I will. After all, I can be a real bitch.
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"If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution."
Abraham Lincoln

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