A Unity Questionnaire

1. Do you think that it would be a good idea to honor the terrorists by naming one of our public buildings or parks after the terrorists?

2. Would you do anything about that if you heard that people were honoring the terrorists in that way?

3. Have you ever used the name “terrorist alert system” or heard others using that name?

4. Do you think that it is a good idea to unofficially name our national notification system after the terrorists?

5. Do you think that the terrorists consider the unofficial name “terrorist alert system” to be some sort of an honor?

6. Do you think the terrorists like that unofficial name and that they like that people use it?

7. Do you believe that when the U.S. Government notifies the people that there is some sort of natural or manmade problem pending that it might be a time for us to unite as a nation?

8. Have you ever considered using the name “Unity Notification System” instead of using the name “terrorist alert system”?

9. Which name do you think the terrorists want you to use?

10. Did you know that the official name of our national notification system is the “Homeland Security Advisory System”?

11. Did you know that the system uses words that indirectly tell you what your level of terror should be?

12. Does a system that indirectly tells you what your level of terror should be make you feel more secure?

13. Did you know that since that system was created that the lowest level of terror that the government has indirectly told you to have is one of elevated terror?

14. Do you think that the terrorists like it that our government indirectly sets our terror level like that?

15. Did you know that there isn't anything in the notification system that suggests that there might be days when you shouldn’t worry about terrorism and that you should just go out and enjoy the day?

16. Since 9/11 have you ever just gone out and enjoyed the day and not worried about terrorism?

17. Do you think that the terrorists like it when you just ignore them like that?

18. Do you think that the government could have chosen better words to use in the official notification system?

19. Would you like the government to change the name of our national notification system to the “Unity Notification System”?

20. Would you use the name “Unity Notification System”?

21. Do you think that it would be a good thing if the people and the government could agree to use the same name for our national notification system?

22. Would it be better for all of us to use a name that is based on our goals or a name that is based on the goals of the terrorists?

23. Do you think that we should unite as a nation to fix the problem or should we divide the nation by looking for who is most to blame?

Copyright © 2007 Iraq Problem Investigator Report @blogstream.com

{I consider this posted document to be a part of a written public discussion and I declare that this posted document along with any of my written comments that I place within the comment section of this posted document are all within the public domain. OY}

***NEWS FLASH***

News anchor Ted:
We interrupt our normal 24/7 news coverage to bring you what could be some real news. John! Are you there?

John:
Yes. I hear you Ted.

I am here at the Homeland Insecurity Department in Washington where we have just been informed that there may be a coming change in the nation’s insecurity level. Uh oh! Here comes the chief and he looks concerned.

Chief:
We have reason to believe that there may or may not be an increase in terrorism in the near future. There has been a detectable increase in terrorist communication levels and that may suggest a pending attack.

John:
Insecurity Chief!… Chief!… Is it possible that the terrorists are all just ordering take-out food today?

Chief:
We here at the department of Homeland Insecurity do not have time for your mindless speculations. We have enough of our own to deal with. We consider this totally unidentifiable threat to be real and we therefore raise the nation’s Official Insecurity Level to Orange with a Tad of Red.

John:
What does that mean? I forget how all of these colors work?

Chief:
It means that all Americans should raise their terror levels to be “beyond highly terrified” and that people should feel even more insecure than they did before.

John:
Did you get that back in the studio Ted?

Ted:
Yes John.

We now report that it has been officially announced by the chief of Homeland Insecurity that all of our terror levels should be raised to “beyond highly terrified” and that we are all supposed to feel even more insecure than before.

John? Can you ask the chief what we are supposed to do next?

John:
Chief? What should Americans do now that they are beyond highly terrified and even more insecure?

Chief:
Don’t you reporters read about the insecurity levels in the alert system and what they all mean?

All Americans should be vigilant. That means that each American should get really close to being a vigilante. That’s why we left the “e” off the word “vigilante” in the alert system; we want people to not quite be vigilantes but to be as close to being vigilantes as is required by the circumstances. In this case, all Americans should suspect any person who looks a little bit different of being guilty of some possible crime and immediately report their suspicions to the appropriate authorities. But please, do not take the law into your own hands, simply suspect everybody and remain highly terrified and insecure.

And please! Please!

Remain calm and go about your usual routine.

Ted:
We heard all of that back here in the studio, John. Thank you.

As you have just heard, we are now supposed to suspect everybody and remain highly terrified and calm. We will of course, here in the newsroom, endlessly repeat this stuff over and over again and pretend like we are being actual reporters. In between all of our repetitions we will insert speculative analysis and we will pretend that that is real news too. When you are in the 24/7 news business you have a lot of time to fill and we are working under the assumption that since we are news reporters it means that everything that we say and do must be news.

We turn now to our resident analyst/fabricators for their speculations…

Wait a minute! One of our field reporters is on the scene of a possible terrorist sighting… Janet? What’s going on?

Janet:
I hear you Ted. An elderly woman reported seeing a masked intruder going through her rubbish.

Six swat teams, as well as teams from every known federal agency immediately swooped in and apprehended what appears to be a very angry raccoon. But I must stress that it is only an “alleged” raccoon at this point and we cannot get an official confirmation on the species. It could even be a space alien disguised as a raccoon.

But it did look really, really mad.

Ted:
Thank you Janet.

Let’s turn now for analysis of these news stories. What could all of this mean? Is it possible that the terrorists are now in league with a band of angry raccoons?

A/F 1:
It is certainly possible that they could be Ted. And if true, we are in serious trouble. We are in even more trouble if it turns out to be a disguised space alien without proper identification. We could all die at any moment.

A/F 2:
Since it is possibly true I think that we, here in the newsroom, should all act like it is definitely true because this is the news business. Let’s treat all of our speculations as real news so that we can fill more time. Plus, if we get this stuff on the air first we will be the news leaders. And if any of it actually turns out to be true then we can advertise that we were first with reporting it. If it actually turns out to be false then we can simply never mention it again.

Ted:
Excellent idea, A/F 2. Wonderful analysis A/F 1. Lets keep repeating this stuff over and over and … Wait a minute! Back to Washington and our reporter, John!

John:
Ted. The chief is back and this does not look good.

Chief:
A sudden increase in terrorist sightings has been reported and so we have no choice but to raise the Official Insecurity Level to Flaming Red with White Hot Spots. That means that every American should be severely terrified with flashes of pure blinding terror. Your insecurity levels should be set at the highest possible level and you should not trust any other American.

But we have to stick together and remain calm if we are going to survive this suspected attack! We could all die at any moment and we really don’t have the time to bother with any of that civil rights nonsense.

Remember people! We are in a fight for our freedom, here!

All of the things that we believe in are at stake! And if we die all of our beliefs will die with us. So none of us should put our lives at risk in any way. It is better to be too safe than sorry.

Remember!

The only way for these terrorists to win is if all of the values that we hold dear are destroyed. And the only way for our values to be destroyed is by the terrorists destroying us. We have no other option but to protect ourselves at all costs. It is the only way for our values to survive and our values are simply not worth dying for.

So if you see a person who looks a bit different, suspect him, assume that he is guilty of something and report him to the proper authorities. We know what is best in these matters. You are going to have to trust in on our good judgment if we are going to survive this suspected attack. So everyone, please, just do as we ask.

Be severely terrified and calm. And if you see somebody who doesn’t look quite right just beat him into unconsciousness or do whatever you have to do to immobilize him until the proper authorities get there. But do not take the law into your own hands, just act like a vigilante with the “e” left off and be vigilant. Remain calm and remain beyond severely terrified and beyond severely insecure and go about your daily routine. We have everything under control.

John:
Ah, chief? …That doesn’t sound right.

Have you people actually thought this thing through?

Chief:
We have thought about it about as much as you in the press and the public have.

John:
What do you mean? The press and the public haven’t done anything like what you have done.

You guys declared a war on terror and then you didn’t even leave an option for winning that war on the insecurity levels list. And the way the system has been used so far we only get to choose between elevated terror levels, high terror levels and severe terror levels. Couldn’t you have at least have included a “Don’t worry about it, go out and enjoy the day” somewhere on the list?

Right from the start the words you chose said we could never win this thing and that we would forever be stuck with living in terror. The words you chose conceded defeat at the start. Who chose the words for the nutty verbal part of this system, the terrorists?

The press and the people haven’t done anything with words like what you people in the government have done?

Chief:
Well, don’t all of you people call this alert system the “Terrorist Alert System” and don’t you all use words like that? And isn’t that the same thing as giving the terrorists the honor of naming one of our systems after the terrorists?

Would you name a building after the terrorists? Or a park? You wouldn’t even think of doing that.

So why would you chose words that reward the terrorists by naming an alert system after them?

It’s not just the people in the government messing up with words; the public and the press haven’t chosen their words all that wisely either.

John:
Uh oh! Back to you in the studio, Ted.

Ted:
Uh oh!

xxxx End of news flash xxxx

Continued in the comment section for this post.

What is terrorism?

What is it all about? What is terrorism if it is distilled down to its essence?

Isn’t terrorism all about the manipulation of emotion?

To me that is the most fundamental part of terrorism; at its heart, terrorism is all about controlling people through the use of their emotions.

What do writers do?

Don’t writers try to control people through the use of their emotions? Isn’t that what a writer does?

Sure, writers are reporters, storytellers and poets but distilled down to its essence, writing is all about controlling people through the use of their emotions. The writer may not think of himself or herself as a controller of emotion but if you listen to what readers say about good writers you hear about the emotional control in the background. “The writer tugged at my heart; transported me to a scary or a pleasant place; I felt…” those are some of the things you hear readers say about writers. And there in the background you see that writers and terrorists use the same basic mechanism to reach their goals. One big difference is that writers use a much broader palette of emotions than the terrorists use.

Let’s take a quick leap over to history. What day does America celebrate as the day of its birth? Is it the day a bunch of Pilgrims hopped onto a rock or the day some big battle was fought?

No, no big military battle or any of that other stuff. America celebrates the day that a bunch of revolutionary people signed their names on a piece of paper. We celebrate the day when the written word changed the course of world history. It was the written word that united a diverse people, people with all sorts of different beliefs and opinions. It was the written word that called out to the mind of each American. It called out and got their minds to unite and the written word gave them what they needed to accomplish something spectacular that changed the planet.

Back to terrorists and writers.

The emotional palette of writers is far greater and more powerful than that of the terrorists. The written word is known to have changed the planet and if there is going to be a victory over terrorism it is likely that it will be writers who will win the big battle because only writers have the tools and the skills to do it.

The battle against terror and the battle for democracy are battles for the hearts and minds of the people and writers fight and win small versions of those battles every day. Writers constantly battle to win the hearts and minds of readers and they do it by controlling the emotions of the readers through the use of the written word. Writers can stop, or at least greatly reduce, this terrorism thing if the writers can focus their skills on the problem and break the emotional control that the terrorists now have over the nation’s emotions.

The battle to break the emotional control of the terrorists will need to be fought by the writers if the world is ever to regain its sanity. And this battle to free the people from the emotional control of the terrorists is one that must be fought within the modern streams of consciousness and the ocean of emotion. And it is the writers who know how to fight on those battlefields and win the hearts and minds of the people and give them back their emotional freedom. Fear can be countered with hope and dazed confusion countered with crisp clarity of thought.

A writer or a group of writers need to search for the right sets of words that will work and unite the American mind, give it back its freedom and put an end to this terrorism thing. All the writers and the readers have their parts to play in this thing but each must choose to play his or her part. And all of it will start with the uniting of minds of some of the writers.

If the writers do not try to do this then we are all toast.

Hope and Fear

 

hope:

I am hope.

 

fear:

And I am fear.

 

both:

And we both live

so close, so near.

In this life

you get to choose.

In some ways you win

and some ways you lose.

When you make your choice

and you make it clear

then these are some things

that you just might hear.

 

fear:

Put down that stick!

It will put your eye out!

 

hope:

Come on now kids!

Let’s run, play and shout.

 

fear:

Don’t touch that thing.

It is oh so dirty.

 

hope:

Come here and touch

this pretty birdie.

 

fear:

Don’t eat that food.

You know that it’s too rich.

 

hope:

I love this taste!

It’s my favorite sandwich.

 

fear:

It’s a big bad world

and this I know.

Because I saw it all

on the Oprah show.

 

both:

We are hope

and we are fear.

And we both live

so close, so near.

In this life

you get to choose.

In some ways you win

and some ways you lose.

 

fear:

If you must go out

and be in the sun.

Make sure that you use

an SPF nine hundred one.

Sure, you will look

like a greasy albino.

But you never can be

too safe you know.

 

hope:

Let’s go run.

And let’s go play.

Let’s go out and

enjoy the day!

Let’s go out

and climb the trees.

We can smell the air

and feel the breeze.

It’s a big nice world.

And this I know

because I saw it all

on the Oprah show.

 

both:

We are hope

and we are fear.

And we both live

just oh so near.

In this life

you get to choose.

In some ways you win

and some ways you lose.

We both know

that it must be so.

Because we saw it all

on the Oprah show.

 

fear:

Underneath my bed,

my bed of gloom

It is oh so tight.

I need more room.

Here is what I am going to do.

I’ll go get myself another bed or two.

Then I’ll line them up, all side by side.

It will give me

so much more room to hide.

 

hope:

Breathe the air

Don’t despair.

Seek the joy

Everywhere.

 

fear:

Now I got me

a great big plasma screen.

And from here under bed

I can see big scary scenes.

If I get too scared

I’ll play a scene from Yellowstone.

And then it’s just like I live

in a whole new time zone.

From here under bed

that pretty scene will greet me.

And I know that I’m safe

and the bears won’t eat me.
High up near the top

of my big bad scary list

is the oh so scary

big bad terrorist

I keep the alert

up on my plasma screen

And now my fear level

is set at tangerine.

 

both:

We are hope

and we are fear.

And we both live

oh so near.

We both know

that it must be so.

Because we saw it all

on the Oprah show.

 

hope:

Fear nation,

prostration

causation

fear fixation,

fear dictation.

 

fear:

More plastic

More duct tape

Big bad world

No escape.

 

hope:

Breathe the air.

Don’t despair.

Seek the hope

everywhere.

 

fear:

If I must fly

and I bring shampoo

this is the thing

I always must do

I don’t take it all,

I’ll just take a bit.

And this is what

I do with it.

I put it there in a plastic bag

 

hope:

Fear you always nag, nag, nag.

 

fear:

Hope you’re such a big dumb fool

I am fear and believe in magic rules.

Only the right size bag will pass inspection.

And the right size bag gives the most protection.

I am fear I have no need of Liberty.

Better to be too safe than live free.

I have sent nearly all of my brave

far across the ocean wave.

While here at home I live in fear.

It’s just so comfy under here.

 

Fear hypnosis.

Mass neurosis.

Mass psychosis.

 

both:

We are hope

and we are fear.

And we both live

so close, so near.

In this life

you get to choose.

In some ways you win

and some ways you lose.

When you make your choice

and you make it clear

then those are some things

that you just might hear.

But now time is short

and we must go

because it’s almost time

for the Oprah show.

 

 

 

Old Yankee:

Climb the tree.

Do you see

a nation free?

Want to cope?

Choose the hope.

I asked TTR for his thoughts on something I had written. I am putting the thing that I wrote (slightly altered) into this posting to make it easier to access and to get any other thoughts on the subject.

Assume that there is a parent who tells his daughter that she is incompetent, that she is never going to amount to anything and that she is inferior. It seems to me that most Americans would call that guy a bad parent. Similarly, if it was a teacher with a student and the teacher said the same sort of things to the student then that teacher would be labeled as being a bad teacher. And the same would be true if it were a peer with a peer relationship. The berating peer would be labeled as being a bad peer. The same label would apply if it were two parents berating one child or one parent berating two children. In fact, one million parents saying that sort of stuff to one million children would still get the one million parents labeled as being bad parents. And the same label would be used if it were one million teachers or one million peers doing the berating. In all cases, regardless of the number of people involved, the berating group would be labeled by Americans as being bad.

Now, it is known that America has some sort of a relationship with the Iraqis and that relationship is something like that of a parent to a child, or like a teacher to a student, or like a peer to a peer relationship. And, inexplicably, millions of Americans have no problem at all saying, directly or indirectly, that the Iraqis are incompetent, that they are never going to amount to anything and that the Iraqis are inferior.

What are your thoughts on this?