Stop the Hate

Have you guys noticed a pattern? Have you noticed how our leaders use tragedy to push political agendas? Do you see it? In the wake of the France attacks there has been a renewed sense of hate regarding ISIS. Some people get pretty conspiratorial about it, but it’s because this pattern has been repeating itself for a while. A terrorist attack is followed by a loss of civil liberties, and an endless war on “terrorists”. We will never stamp out terrorism. Especially if we continue on the path that we are on.

Terrorists become terrorists for a reason. It’s not because they are Muslims. Despite what the pundits might tell you, and the narrative the media tries to portray. It’s not the reason. They don’t become terrorists because they are evil. Despite the horror they spread. They become terrorists because their lives have been filled with nothing but loss, despair, and poverty that makes Americans in poverty look like Kings. If you want to understand ISIS look to the war in Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands, if not a million innocent people lost their lives during that war, and while what happened in France is unacceptable, what happened in Iraq is just as unacceptable. What's going on in Syria is unacceptable. The terrorists attacked there because France has allied with the US in the war in Syria. It’s not okay to murder innocent people, and the US and the West have been the biggest perpetrators of terrorism since the end of WWII. Terrorists are not going away anytime soon because the terrorist is right here. It’s you and me. It’s the US and its military.

It seems that people in high places wish for us to hate. They wish for us to be scared. They want to paralyze us with the threat of terror to keep us from understanding that they are the real criminals. The people who run this country and most of the West. The corporate giants, the bankers, the people who run the military-industrial complex. War is profit for them. If you’re burning up with hatred as you read these word please consider why you are getting mad. You probably think that I am a crazy loony tune whack job who has no idea what he is talking about, but there is no sense in getting mad at someone who is writing things for the internet. Take a deep breath bucko, and take a moment to consider your position. It’s probably pretty good. You’re reading an article on the internet, you’ve probably had enough to eat today, and you don’t need to live in fear for your safety.   

The people in Syria, Iraq, and many in the Middle East often times don’t have that luxury. The poverty that they face is inconceivable to people in the US and the West. Many of them have lost loved ones in this so-called war on terror, and by and large those loved ones have not been terrorists. Even when this war kills terrorists, believe it or not, terrorists have families, they have people in their lives who love them, and if there is one thing we all can agree on, it’s that love is never rational. Love never makes sense, and losing somebody you love leaves a scar on you that doesn’t soon heal.

Many people in the Middle East have had it tough, and it’s honestly a miracle that more of them are not terrorists. The media has done such a good job of dehumanizing them, that when you hear the Middle East you equate it to terrorism. You think of extremist Islam. You think of everything besides the fact that they are simply people. I realize not all of you think that way, but I’ve seen too many people celebrating war on Syria this past week and it makes me sick. Far too many would rather blindly hate, and say that we “need” to go to war to destroy ISIS. That’s just not true. We will never get rid of them going about it like this. It’s been 14 years since the US started the “War on Terror” and we have not made any progress. Why continue this? The only reason it continue is because the media has done such a good job of keeping us scared and filled with hate.

I’m haunted by images of the two minutes of hate, a part of George Orwell’s 1984 film adaptation. Watch the scene. A leader declares an enemy, and the people scream with hatred at them. It reminds me of the way people reacted to the terrorist attack in France. The leaders in the US constantly look for people to label as enemies to unite us in fear. To keep us filled with hate. During the Cold War it was communism, but now they have figured out an even more abstract enemy for us to hate. ISIS.

It’s good to keep us filled with hate because we don’t think rationally when we are mad. Our leaders react in fits of blind rage, and feel the need to punish, but don’t fall victim to the kind of thinking your leaders have, because that isn’t thinking, it’s reacting. What happened in France happens a lot more in places like Syria and Iraq. And ISIS kills innocent people in Syria as well. They are ruthless, and the majority of the population in Syria believes that ISIS is a CIA creation. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen, but the fact that people there blame the West for ISIS means another terrorist cell that will pop up even if ISIS is destroyed. The cycle of terrorism will continue because wiping out ISIS will lead to more innocents being killed and more misery for Syria.

The misery in the Middle East goes back a long time, but the US began it's meddling there in the post-WWII era. One of the catalysts that began it was the UK and the CIA's overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected leader in 1953. They funded Al-Qaeda to fight the Russians in the late 70’s, and who knows what kind of sketchy shit the CIA is engaged in Middle East at this moment. Don’t be so naïve as to think that there isn’t something sketchy going on there now.

There is no sense in being mad at our leaders for their history of violence and oppression in the Middle East, but it is important to know some background, and we need to start holding them accountable for their mistakes. If you know that this is the truth, keep calm when you are talking to people about it. Do not fight anger and hatred with anger and hatred. Like Yoda says in Star Wars anger is the path to the dark side. I wish I knew the direct quote, but it doesn’t matter. There will never be peace unless we decide to choose peace. Love is the answer. Peace and love my friends.