Peace is Patriotic!

The real patriot is the person who is not afraid to criticize the defective policies of the country which he loves.
—Joseph J. Fahey, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies, Manhattan Collage

The only moral virtue of war is that it compels the capitalist system to look itself in the face and admit it is a fraud. It compels the present society to admit that it has no morals it will not sacrifice for gain.
—Helen Keller, 1915

Not long after September 11, 2001, when people began displaying American flags everywhere, I created the "One World, One Peace" image at right as an alternative. At that time, I felt ashamed to be an American. In October 2001 I wrote, "I am disturbed by our President's call for war [in Afganistan] as a response. I'm especially disturbed by the implication that "they" (the terrorists) are evil and "we" (the United States) are good. I have come to learn that the United States has been responsible for the murders of tens of thousands of men, women and children all over the world, mostly to maintain a congenial environment for U.S. corporations operating abroad. I deeply regret that I have not paid enough attention to this U.S.-instigated terrorism before now."

Since then I have come to believe that our government either knew of the September 11 attack plans in advance and did nothing to stop them, or, planned and implemented the attacks itself. I believe this based on the outcomes of the attacks--a war in Afghanistan that makes it a more amenable place for oil industry investment and a pipeline; a second war in Iraq also designed to gain control of petroleum sources; the roll-back of civil liberties here in the U.S.; a massive increase in the defense budget) as well as the many irregularities and unanswered questions still surrounding the events of September 11.

The situation continues to grow worse with wars that could last for years, cause great and long-lasting environmental damage (because of the use of uranium weapons and other hazards), slaughter many thousands of people, and lead to even more hatred of our country.

I believe that the United States government and its military forces and intelligences services, in collusion with the world financial systems and corporations that own the government, are the greatest terrorist threat that we face. Yikes!