Fear and distraction...

I've been doing something lately that I generally try to avoid. I know better. Yet some strange morbid curiosity seems to draw me back every once in a while. And every time I make this mistake, it hurts me worse.

I've been listening to the mainstream media. I've been exchanging opinions with average Americans. And when I hear what the voters are thinking, I'm horrified. Things begin to look hopeless.

Almost every story is the same. Fear-driven nonsense. Sensationalist propaganda. Thinly-veiled bigotry. And the public response? Outrage. Flag-waving hysteria. Righteous indignation.

The ugly secret, however, is this: It's all a scam. Smoke and mirrors. Simple bullshit hyped up to distract simple people. Those who are in control seek to keep the populace angry, scared, and pointing the finger at someone else. A giant, semi-educated mass who are so busy fighting amongst themselves that they are incapable of seeing through the fog and identifying their real enemies.

Based on what I've read, seen, and heard lately, these are some of the things we should all be very frightened and angry about...

1) HOMOSEXUALS

Homosexuals. Society's punching bag for generations now. I must admit, I had been fooled into believing that this whole argument was over. Educational institutions, alternative news, and my own personal social community had brainwashed me. I thought we had evolved beyond a junior high mindset. Apparently I was wrong.

As it turns out, homosexuals are destroying the very fabric of this nation. Yeah, I know. I was shocked too. I'm now told that this great nation was founded upon the ideals of a Christian God, and it's health is dependant upon good, wholesome, Christian families. Homosexuals, it appears, are actively trying to undermine both these religious teachings, as well as traditional family structure. A few wise souls have gone a step further, and shared some really big news with me. Rumor has it that if gay marriage is legalized, it will cause the aforementioned God to withdraw his blessing from this nation (which he apparently created), thereby leaving us on some forsaken fast-track to utter destruction.

Scary right? Thank God I know now. All this time I was thinking that it really didn't matter what consenting adults did with their lives. I was living in ignorance, believing that it didn't affect me at all. I wasn't even aware that there was such a spiteful and angry God, and I had no idea that he liked America better than every other nation. I'm lucky all those blessed souls on the comments section of a popular news site were kind enough to scream all this sense into my head. I probably would have gone the rest of my life treating gays like my equals, rather than as sub-humans as this God character does. Whew. Close call.

Moving on, I'm going to attempt to lay off the sarcasm...

2) IMMIGRANTS

Yes, yes, I know all of the arguments. Immigrants strain the economy (that one is just funny). Immigrants raise health care costs (Yeah.... that's where the problem comes from). Immigrants participate in the drug trade (who's buying those drugs?). "I have no problem with them, as long as they come here legally" (try walking in someone else's shoes, you'll probably find yourself walking across a border).

My problem in understanding all of the fear and outrage is this: I've always approached the topic from a standpoint of compassion, and on top of that, I'm poor. I understand that drastic situations sometimes demand drastic measures. I've been over the southern border. I've seen what the living conditions are like. If I were there, I'd jump the border and get a job too. That's how my ancestors arrived here as well. Back then, however, it was a lot easier. All you had to do was show up and pass a rudimentary examination to make sure you didn't have tuberculosis. If you weren't coughing and you could pick up a tool, you were in.

It's time to quit crying about the massive influx of immigrants and come up with realistic plans on how to cope with this massive group of HUMANS. There are millions here now, and millions more coming. Immigrants just like our ancestors. And truthfully, half of the people who are clamoring about this are motivated by racism. Sad but true. Yet whether your opposition is racially based or something other, my advice is the same: Aprenda a hablar espanol....

3) ISLAM

I'm going to keep this one real light. A lot of people are very sensitive about this topic in the wake of September 11th, not to mention the fact that the U.S. is currently at war in two primarily Islamic countries. The agitation exists, mainly, due to a lack of education. Once again, it's not primarily intelligent people who are making all of the noise here.

I'm speaking chiefly about the uproar surrounding the proposed construction of an Islamic community center near "ground zero", in southern Manhattan. Avoiding all other arguments, I'd like to advise any bible-thumping, FoxNews-loving, flag-waving zealots to look over the First Amendment to your beloved Constitution. I'm willing to drop the debate right there. If that basic sentiment fails to change the mind of those who disagree with me, then it is a waste of time to share anymore logic with you. Logic does nothing to combat those who've arrived at their opinions using no logic at all.

And before I receive any hostile messages, comments, or emails regarding how terrible Muslim people are, I suggest that any such persons do a little reading before you type. If you have Internet access, it's quite easy to find a wide array of facts about the Islamic religion, it's different branches and sects, the history of U.S. foreign policy towards these peoples, and the actual intentions and beliefs of those who are trying to build this community center. If that proves to be far too time consuming for you, perhaps you could just look over the Bill of Rights.

4) SOCIALISM

I'm going to keep this very brief. And very simple. And I should preface the comment by making it clear that I am not a supporter of the current President...

Barack Obama is not a Socialist. No major figure in our present Federal government is a Socialist. This is the most rampant example of fear-mongering nonsense that I hear on a daily basis. It's absolutely false. One semester of political theory, at any community college in the country, will absolutely disprove these baseless accusations of Socialism. If you meet any person, and they tell you that Barack Obama is a Socialist, you can safely assume two things: They are an idiot, and they have no clue what Socialism is.

A man started parroting this Obama/Socialist bit at me earlier today. Yet he actively collects unemployment, and his girlfriend receives disability payments. He failed to see the irony when I pointed that out.....

So who should we be mad at? What should we be afraid of? Who is to blame for the economy, the war, the poverty, the violence, the vague sense of dissatisfaction that so many people feel? Who is really in control? Are we in control of anything? How do we change the present state of affairs?

We can start by turning away from the mainstream media, and beyond that, the remainder of the answer is complex. Yet under no circumstances should we follow like sheep, transferring our frustration onto whatever minority group is the designated target.