ZEITGEIST…

The  STATE OF THE WORLD:

Today…and from the beginning of human history, politics and religion have all been based on lies, and the lies now have the capacity to kill us and end the world, and for all we know- all life in the universe.

ONLY

The Truth

The Whole Truth

And Nothing But the Truth…

Can set us Free

By DW Foreign Policy Editor, Dusty Schoch

Jan. 1, 2008.

Remember that potent scene of military tribunal cross examination in “A Few Good Men”, where Tom Cruise is just about to crack Jack Nicholson into telling the truth about a soldier’s being murdered (for the crime of non-conformity with American military tradition).

Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): You want answers?
Tom Cruise (Kaffee): I think I'm entitled.
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): You want answers?
Tom Cruise (Kaffee): I want the truth!
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): You can't handle the truth!

When 9/11 happened in America in 2001, what was it about us Americans that made us so vulnerable…so ready to believe the lies our C.I.A. and Commander in Chief were telling us about Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s responsibility for the terrorists’ attack on America?  It was the same vulnerability that has been pervasive in human kind from the very beginning.

Forget whether Eden and the birth of man’s intelligence was 4 thousand or 4 million years ago.  With the dawning of man’s intelligence came his knowledge—his certain knowledge--of his own mortality, and with that epiphany came the Achilles heel of mankind – his fear and dread of his own demise.

From the beginning of time that fear of man’s mortality has pretty much run his civilized show…from his arithmetic and linguistic beginnings (somewhere in the “fertile crescent” of “Mesopotamia” ) to our present-day struggles between the world of Islam and “the West”. 

From the beginning of time, men have been wholly unwilling to face the truth that their days on earth are numbered.  As Nicholson’s character angrily put it -
YOU (we,  mankind)  CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

So what did he (man) do to avoid having to deal with the truth of his own mortality?   He invented myths (lies) to lull himself into a “rational” state of denial which we collectively refer to as “religions” and “religious BELIEFS”.

Ezra Pound chanted to us that “religions are the opium of the people”, and he, quite certainly was correct.  All religions teach us ways to deal with our essential fears, foremost among which, is of course the terror of our  inevitable deaths. Proof of this is man’s having chosen the “death” feature of  life for one of his central labels for himself.  Men, especially in the context of their religions, refer to themselves, then, as “mortals” (beings who…die).

Since man’s most primal and motivating fear is of his mortality, and since mens’ many diverse religions provide the antidote for death (e.g. American Indian “Happy Hunting Ground”, Christian “Heaven”, etc. ), his most threatening collateral fears will be of religions which deny the truth of his own religion.  If Jesus was right, Islamics , per force of their “book of religious truth” must both die and …remain dead. For a long time.  If the Islamics are “right”, the same fate awaits the Christian believer.  And so each religious “believer” is living by a religious code that constitutes a mortal threat to all other religious believers.

Every major war in the history of man has involved disputes among humans of divergent religious beliefs. According to their own religious history, the Jews were the first genocidal people to decide and act upon the belief that anyone who didn’t worship their god was a mortal enemy that needed to be killed. This attitude ricocheted against the Jews before and during and following WWII, and genocides are now rampant throughout the world from Iraq to Darfur, but it’s all based on the same thing – fear,  religious beliefs and wars to alleviate fears based on religious beliefs.

The bottom line to this timeless and ubiquitous nonsense is…quite ironically…nonsense itself. By “non-sense”, I am, for diplomatic reasons (i.e. intellectual and polemic stealth hopefully on a Machiavellian level) euphemizing the truth which I have resolved, as my brave new introduction to the year 2008, to say outright –

Religion is the cause of all our problems and all religions are based on myths, and all myths are essentially and virtually lies, and if we don’t quit telling and following these lies, we will be destroyed and likely destroy planet earth in the process.

On what authority do I assert (with such unparalleled temerity) that all religions are based on lies?  The authority is abundant…and abundantly available. Islam is merely Christianity which has been plagiarized to put Mohammed forward as the real Jesus Christ.  Christianity, in turn, is merely an almost verbatim copy of Egyptian sun-based religion.

Are you already mad at me for telling you this “truth” , because as Nicholson says to Tom Cruise “you can’t handle the truth”?  Most of you will be. Religion is a sacred cow in most societies, and attacking that cow will win me no popularity. That’s because most of you readers still comfortably cling to religious beliefs that serve to one extent or another to ease your dread of …dying. Along with your moral struggles concerning what is “right” and what is “wrong” to do while you are alive. A book of simple rules gives us the feeling that ethics are as simple to understand as say, the “Ten Commandments” “God” purportedly gave a man named Moses.  Plus,  your dread of those who (like me now) would preach a sermon which undermines your belief that your religion is “right”, when it comes to the part where the diety in charge of your religion is going to spare you either the pains of life or the culmination of life in death.

WHY AM I PREACHING THIS ANTI-RELIGIOUS RANT AS RELEVANT TO “FOREIGN POLICY”?  Isn’t it obvious?  Bush became president by claiming to be a Christian and in effect running his election and his re-election campaigns on a fundamentalist religious platform (viz., pro-life, anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-Islam).  He played on the red states’ constituency which was primarily Christian Fundamentalist, and “kept his promises” to make America secure from (Islamic) terrorists.  He played on our fears and utilized the oldest strategy on earth that leaders and power mongers use – make them afraid of imminent death, keep them afraid of dying, and keep telling them the oldest lies on earth.  It worked for the Pharaohs; it worked for Constantine; It worked for Hitler, and it is working for Bush and the neo-cons. 

And as long as it works, we are doomed to have history of war and turmoil on earth continue…but with over 7 billion humans, and 7 nations with nuclear technology, we’re not talking now of man’s individual mortality; we’re talking about the potential extinction of life on earth, and—so far as we know—all life in the universe.

Globalization and world wars are going hand-in-hand. The corporations, Federal Reserve Banks and religions are all consorting together to share the power that is now reeking havoc in terms of international warfare and environmental degradation.  At the heart of all global conflict, there lies the conflicting beliefs of people of divergent religions. The irony of it all is that pretty much all religions are based not only on lies (myths and legends), but based on the same myths (lies).

Why is this such a well-kept secret? Because the revelation of that secret would LITERALLY TERMINATE THE POWER OF NOT ONLY THE VATICAN, BUT OF BUSH, BIN LADEN, AND ALL THE WARING DEMAGOGUES ON EARTH WHO HAVE FOLLOWED IN THE TRADITION OF  CONSTANTINE WHO SCHOOLED US WITH HIS FATALLY-FLAWED MOTTO: “In Hoc Signo Vinces”  (trans: In this sign—THE SIGN OF THE CHRISTIAN CROSS!!!!) YOU WILL CONQUER (I.E. KILL NON BELIEVERS).  So “Jesus-like”, wouldn’t you agree? It’s always amazed me that the ones who champion the story of Jesus the loudest seem to be the first to trounce on his central sermon (to love thy neighbor, including thine enemy, as thy self).  Where in the world—or in the “word”--did Jesus instruct us , “When thy neighbor has weapons of mass destruction, destroy him by the hundreds of thousands pre-emptively with thine own weapons of mass destruction.?

Islamics call non-believers (like us) “Infidels”

Constantine called them “pagans”

Fascist Christians (e.g. Hitler) called them Jews and “non-Ayrian”

Jews call them Palestinians or simply “Arabs” (even though all Arabs and Jews are cousins). 

Christians call them (all others)  “sinners”.

Fascist, Imperialist Americans (like George Bush) call them ….”terrorists”.

So, decide now---this very moment, who you are. Are you among the majority of sheep who, as Nicholson put it, simply “Can’t handle the truth”?  Are you by force of fear and habit, unable even to address the possibility that you have based most of your life and your view of life on earth on lies told you from birth?

If you are brave enough to consider the possibility that both your religion and your country’s foreign policy are constructed upon a house of corrupting mythological cards, then you can start your research with the well-bibliographed video entiled “Zeitgeist” now available for free on Google video, at the following link:

           http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com

And, after you’ve watched this amazing revelation, I urge you to go back and, on its homepage, click on the “statement” link  and the “interactive transcript” link for references you can research in case you have doubts regarding the issues of whether the Christian Bible is an original writing or merely a plagiarized compilation and amalgamation  of former religious fiction.

I suggest you watch this video only if you consider yourself brave enough to face the truth about your own country, your own religion, and your own mortality.

For incentive, I’ll offer you encouragement some ascribe to Jesus:  “The truth will set you free.”

And a final word of encouragement from Nietzsche – “That which  does not kill you tends ultimately to make you stronger.”

The video’s title, “Zeitgeist”,  literally (in German) means “The Spirit of the Times”.  Today’s spirit of the times is fear and desperation, mixed with confusion and doubt. Our leaders have lied to us, and there are wars that smack of genocide on-going or brooding all over the globe, along with clear signs of Ecological armageddon. There are many religious and political (also religious) leaders in our midst coaxing us to accept *our present states of war and ecological disaster as the inevitable and intractable progress of man in accordance with religious prophesy. I personally don’t “believe” in the details and implications of the 9/11 conspiracies (i.e., U.S. Government-machinated terrorist attacks on U.S.) I do believe, however, that Zeitgeist is right on the money when it leads us to re-examine and research the religious roots of wars, human enslavement and environmental degradation.

That last sentiment of war-mongering propaganda (*above) , my friends, is the BIGGEST LIE OF ALL. But the search for and recognition of truth is finally the  responsibility and test of every human as an individual.  It has been my purpose in writing this article to lead you toward the saving waters of truth. Whether you choose to drink it is…

Your call.

Dusty

January 1, 2008

Let’s all have some great new year(s)!

PS (for those “literal” believers in Jesus Christ) – I am able to believe there is God in your belief without being

convinced  that what you believe in is God.  And, in any and all cases, I believe in you.

Patrick Morton’s Addendum

Dear Everyone,

My hat off to Dusty for being so brave as to say what is on his heart and in his mind. While he may be stepping on some Christian Toes, I for one have become enlightened enough to always wear steel-toed shoes, spiritually speaking.

I would like to add to his list of name-calling factions, where in Pagans call all others the Un-Enlightened, for good reason.

More than just your Science Contributor as called, I have a lifelong passion of religious studies as well. If one were to read through, as I have, most any comprehensive anthology of theology such as The Interpreter's Bible (some 50 volumes texts, apologies, interpretations and such) then the prefaces would certainly warrant serious investigations; reading something like:

     " ... in that these collections of writings have come down to us through the ages, bearing up to the tolls of time, and that in the faithful reading and transcribing and meticulous care their messages have remained clear, and that in such passages of time the writings herein have proven themselves to be Holy, we are bound to hold these writings in the cannonical preferences to have been written by the veritable hand of God..."

Such prefaces go on and on, but you get my meaning here.

It does not escape my feelings of Holy-inspired writings being authentic. Certainly the Holy Mother of Jesus herself had some things to say (being present both at His birth and at Pentecost with scores of other women) yet was categorically denied venue in King James' version of what our Lord meant to say. Likewise, the words of His most favored, Mary Madgelene, was rooted out from the "In Scriptures" by the Good 'ol Boys Club.

I say it this way, because history documents that there were nearly an equal number of men and women at Pentecost, receiving the Holy Spirit, and being instructed to spread the Word and Healing to every nation. And yet, however, even so, only the mens' version of antiquities remains widely accepted.

It is my findings that some of these women may have journeyed to the what became the British Isles, spreading Love and Healing under practices that the Good 'Ol Boys underhandedly labeled as witchcraft. No, I'm not saying that Early Christian women became witches. But I am saying that certain deceptions were acheived to keep women's parts out of the picture. 

Beginning with St. Columba (who openly hated women) in the 5th century, it may well be that female keepers of that original faith have been persecuted ever since. (Incidentally, most of the practitioners of Love and Healing, circa 462 A.D., in and around Avalon, though unarmed were slaughtered viciously in the name of Christ. Not a new act, but a little-known bit of history).

Let us not forget that the Good 'Ol Boys throughout history have always had an agenda. The fallen Roman Empire used the New Gospel of Jesus to heal their broken nation, giving birth to the Roman Catholic Church during the first several centuries after the apostles died out.

King James sought to keep the English Empire subjugated during an age of information explosion (its kind at that time) wherein printed books threatened to enlighten every man, woman and child; he certainly couldn't afford for people to begin thinking for themselves. Next thing you know, people would get the idea they could keep that ten percent for their poor, starving families.

However!

In spite of it all I remain predominantly Christian, in the purest and most classical sense; the truest sense imaginable, I guess you might say. Especially in outward practice, Christianity remains the most socially expeditious lane in which to exist, in this country.

In my Spirit, there is only God. He is All-Loving and All-Knowing. Surely, an omniscient  God would not make us so very different and then expect us to all fall in behind a single religious icon. NO! CERTAINLY NOT!!! He did make us all unique, some creeds and nations with similarities. He certainly would have had the good sense to bestow a deity among us that we would both understand and appreciate. Anything less would be erroneously human.

Yes, Pagans refer to all others and the Great Un-Enlightened. (Even so, some among all rank and file are close-minded).

The Pagans also claim that Christianity has Pagan DNA; vice versa in some circles.

The closest to the TRUTH here is that all religions carry a variant DNA the is most damaging to any pure concept of Godliness; that is human DNA. It is human nature to corrupt anything down towards is lowest common denominator, unfortunately.

God, whatever yours is by name, makes His rain to fall upon the just and the unjust alike; divine inspiration reaches us all. God cannot help it if His Perfect Words are lost in the translation to the human condition.

God's Perfect Words comes to us all. It's part of the precepts of Free Will, to know of His word, whether it comes to you through the Holy Bible, the Koran, or spelled out in your alphabet soup each day. The manner in which you make use of it is Religion. The extent to which you may or may not butcher it up is Dogma.

Overall, with wars breaking out everywhere and throughout time instead of people waging peace, I'd say the human race is doing a real lousy job at ascribing to any God.

Blessings and Peace to You All,

Patrick

Len Carrier Comments:

 I cannot in all conscience believe in the God of any organized religion.  More wars and killing have been done  in the name of God than through any other channel. Those who believe in the teachings of Jesus--in the Golden Rule, in principles of fairness, and in doing no harm to living things--have my admiration.  But once these intuitive human feelings get organized, they become perverted; and those who are the organizers sometimes cannot resist the temptation to jam their beliefs down the throats of those who do not believe as they do.

I believe in the principles of the Enlighenment, in the use of reason in the service of human sympathy.  For those in organized religions who share these feelings, I have nothing but respect.  But I cannot abide those pious "true believers" who think that their certainty of belief must also hold true for others.

To all those who wish for peace and friendship in the world, I offer my hand.  To those who disagree, I turn that hand to its backside.  Jesus said to turn the other cheek.  But I haven't yet reached the stage of showing kindness to those who would be my enemies.

Happy New Year to all.

BRAD CLINARD Contributes

(Student/Athlete attending UNC Charlotte)

WOW!

 I am floored (by Zeitgeist)  and not sure exactly where to start. I would  like a copy but don't know how to do this off the internet. I have to thank you for sharing this with me. In some ways I am scared that just for watching I might soon be taken away and thrown in jail without a lawyer. The part that bothers me the most, making me a  little sick, is the microchip and its accompanying implications. After viewing this,  the Nine-Eleven conspiracy doesn't seem so bogus either. It makes me once again re-evaluate as a young person trying to create a path in life what that path should look like. Do I really want to get a "good" job and save with the unpredictable future that is predictably not going to be the world I live in today... no oil, increased technology, increased competition and ruthlessness.
 
On the  other side this film definitely had three distinct parts. I enjoyed watching the beginning;  however,  from the background (Judeo-Christian) I come from and knowing how believers think, I feel it is misplaced. The second and third parts (starting at minute 37) are important enough to be viewed by every human who wishes to be informed. Unfortunately I foresee many believers being turned off and turning off this film after 6 minutes.
 
After just finishing this I am still almost at a loss for what to say but wanted to at least get you a gut reaction... I am horrified. The other night I was looking back on the year and thinking about the future. The downfall of society depicted in Zeitgeist  is the same as our free speech--with so much being said nobody really listening. I have made changes in my life (becoming educated, being conscious about all my consumption, planning for survival) but I also know that in order to engineer substantial change it must be larger than just me. I also see that in a lot of situations although it is humble to lead a simple life, those who are in a position to make change are those with money and positions of power. I am still looking for the book that explains these things... and will buy you a copy when I find it!
 
Thanks and Happy New Year!

Bradford Clinard