Now you can own a piece of history

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Read Obama

Fear of Freedom

In my internet travels I encountered these headlines...

Journalist group honors Cuban political prisoner

Castroism is bad for the stomach

Two stories about journalists living (and dying) in Cuban prisons.

Naively I question why any government feels the need to imprison journalists. I came up with one answer: Fear.

Cuba's Castro and his brother Raúl are the perfect example of fear. They know personally that if the people are incited to make a change in the government then a revolution is possible. Quite possibly a violent revolution. The oppressed rising up to overthrow the oppressors. The very means that allowed Fidel and Raúl to enter into Cuba's government is the foundation of their fear. Fidel and Raúl are now the oppressors and fear for their lives. No matter how benevolent a dictatorship is still a dictatorship.

Despots and dictators have a profound fear of freedom.

We effectively let the 'revolution' happen every four years. Our is a government based on representation. We have established rules for the orderly transfer of leadership. Part of the overall process which insures the representation of an individual's views and opinions is freedom of speech. This extends to journalism and the freedom to report on any aspect of our society.

In our Democracy there is a bell-curve of opinion on every topic of discussion and concern. Depending on the topic the curve can be skewed to the left or the right. By allowing individual opinions we franchise every member of our society. By employing the democratic process of choosing our leaders we allow our social orderety to moderate itself. This usually means that extreme ideologies and positions are shunned in favor of the more moderate choices.

Revolutionaries are allowed to express themselves - the will of the people determines the direction of our government.

When we as a nation empower every individual to be a fully qualified participant in self-rule then we operate from a position of strength. Founded on the strength of our democratic process we then have nothing to fear.

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Read WinExtra

Important headlines in our difficult world...

I guess you have to sell the "News" somehow...

Moss fights with beau over vial of blood

The CIA's coded humour is all in the name

... and last but certainly not least:

Why tupping the puppet is a recipe for ruined lives

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Read Time Goes By

What am I still carrying?

As I was reading yet another in the long line of "I can't believe America elected a [Black|African-American|Muslim parented|mixed race] President" the following story came to mind...

A senior and a junior monk were walking back from the market to their monastery, after a rainstorm.

They reached a river-crossing which was usually shallow, but now they found it hip deep. A pretty girl was on the riverbank crying because she would ruin her clothes to wade across the river.

The senior monk picked the girl up in his arms and carried her across the river, carefully placing her down on dry ground.

The 2 monks continued back to the monastery, but the younger one was appalled...monks were not allowed to touch women, even look at, or speak to them...how could the senior monk justify this breach of his vow?

Eventually he had to ask the senior monk...How could you?

The senior monk said,"When I reached the far riverbank, I put the girl down and left her there. It is you that has been carrying her back to the monastery and can't put her down."

I am disquieted by the thought that so many dwell on the most superficial aspects of the past election. If any conditional statement should be made it is ...

Barack Obama is the President [Elect]

As I went searching for the story (which I found here) I felt the chill of conscious realization in the question: What am I still carrying?

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Read Scripting News