Operation Spinback

[tyrannosaurus vex]

A new kind of "rant" that isn't intended to piss people off (except maybe Discordians). The prevailing technique in media/government propaganda is to take 1% truth (or well-established buzzwords) and apply it to 99% bullshit. Operation SPINBACK reverses this technique -- 1% bullshit to soften the blow and 99% truth. Actual percentages may vary as the situation requires, but the intention is to draw the gullible masses in, making them think they're reading another propaganda piece that makes them feel all warm and fuzzy, and then hit them with "wake up you fucking moron." Two examples follow:

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

There is a price for everything in this world. Nothing that's worth having is free, and that includes our rights in this country. With everything that could be improved in America, one thing has been true for our entire history -- we are a free people, and we fight for our freedom. With every generation, there is a new threat to that freedom, and we have always met those threats head-on.

When Americans talk about freedom, we mean a lot of things. We mean that we can have opinions that are different than our neighbor's, without having to shoot at each other to figure out who's right. We mean we can go to church on Sunday without worrying who might be plotting to bomb us on the way. Maybe most importantly, we mean that we expect to be treated with respect and with dignity, for no other reason than that we are human beings with a right to live.

To secure that freedom, there has always been a price. Sometimes, that price has been paid in gold. More often, it has been paid with the blood of Americans who take up arms against the enemies of liberty. And recently, the price was paid with the blood of unarmed innocents in the first major strike of a new war. We cannot deny that today, as always, we must remain vigilant if we are to remain free.

We know that the price of freedom is a heavy one. Some are asked to give up their lifes in its defense; some, like many during the last World War, are asked to give up instant gratification. Today, however, many believe that the burden of paying for our freedom rests solely on the backs of our soldiers. It seems that while outside our borders there is a war raging -- with our freedom hanging in the balance -- but here at home, civilians are not asked to sacrifice anything.

But this war is costing us something at home. In one of history's great ironies, the American People have latched on to the belief that the best way to safeguard our liberty is by giving it up. While we herald the bravery of our men and women in uniform at the many fronts in the War on Terror, we have effectively given our President and the Congress a blank check to spend from our reserves of domestic freedom at their discretion.

Rightfully, we appreciate every loss of life or limb that is sustained by our armed forces in the cause of saving liberty and civilization. But we have begun to pay for our freedom in the corrupt currency of complacence; we say the word "freedom" but what we really mean, in many cases, is "conformity" and "obedience." We insult one another when we disagree; our national dialogue has become a contest of buzzwords and slogans; we avoid listening to each other at all costs. We believe every word that comes rattling out of the TV; we heed the admonitions and directives of the politicians as if politicians are capable of anything beyond pandering and posturing; we have come to trust and depend upon the institutions we created two centuries ago merely as necessary evils.

Freedom is not free -- that is absolutely true. But its price cannot be paid by unquestioning loyalty to anyone, regardless of their intentions. Its price cannot be paid by blending in with the masses and doggedly obeying the demands of an opportunist government. Like your faith, your freedom is something that cannot be simply bestowed upon you: it is something you must claim if it is to be of any value at all. The price you pay for each is eternal vigilance against anyone who can separate you from it: not only powerful foreign foes, but your own greed, your own ignorance, and anyone who professes to be defending you while simultaneously tying your hands.

-and-

SUPPORT THE TROOPS

Right now, half a world away in a sunbleached windblown hellhole, there are thousands of Americans risking their lives so you can stay cozy and comfortable. Almost every day, a few of them die and attain the honor of having given their lives in pursuit of someone else's happiness and liberty. This is a fact of living as an American in today's world with so many threats to our domestic peace. We cannot all serve in this way, and there are many who do much to defend us without ever picking up a weapon or coming within miles of a combat zone. Nevertheless, our troops are our nation's teeth and claws -- and when push comes to shove they are the ones who state unequivocolly that America will not become subservient to another nation -- because we, the People, demand liberty and will settle for nothing less.

It is only right then that in order to justify their sacrifice, and to faithfully honor what they have given us, that we practice the freedom for which many of them have died. To allow such noble men and women to give up everything so we can be free, and then to simply walk in line with an ungrateful majority of Americans who hardly notice, is the most insulting and selfish thing I can imagine.

If your liberty has been saved by a soldier -- and it has -- then how unthankful must you be not to take advantage of that liberty? Of course, most Americans do make good use of that liberty. But there are some who don't seem to get it. These are the people who will always jump at the chance to put soldiers in harms way to "defend our freedom," but themselves don't seem to appreciate that freedom.

When, for example, someobdy doesn't dress the way they should, or when someone speaks out against some government policy or politician, or when there are large movements in our country to affect democratic change, these unappreciative war-mongers will be the first to call for an end to freedom of speech. When someone chooses a religion that seems abnormal, or refuses to have their children indocrinated with any kind of religious dogma at the hands of the public education system, these people who profess to be glad that our freedom is being protected from Islamofascism will be the first to declare it "unfair" that some Americans choose to exercise their freedom of (or from) religion!

To go about our daily lives doing only what is expected of us, or obeying ridiculous laws, or signing over our private affairs to government scrutiny and bureaucracy, we are actually spitting on the faces of our fallen heroes in uniform. Every time we blindly assert that supporting America always means supporting our President, we are dancing on their graves. If we, without any critical thinking or skepticism, always believe everything we are told to believe by the government or by the media, then we are not only taking for granted the freedom we claim to love, but we are killing it. "Use it or lose it" is never more true than it is with freedom.

It should be clear by now that supporting our troops must be more than a bumper sticker: it must be practiced every single day, regardless of who is standing between us and freedom. To support the troops is to exercise every one of our rights, loudly. Anything less is a lie that eventually leads directly to forfeiture of everything our brave soldiers have died to defend.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I like this.

[Cainad (dec.)]

[Thurnez Isa]

good to see you all havent stopped writing in my absence

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Most excellent!

[Cramulus]

most excellent indeed

I really like the second one

like -"use it or lose it" -- or you're not supporting the troops

well crafted!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Nice work!

[Sepia]

This is quite darned good. I've been thinking about a similar sort of concept but much earlier in its' infancy. Mittens!

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Meeting with some success on local community sites (i.e. the forums at your local newspaper's website).

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Can I PDF this for distribution?

[tyrannosaurus vex]

please do.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

8.5 x 11

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Ooooooh that is AWESOME!

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

8.5 x 11

[tyrannosaurus vex]

you win 3 contranets.