I heard the question asked recently, where is the modern anti war movement? There was a time not too, too long ago that long hair on men was a form of protest. I understand that the manner in which we gussy ourselves up is most deeply rooted in vanity, but I suppose, to me, it said something that the physical body was used for protest. There was a time people were ran over by tanks, monks set themselves on fire in the street, hunger strikes, hair peace, bed peace,…. then further still there was the Black Panthers, and the Weather Underground.

It was once, during the Vietnam war, that there was a strong and virulent antiwar movement. With the draft, when it was possible for Joe Civilian to be called to duty people fought with their hearts and lives on the line to not kill, or be forced to kill. Today, our military is composed of mostly warring types, I can not accurately tell you how many times I have been told “I just joined so I could shoot at something.” when I pressed a soldier on leave as to why they were heading to war. Some of the slightly more altruistic, be it misguided, may cite, “to maintain our freedom.” but these are still selfish, if not nationalistic ends.

While the uprising in Iran was underway I remarked how convenient it was for that awful regime that Michael Jackson had coincidentally passed at the same time. We collectively lamented and shed tears because a single man would no longer be able to provide us with entertainment as thousands of Iranians were being beaten, killed, or jailed so that their voices could be heard. Lets juxtapose this further. A man, if not created, then facilitated by the record industry, against a country of oppressed and disenfranchised young and old.

Today 5 were sentenced to death and far more to long prison sentences in Iran. This, on the day that the news of Goldman Sachs employees applying for pistol permits, en masse, to defend their billions of undeserved dollars.

Today America will sit in front of the television, and possibly hear, in passing, about the situation over in Iran, but make no mistake, if this breeds one shred of unconscious guilt they will quickly make an ice cream Sunday and change the channel to some reality television show where the camera’s go into some poor white or black garbage person’s house so that the rest of us can feel superior to someone for a minute.

Our diets are cruel, our video games ultra violent, our parent’s are racist’s, though to say this brazenly you are cast aside from polite non-offensive conversation as a nuisance, a reminder that we, people, are not doing all we can do. There is no further sacrifice. Find me a man or woman who can truly claim to have signed up to “make a benevolent difference in Iraq or Afghanistan.”

This is a profit war. They have all been profit wars. If not for profit, then to spread ones religion like hot tar over another people.

I am frequently told to, “calm down” when I begin to describe my feelings about the current state of the world. How can it even be acceptable to calm down in the face of things, when there are people out there fighting so hyper aggressively to keep us in the yoke, or shuffle us to the grave.