 A note from AJ:The New Ground Rules For Debate
The other day I was talking with a friend about the news of the world and
she said, "things are getting so surreal".
It made me think how most of my friends and I have lived surreal lives up
until now and how reality is just starting to creep in.
I'll have another beer please.
I've been having lots of interesting, and some frustrating, conversations in
the last month(s). Probably a lot of us have.
In order to facilitate these confrontations most effectively I have set up a
new ground rule.
If you want to debate with me about Bush and his team's multiple wars
(Afghanistan, Columbia, Iraq, U.S., etc.) you have to be willing to do a
little research. As unpleasant as it has been for me, I have made an effort
to watch the network coverage of the BushWars and it seems to me that they
lie and misrepresent as badly on the news broadcasts as they do in the
advertisements, and for the same masters. I can see how people who get all
of their information from these sources can come to the conclusions they do.
That's how good propaganda works. The corporate media have an agenda, and
that agenda is pro-military, pro-Bush, pro-oil, pro-WTO and, generally,
anti-people, planet & peace. Those who believe that the media in this
country is liberal must have a different dictionary than I do.
There are plenty of genuine independent progressive news sources out there.
Ones which have less to gain from lying, and more to lose by telling the
truth. I have come to count on them for my news and if you want to have a
discussion with me, or your other anti-war friends, it would probably be a
good idea to take a little time to research our sources.
Here are a few very good links:
<http://www.democracynow.org/>
this is a daily radio show that is broadcast
out of wbai in new york city for the pacifica network. it is re-broadcast on
stations all over the world. a list of stations is on the site. if it is
broadcast in your area check it out. if it is not broadcast in your area you
can download episodes. listen to this show for one week and you'll be much
better equipped to discuss the war with people who think you are
brainwashed.
<http://www.gregpalast.com/>
greg palast is an award winning american
journalist who can't get published in the u.s. but writes regularly for the
london gaurdian and the observer, and has a TV show on the BBC, not exactly
hotbeds of conspiracy theory. he was writing about enron and the energy
rip-off in the mid-nineteen nineties. he broke the story about the election
fraud in florida and the purging of black voters from the rolls that allowed
george bush to steal the presidency in 2000, but you probably didn't see
much, if anything, about it on CNN or hear about it on NPR. these stories
are common knowledge around the world. how come people in other countries
know more about the us economy and electoral system than you do?
<http://www.kucinich.us/>
this is the site for dennis kucinich, a
representative from ohio who is the most progressive anti-war democrat.
If any of his platform is accepted by the democrats this year someone's going to
owe ralph nader a big apology. This is not an endorsement, but kucinich is the only
one who's got me curious, and hopeful. note to dennis: NO FLYING!!!
<http://www.commondreams.org/>
this is a site that i haven't fully
investigated but it comes highly recommended from a source that i trust.
For those of you who are already aware of these sources, or similar ones, I
urge you to raise the level of your own discussions of current events by
requiring those who would debate you to do some homework for themselves. We
are talking about the fate of our country and the world here (Not
necessarily in that order). If, after you provide them with the materials
for research, people aren't willing to take a little time to read, listen,
or think, beyond what they get from the mainstream media, you'll only
frustrate yourself, and them, by trying to argue. Don't be rude but don't
waste your time. Talk baseball or movies. Maybe you can get them to watch "Bowling For Columbine" by telling them that the guy from "South Park" is in it.
That's all i wanted to say.
Let me know how it goes for you.
I hope you're having a good spring
whether you're protesting,
or just honking as you drive by.
Peace,
AJ
The City Limits
PO Box 7261
Olympia, Way. 98507
www.andrasjones.com
www.radio8ball.com
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