Paranoia Strikes Deep: Why Wisdom & Kindness Trumps Greed, Paranoia & Fear

I used to really really hate housework but don’t hate it so much any more — ever since I developed my fabulous new housecleaning system wherein I just do 15 minutes of housework a day, but do it each day consistently, using a timer so as not to cheat.

You’d be surprised how much you can get done in just 15 minutes, but you gotta do it daily, no matter what — even if some newbee student dentist has just finished scraping all those extra bone fragments out of the socket of your recently-pulled (phantom) tooth and then practiced her rusty stitching techniques on your poor bleeding gums.

And here’s another added bonus to my housecleaning system:  After having spent approximately 5,475 minutes a year for the past six years on trying to keep this damn place clean, I have actually sort of started to bond with my home.

So.  A few days ago I was cleaning stuff out of an old filing cabinet, and came across a whole bunch of articles that I had written way back in the day — back before we had all kinds of self-publishing apps available online; and even back before there was FaceBook or blogs or Kindle or Twitter or even Instagram and YouTube.

And, way back in those old paleo days, writers such as myself had actually been forced to photocopy our articles, write up a cover letter and then send them all off to magazine editors with self-addressed stamped envelopes enclosed.  Totally old school.  Can you even imagine doing that now?

And there at the very bottom of one of those file drawers, I found over two hundred rejection letters from various editors and publishers.  Amazing.

Dontcha just love publishing over the internet instead?  (And thank goodness for net neutrality too — which is currently being threatened.  Shouldn’t we start boycotting Verizon, AT&T and Comcast over this?  C’mon, all you independent bloggers, Tweeters and self-publishers, let’s get off our butts and fight for less intervention and more high-speed!) 

And speaking of the internet, those huge and powerful corporations which now own our government are still using it to spy on all of us — and not just us writers.   Now why would corporations want to do that?  Because they are paranoid.  And greedy.  And afraid.

I used to be paranoid and greedy and afraid too — but am now here to tell you that, in the long run, paranoia and greed and fear are just too damn much hard work.  Wisdom and kindness are better.  And easier too.  Just ask Jesus.  And Gandhi.  And Martin Luther King Jr.

“But Jane,” you might say, “that kind of slacker attitude could get you killed.”  True.  It certainly got King and Gandhi and Jesus killed.  But at least I would die while feeling all proud of myself as I cross over — not huddled up in some miserable isolated Midas-like earthly fortress while watching the rest of the world end before my very eyes and with only my black, ice-cold-hearted evil soul (that nobody else would ever want to spend time with, ev-ah) to keep me company.  Yuck.

Anyway, back at the filing cabinet, I began reading through some of my old articles again — and some of them were really actually quite good.  The one about my struggles to get my aging father into an assisted-care home was particularly poignant — and how my mean sister had dragged me through probate court after he died, just when I was grieving the most.  I later published it on the internet, entitled “Probating the Family Feud” — and a lot of people actually read it there too.  

And I also found something I had written back in 2005 — back when Fallujah was a horrible war-crime-induced hot mess; about all my efforts to embed with the Army there.  And how I finally did embed with the Marines in Heet and Haditha two years later .

But apparently Fallujah is still a war-torn hot mess even today; the only difference being that Iraqis, not Americans, are now doing most of the killing in Al Anbar province.  So does that make all this current senseless slaughter of civilians less of a war crime — because civilians are now being senselessly slaughtered by local hordes instead of by American hordes?   

Ten years later, I still want to go to Fallujah.

Or as one friend in Iraq calls it, “Fallujahpaloooza”.  Laughter through tears.  

And then I discovered, hidden back at the very bottom of my filing cabinet, a rough draft of my first novel.  I loved that novel so much!  But NOBODY would publish it.  Nobody.  That novel had everything — love, death, war, peace, history, philosophy, drama, even intergalactic travel — and even one fast-moving chapter on how wisdom and kindness always trumps greed, paranoia and fear.  “Pictures of a Future World” was the title.  I may get around to publishing it yet — but this time I’ll try Kindle.

PS:  Here’s an excerpt from my old unpublished novel, “Pictures of a Future World”:

All eyes turn to the Shaman, who continues to speak from his deep trance.

The atmosphere in the sandstone kiva comes alive.  The Shaman moves his mind to a new point of consciousness.  Another one of his emanations begins to speak, this time in an intensely penetrating tone.  “There is a tree on the mesa top,” the deep voice slowly intones.  “It has watched the raider warriors kill our people one by one.  It has seen us begin to build our houses here in the dark shadows of the canyon walls instead of up on the sunny mesa tops where they belong…so that we might be safe…from the raider warriors.

“They are killers.

“We are prey.

“So has it always been.  So shall it always be.

“There is no place that we can go on the face of this earth that is safe from them…either now or in the far distant future… when even our mesa-top trees are dead.

“Raiders will always hunt peaceful men.

“They will find us, and they will kill our bodies just as the coyote kills the hare.”

Absolute silence falls like a black shroud inside the kiva.

Everyone waits for the Shaman to speak again.  Even the Shaman himself waits.  Is this all that he is going to say?  By now the ceremonial kiva is as bright as day, the elders rigid with attention.

“Of these things we must never be afraid, ever,” the Shaman continues.  “The raiders may search us out, the barbarians may chase us down and trap us and corner us like rats…from now until the end of time.

“The needy ones, the greedy ones will hunt us in order to make our wisdom and our abundance their own.  They will act out of evil caused by envy, jealousy or need.  Whatever their reasons — that is the way of it.  No place is safe.  We must be prepared to give up our bodies at any time, willingly and without fear or regret.

“Because our bodies are not us.”

The Shaman breathes slowly now, and the clan members sense that he is struggling within himself, trying to clarify what he alone is seeing, forcing himself to go on.  A moment passes.  The mask presses heavily upon him.  Finally he continues:  “We of the pueblo all know this.  We are all made brave because of this knowledge.  This we know:  That always men of peace will die bravely.  That always barbarians will try to kill us and to take our spirits.

“All of us know that the spirit of a man of peace can never belong to a barbarian and can never be harmed.  Ever. It is this knowledge that gives us the courage to continue to live without fear in a world exploding with enemies, enemies gone mad with their own anger and need and violence and lust for our blood.”

The air inside the womb-like kiva begins to take on a life of its own; humid, dense, and pulsing.

Inside the ponderous deer-head mask, the Shaman tries to refocus his energy.  He watches his body and his mind divide into a series of complex grids.  Each one of these grids contains an image of himself.  A part of him wonders which grid is his real self.  A part of him knows that his real self is all of them — or none.

More chanting fills the air.  The Shaman forgets about the raider warriors.  They are a part of life.  They will always be there…like the trees. Like the mesa.

The Third Battle of Fallujah

Iraq today is a grim reflection of America’s ruthless imperial agenda. It includes mass slaughter, destruction, devastation, deprivation, human misery and unending violence.

On August 31, 2010, Obama displayed criminal contempt. He’s done it many times. He declared an end to America’s combat mission in Iraq, saying:

“Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility.”

Ignored was America’s genocidal legacy. Iraq was ravaged and destroyed. Pre-1990 Iraq no longer exists. Charnel house conditions replaced it.

So did plunder on the grandest of grand scales, millions of internal and external refugees, ongoing violence, dozens of daily deaths, a plague of preventable diseases, ecocide, and overall conditions too horrific to ignore.

Remember Fallujah. In September 2004, the UN Human Rights Council issued a report titled“Testimonies of Crimes Against Humanity in Fallujah: Towards a Fair International Criminal Trial.”

It discussed horrific conditions, saying:

“From the (2003) outset and at the start of the indiscriminate and merciless campaign of collective punishment and willful destruction, undertaken by the occupational troops of the United States of America,” innocent civilians endured an “inhumane siege and indiscriminate killing” during April and May 2004.

“(G)enocidal massacres” included “sustained and targeted bombing(s), aimed directly at the homes of defenseless civilians.”

A November/December massacre followed. Thousands more Iraqis were slaughtered, wounded and maimed.

Depleted and enriched uranium, cluster bombs, white phosphorous and other terror weapons were used.

Chris Busby is a radiation expert. “We went to Fallujah, and we found the levels of cancer high,” he said.

“We looked at the parents of children with congenital malformation, and we did analysis of their hair to see what was inside their hair that might be genotoxic, that might be the sort of thing that can cause congenital malformation.”

“The only thing that we found was uranium. We found uranium in the mothers of the children with congenital malformations.”

“We know that uranium is genotoxic, that it causes these levels of genetic damage, and because of that it also causes cancer.”

“The only source of uranium was the use by the American-led forces of uranium weapons.”

“Not only depleted uranium weapons, but as we later found out slightly enriched uranium weapons, which we believe they were using in order to cover their tracks.”

Fallujah was besieged. Food, medicines and other vital supplies were kept out. US soldiers were ordered to kill anything that moved.

Young and old were targeted. Men, women, boys and girls were indiscriminately attacked.

Between both Fallujah battles, US warplanes kept bombing residential and industrial areas.

Negotiations to halt fighting failed. Washington blocked them. It did so to continue mass killing and destruction.

Hundreds were arrested. Imprisonments followed. So did horrific torture and ill-treatment.

Fallujah witnesses confirmed wholesale slaughter of unarmed civilians. They were killed inside their houses and mosques.

Some were shot after being arrested. Others were blown up inside their homes.

Children saw their parents shot. Adults witnessed their spouses and children killed. US and complicit Iraqi forces looted homes and stores.

Thousands of others were destroyed. A Commission for the Compensation of Fallujah Citizens said 7,000 houses were demolished.

So were 8,400 stores, workshops, clinics, warehouses and other structures. Sixty-five mosques were totally destroyed. So were five dozen primary, secondary and higher education schools.

Thirteen government buildings were leveled. Water and sewer systems were destroyed. So were two electrical power substations. Other infrastructure targets were demolished.

Around 100,000 domestic and wild animals died from toxic exposure. Four libraries containing valued Islamic manuscripts and books were burned.

Virtually everything in Fallujah was fair game. It remains symbolic of imperial US viciousness.

Subsequent Fallujah health statistics showed:

around 6,000 previously unknown or rarely seen diseases; and

sharp increases in leukemia, other cancers, infant mortality, birth defects, miscarriages, abnormal deliveries, and other health problems similar to what Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors experienced.

Will the third battle of Fallujah repeat what happened earlier? US forces aren’t directly involved. Iraqi government troops are battling Anbar Province Al Qaeda affiliated Sunni militants.

In December, Washington began supplying Nuri al-Maliki’s government with dozens of Hellfire missiles, other weapons and drones.  

It’s unclear whether US operators will wage drone warfare like what’s ongoing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. If al-Maliki’s forces can’t contain things on their own, bet on US involvement.

On Sunday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Al Qaeda affiliated elements are “seeking to gain control of territory inside the borders of Iraq.”

“(They represent a) common enemy of the United States and the Republic of Iraq, and a threat to the greater Middle East.”

Al Qaeda is a US creation. It’s used strategically as both ally and enemy. John Kerry issued a statement saying:

“We will stand with the government of Iraq and with others who will push back against their efforts to destabilize. We are not contemplating putting boots on the ground.”

Vice President Biden spoke with al-Maliki. His office issued a statement saying “the United States stands with Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.”

Iraq is a failed state. It’s a dysfunctional wasteland. Nightmarish conditions exist. Multiple car bombings occur almost daily.

So does other nationwide violence. Iraq is a virtual war zone. Dozens die daily. Fighting never ended. Al-Maliki is a convenient US stooge.

Al Qaeda affiliated elements largely gained control of Ramadi and Fallujah. Al-Maliki reinforced nearby Iraqi forces. Air strikes and artillery shelling followed.

Perhaps laying siege to both towns is planned. Will mass destruction and massacres follow?

On Tuesday, fierce clashes occurred between so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters and government forces.

ISIL elements are Sunni militants. They’re linked to Al Qaeda. They’re heavily involved in Syria.

Both countries share a common border. It’s porous. Militants fighting Assad’s forces cross it easily to fight in Iraq.

Sectarian tensions are high. Violence increased after Iraqi forces attacked Hawija Sunni protesters last April. Dozens were killed.

Deadly car bombings continue nationwide. In 2013, Iraq’s death toll was the highest since 2007. In Anbar Province, Iraqi forces, local tribes and ISIL fighters are waging three-way war.

Before 2003, Iraq had no Al Qaeda elements. No threat existed. Washington’s war changed things.

Iraq is a cauldron of violence. Fighting shows no signs of ending. Expect things to get much worse before it ebbs.

If US drone warfare complements Iraqi forces on the ground, mass killing and destruction may follow. It may happen with or without US involvement.

The third battle for Fallujah may replicate the first two. Expect Ramadi and other parts of Anbar Province to be affected.

Civilians will suffer most. Millions died since GHW Bush’s Gulf War. Clinton’s sanctions alone claimed around 1.5 million lives.

GW Bush’s war, Obama continuing where he left off, and subsequent violence, disease, and deprivation took millions more.

On October 7, 2001, America’s new millennium wars began. They continue out-of-control. Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya are war zones.

Fighting rages daily. Iraqi government forces are preparing to storm Fallujah. Expect another bloodbath to follow.

Washington bears full responsibility. Bush I and II, Clinton and Obama are unindicted war criminals.

Millions of regional deaths bear witness to their high crimes. They continue daily with no end.

They do so when polls show Afghanistan is Washington’s most unpopular war in history. Over 80% of Americans oppose it. Less than 20% support it.

It rages out-of-control. It shows no signs of ending. With or without most US forces remaining, it could continue for another decade or longer.

It reflects America’s addiction to war. It reveals state terror as official US policy. It shows contempt for rule of law principles. It suggests conflicts without end will continue.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at .

His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.