Dividing our country is a game fostered on us by the ruling class to draw us into a false debate that corrals us into demanding a change from a situation purposely created for just such a reaction. Stop falling for it. The truth is, we don't really have enemies anymore, just the illusion of enemies.
I have been out of the country for 10 years living in Mexico and since I've returned to the United States I have noticed some disturbing trends bent on dividing the people of our country into opposing each other on as many fronts one could imagine.
Perhaps it has always been that way, seeing how we are a country made up of immigrants from all nations, and only my hiatus away from the national dialog for the last decade has made me more aware of the divides fed to us through the media, like a daily dose of poison.
I have traveled this great planet, visiting many cultures, and have yet to encounter any of the horrible people our media ensured me I would encounter there.
When I was in the military in Germany and there were protests against the US because we were bringing Cruise missiles into their country, our commander informed us of some towns that were off- limits to military personnel due to safety concerns.
These were my favorite places to frequent and I disobeyed and went not only to those towns but to the demonstrations against our actions. The Germans knew I was a US soldier and never did I feel threatened by them. On the contrary, I felt welcomed and encouraged to listen to their concerns.
When I went to Chiapas and visited with the Zapatistas, who our media portrayed as terrorists and the entire region as dangerous, I saw only kindness and giving people who had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned the possibility of encountering any danger in the area.
When airports blocked all flights from the US to Mexico for three weeks due to a swine flu epidemic that did not exist and was not reported in any other country and just happened to be reported in the US the moment President Obama concluded a meeting with the Mexican President, I realized the media is playing us.
I could go on and on with examples of stories we are told by the press that were complete fictions in reality and it's embarrassing how gullible our population has become, but my point is we are being played for fools.
Why our media jumps at the opportunities to showcase our differences rather than similarities, I'll leave to the political scientists, philosophers, conspiracy theorists and academics to discuss, but let me take this opportunity to remind everyone of our commonality.
We are not each other's enemies and share more commonality than differences. We all love liberty and our children and families. We all love clean air and water and basic human decency. We all want a better future and to live our lives in peace. We all have some profound wisdoms to offer the world and traditions worth cherishing.
Our differences should be celebrated, not turned into battleground issues. Differences is what makes humanity unique and stronger. As an analogy, imagine if only one musical instrument was allowed to be played and all other instruments ridiculed or banned. How boring our music would become. It's only through the different timbres and tones that music delivers such profound experiences to us.
No one disputes this, but our media is painting an entirely different picture that draws us into a debate based on false perceptions and leads us into taking sides on issues that we agree on in principle.
We as humans need to understand that just because the news says something does not make it the truth. I have come to understand that the louder the media says something is true, the more likely it is not the case. They are force feeding us a narrative that is designed to divide us because people are easier to control when they are divided.
Saying people are easier to control when they are divided is not a conspiracy, it's the oldest, proven trick in the world leaders playbook and the only way to counter it is to constantly remind yourself of our similarities, instead of our differences.
I'm very thankful to the Mexican people who showed me only goodwill and kindness in every corner of their country, even as my home government reported false news about their people. They never directed any hate in my direction for the sins of my country and instead celebrated our similarities and differences.
We are the human race and we can work together for the benefit of all, so don't buy the stories you hear on the news. They're designed to misinform and divide us and they are making us sick.
We cannot let that happen, for if it does, our government can justify using violence to contain our unrest. Stop listening to news that divides us further. Spit out the poison they try to feed you and consume what we have in common as humanity. Do this and we will nourish ourselves with an unshakable understanding that we, the people, are all on the same side and only the medias' rhetoric would have you believe otherwise.
There is no enemy, except for the unrest within ourselves.
