Hello my friends. I’ve posted a new track to SoundCloud. A dreamy and reflective tune for your headphones, with just the right amount of strange. If the audio player below doesn’t work, go here. Hope you enjoy.
PROCLAMATION.
Norton I., Dei Gratia, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, being desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing within our realm, do hereby dissolve and abolish the Democratic and Republican parties, and also do hereby decree the disfranchisement and imprisonment, for not more than ten, nor less than five years, to all persons leading to any violation of this imperial decree. Norton I.
San Francisco Herald
August 13, 1869
Source
A slow, eerie, tortured song with drums that assault you. There’s no-where to run to, all roads lead back to the beginning. No lyrics or vocals yet. Hit me up if you want to do something with it.
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President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today in Oslo, Norway. In my opinion, this was one of the best speeches Obama has given since being elected President.
Watch the video of his entire speech: CNN (w/ transcript) NY Times
Here are a few select quotes that resonated with me:
I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it.
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For if we want a lasting peace, then the words of the international community must mean something.
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Those who want peace cannot sit idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war.
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And within America, there’s long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists; a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values around the world. I reject these choices.
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The nonviolence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached — their faith in human progress — must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey. For if we lose that faith — if we dismiss it as silly or naive; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace — then we lose what is best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.
3,000 innocent civilians were killed on 9/11. They didn’t deserve it. Over 7,000 innocent civilians have been killed in Afghanistan. They didn’t deserve to die either. The difference is that al-Qaeda kills civilians on purpose. And that is a huge difference.
My country has done horrible things in my name. Fighting terrorists is not one of them. That doesn’t mean that everything is justified in the war on terror. We didn’t need to torture. We didn’t need to invade Iraq. It’s one thing to challenge the strategy in fighting terrorism, and quite another thing to deny the reality of the threat.
When Obama announced this latest troop increase in Afghanistan, many peace advocates were quick to oppose the decision. The situation looks all too familiar: the American imperialist empire subjugating the disempowered with its military might. But does this perspective describe the reality?
I’m full of discontent with my country. As a nation, we’re not even close to perfect. Just check my twitter stream for regular updates of my grievances. The terrorist threat is played up for a number of reasons, from the sinister to the cynical. This is extremely unfortunate, because it distracts from the serious work of preventing terrorist attacks. Let’s protect our freedoms and prevent war spending from bankrupting our nation, but let’s not return to the pre-9/11 air of invincibility (See: Nobody could have predicted…).
America is the biggest, toughest guy in the room, and he’s been a bully in the past. That doesn’t make it OK for any douchebag with a chip on his shoulder to walk up and bitchslap his daughter.
We’re not fighting Vietnamese Communists and we’re not Soviet invaders. Is there any treasure worth plundering in Afghanistan? The old anti-war arguments don’t apply here.
The fog of war is thick, and I may be wrong. It’s possible that the escalation of troops in Afghanistan was authorized based on ulterior motives. This may be the case, but I haven’t yet seen any strong evidence supporting this perspective. If you have, then by all means share.
Peace advocates serve a crucial purpose: they require the leadership to provide a strong justification for the sacrifices of our military and the deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire. Reasonable opposition to the war can pressure our leaders into bringing it to a swift conclusion. Likening the war to a quest for U.S. global dominance is a bit old-fashioned.
