That is, we need to reject this image of The Hangman, consciously, and replace it with an image of love, hope and peace, and of rebirth of our democracy in the coming year. Although there is reason to believe that the Bush Junta may have had ulterior motives in silencing Saddam Hussein (what he knew about them could be one; some kind of deal with the Saudis could be another--the Saudis being religious nuts, Saddam having been a symbol of secular Islam), still, I think that this hanging was a conscious effort by the war profiteers who are running things to destroy the hope Americans may have felt for the New Year, as the result of the Democratic election victories in November and other events, and to re-orient us back to Death, Destruction and Despair. I really do think that the Dark Lords are playing mind-games like that. They have utterly failed in the matter of propaganda aimed at specific policies. 70% of Americans oppose the Iraq War! 70%! And other stats indicate huge rejection of the Bush Junta's fascist policies across the board (and have for some years now). But their one success has been to make the great American progressive majority think that we are the minority, and to demoralize and disempower--and, above all, disenfranchise--us. The hanging of Saddam furthers that success--makes the great majority who reject the war and all fascist policy--feel bad. Feel despair. Feel that there is nothing we can do to change this Culture of Death.
But there IS something we can do. It takes a conscious effort, but it IS possible to re-image our culture and our future. I wrote about this a few days ago, in a thread called "Death = Bush," about countering The Hangman with our own images. The thread and comments, here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3034424And as for positive action combined with positive imaging, try
http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando. This site is about Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" and lists what you can do in your home to solve the problem of global warming, for instance...
---Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. If every family in the U.S. made the switch, we’d reduce carbon dioxide by more than 90 billion pounds! You can purchase CFLs online from the Energy Federation.
---Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.
---Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models. If each household in the U.S. replaced its existing appliances with the most efficient models available, we’d eliminate 175 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year!
These are very simple things that can substantially reduce global warming. All we have to do is do them ourselves and spread the word among family, friends, neighbors, community. Americans tend to be very cooperative when we know what needs to be done, in any crisis. We are a people who likes to help and likes to feel that we are doing good in the world, and we are very organized and industrious about it. It's part of our national character. Our problem right now is that there no leadership at the top--zero, zilch--and the leaders who could influence this situation don't get air time from the war profiteering corporate news monopolies. We have to do it ON OUR OWN. Just DO IT. Don't be passive about it. Don't wait for leadership. Make it happen in your small pool of influence, and imagine your action rippling out to everyone. We can act democratically--and get something big done at the grass roots level--without national leadership! Imagine!
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