Wait, what did that title say? He must have meant the conservative media cheers for war. Because its people on the right who are warmongers. You know, George Bush and those guys. Liberals are peace-loving, right? Like Barack Obama? He won the Peace Prize, didn’t he? The right and the left – they’re worlds apart! The liberal media wouldn’t argue FOR war, would they?

Yes, they would! Does the above assumption seem familiar? Do you think like that? Do your friends and family think like that? Is everything split down left and right, putting each group in their prescribed boxes?

Several weeks ago on the way home, I caught a segment on NPR where they were discussing Syria, Iraq, and ISIS. They had on four different commentators in quick lightning-round type interviews. Each was supposed to be a “Middle East expert” and each was supposed to represent a different point of view. But the thing is, they were all approaching the subject from the same angle, and with the same diagnosis. Each one was just a slight variation of the last. The various suggestions for what “we” need to do with ISIS ranged from keep doing what we’re doing, to ramping up and escalating the situation into a total war. The point is, there was no discussion of the true origins of ISIS, who supports them, who is training them, what useful purpose they’re serving for certain governments, how their all-of-a-sudden existence fits in very nicely with the ongoing struggle to make up excuses to destabilize Syria and get Assad out of power.

There was no discussion of the close connection between ISIS and the “moderate rebels” and no discussion of the links to the Benghazi incident (see this link to find out what really happened) and the weapons that flowed out of there towards Syria. There was no discussion of how ISIS seems to have originated out of Turkey, our ally, with their shiny Toyotas. There was no mention of John McCain, oddly (or not so oddly), being photographed meeting with ISIS leaders a few years ago, just before they exploded on the scene. And there was no discussion of the absurdly edited propaganda videos featuring 7-foot tall executioners. If ISIS was a genuine threat, and the US had a genuine desire to defeat them, you would think the US Government would welcome any and all assistance to get the job done. But that isn’t the case, and also certainly wasn’t discussed. And of course there was no discussion of the all-too-convenient line of useful boogiemen, one after another, that were used to drum up hysteria as an excuse for American foreign policy. As each runs its course of usefulness, another is born, seemingly out of nowhere, yet well-funded and always described as a great threat to “our national interest.” Anyone read 1984?

Of course, the pundits ignore all of that. When discussing ISIS in the media, their premise is to toe the government line; that ISIS is the most dangerous threat “we” have ever faced, that they’re radical extremists hell-bent on taking over the world, and that they are a genuine Islamic terrorist organization. We’re supposed to take all that as a given and look to our government to decide what “we” need to do. That is the purpose of such boogiemen; a convenient excuse for governments to do what they wanted to do anyway. (For example, how the plan to invade Afghanistan was ready to be signed before Sept. 11, 2001.)

One of the commentators on the NPR segment said something very interesting. He stated that ISIS is going to be a threat for 3 years. How does he know that? Isn’t it odd that they already have a timetable for the ISIS threat? What will the next one be?

To return to the original point, it may come as no surprise that the conservative talk shows are making the same points as liberal-leaning NPR. There is no real difference, so we may deduce that the entire media system is a giant cheerleading squad for State power. So while the predominate prescription coming from an NPR show on the topic is “let’s just keep doing what we’re doing” (bombing people, funding terrorists, covertly destabilizing regimes, and trying to shape and mold events in favor of the western establishment) the conservative show will say all that while possibly leaning slightly more towards the ramping up and escalating into a total war option. So, to your average listener, it may appear there is a significant divide between left and right; a great struggle of ideas going on. But to paraphrase Tom Woods, they are, in fact, all operating off of a tiny 3″x5″ card of allowable opinion.

What happens in politics is given the OK above and beyond the right-left political charades. We, the average folk, are spoon fed these polarizing ideological narratives, political battles, and dramatic struggles merely to have us believe “we the people” have a direct impact on all the decisions of government. It is in the interest of all governing entities to do whatever they want; to make their own plans, but to get away with this kind of manipulation within a “free” society, we, the people must sincerely believe we have a bottom-up system, with decision making in our hands through our representatives, voting, and other schemes.

In the end, it will be up to us, we the people, to stop this left/right, liberal/conservative charade – as if the political parties are all that different. In practice, they might as well be one party, simply using different rhetoric. In truth, many conservatives are socialists hiding behind a facade of free market talk. And many liberals are neo-con war mongers disguised as peace-loving environmentalists. The tricky part, though, is that these ideologues don’t even see this in themselves. With dedicated fervor, each one clings to their particular cause, imagining themselves locked in an epic ideological battle with the other side. In reality, while they are busily playing their role in this divisive scheme, the real decisions and events planned by government are completely beyond them.

In practice, no matter what brand of government happens to be in the white house or congress at any given time, the State’s agenda is always moving forward. Despite conservative propaganda, Obama has not “decimated” or “gutted” the military, and made us unsafe. In fact, since he’s been in office we haven’t really ended any wars. Rather, he has created and escalated new ones, directly or covertly, like in Libya, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and others. The global empire has expanded, the police state at home has expanded, and they’ve given themselves new tools like the NDAA and the new ability to kill “belligerent” journalists.

During a Democrat regime, the media, liberal and conservative, will attempt to have the people believe the opposite, to give the idea that there is balance in government and that under a Democrat, military is scaled back, civil rights issues are addressed, and so on. It’s all an act.

On the other hand, when a Republican is in power, the liberal media will claim welfare budgets are being slashed, and the greedy, heartless Republicans are leaving needy people out on the street. They’ll claim education, science, the arts and everything else is suffering because of the Republicans, and of course, the perennial indignant charge that Republicans are in bed with wealthy private interests. Despite all this, the truth is, the State grows, regardless. For the last 100 years, there has been no serious reduction in government spending. During Republican administrations, there have been numerous new or expanded domestic spending programs. And while yes, indeed, Republicans are intimately associated with private interests like banks and defense contractors – so are Democrats!

The typical media want us to think it’s the Koch Brothers vs. George Soros, as if that’s the extent of the issue. In reality, the entire government is in and of itself, a giant monopoly corporation – with an extensive list of business partners in the “private” world who help them run the show. The revolving door of corruption to wield the gun of the State sees no little party lines. Pharmaceuticals, Monsanto, big agra, automotive, “defense”, banks, central banks, health insurance, medicine, education – it’s all corrupt, and all tied together by the central power broker, the State. Each of those sectors wants a cut of the pie; wants to feed at the trough of unlimited money through the Fed, taxation, and forced business through law and regulation. It’s all of that versus all of us and the few businesses that want nothing to do with State power.

When a person has been conditioned to think of themselves as a conservative or a liberal, they’re going to think it means something distinct and even define some of their personal identity as such. So, what if one day their illusions are shattered when they were told there is no real difference? It would be tough, but if they happen to be curious enough to seek the truth, it is right in front of them. One does not need some earth-shaking revelation to see that mainstream conservatives and liberals share the same intellectually bankrupt underpinnings. By simply opening the mind, one can easily see that each side just shrouds their common ideas behind tricky phrases and euphemisms designed to group and divide the population into neat little categories. Soon the former conservative or liberal will see there are other ways to view the world; ways to think as an independent person rather than a party voter. Next they can start to build a personal philosophy and historical context that will help them see through the myths and illusions perpetrated by the State and the puppet media.

So let us try to drop the fictitious left/right divide we’re funneled into. Let’s remember the real intellectual battle for freedom consists of us on the one hand; thinking, independent human beings; and on the other, the state, the media, their business cronies, and the banking elite that finance the whole show.

[Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

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