Sheeple....you know, like a sheep and a people

" Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a communist dictatorship...voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. that is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country"

This quote was made by Herman Goring....He was basically second in command to Hitler.

If you want to know more about Herman go to en.wikipidedia.org/wiki/hermann_g%c3%B6ring

As I read this quote I found it impossible to not thing of most of the conflicts the US has been in over the past 40 or 50 years, particularly the Iraq war. In fairness, we were attacked on Sept 11th 2001, but not by Iraq. Most of our government tells us that we are in danger, always, but especially if we did not have an occupying force in the Middle East/Iraq.

Those who have not supported the war have been denounced as unpatriotic. Somehow, the thought that the Iraq war is a mistake means you are not supporting the troops our country.

We have given pieces of legislation names like the Patriot Act. Make no mistake about it, it is no accident that such a name is given. If you do not support the patriot act you are perceived to be unpatriotic. Maybe I'm off on this. Perhaps it is coincidence. What do you think?

If you look at Goring's quote, he says, "it doesn't matter if you are manipulating people in a dictatorship or a democracy, just.... manipulate them". Goring believed that his government had the power, all of it. How does our government feel? Do they have all of the power? Do they fear us, the people who give them power by electing them?

I'm still learning about these ideas and issues, and if anyone ever finds this blog I hope you are trying to become a better citizen and searching for answers as well.

Things that I think people should consider investigating:

Why did we invade Iraq?

Who are we currently at War with now that we have conquered Iraq?

Who are the terrorists?

Why should we, or shouldn't we go to Afghanistan?

What is the Patriot Act?

Good luck.