During his State of the Union address, 6 Jan 1941, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed four fundamental freedoms that people
"everywhere in the world" should share:
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of worship
- Freedom from want
- Freedom from fear
The U.S.
must have been a different place back in 1941, because these words of freedom
helped to inspire the “Greatest Generation” to soldier-through the years of
misery which soon engulfed the nation.
Only a few months after his speech, the U.S. entered
WWII and today's world was born of the chaos, destruction and loss of millions
of lives that soon followed.
Democracy seemed to work then. But, in 2014, our democracy
is not the same as our parents'. There is no doubt that our government is
working for the very wealthy. But, it is not working for me and most likely
it’s the same for you, too.
Our four freedoms have metastasized into the exact opposite
of our parents’.
For instance, how can one profess freedom from fear when the
U.S.
military, federal agents of all types and the local police department SWAT team
can bash in your door, toss in a “flash bang” and, if you survive the
encounter, throw you into jail — all without a warrant. (1.)
Or, if every email, tweet or Facebook posting you write ends
up in the hands of the FBI or Homeland Security and you can be thrown into jail
at anytime, held indefinitely, at their discretion — all without a warrant. (2.)
“Free from want” has turned into a Frankenstein monster. Not
only have Americans been turned into a nation of sugar addicts [On average,
Americans annually consume, 45.5 lbs of sugar and four gallons of high fructose
corn syrup loaded junk food. (3.)] by our government in order to fatten corporate
coffers, we are now guinea pigs, subject to an endless stream of genetically
engineered food products. It’s sadly mind-boggling to know that not one
governmental agency has conducted research as to the long-term effects of
genetically engineered food products on humans. What does that portend for us?
Consider Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” crops which are
engineered to be herbicide-tolerant. They now account for about 75 percent of
all the corn and cotton grown in the U.S. and 90 percent of soybeans.
What’s important about that? According to
Michael Pollan,
award winning journalist, food and food industry expert (Pollan is also
professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and
the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism. He
is the author of many books, four
New York Times bestsellers and hundreds of
articles, and a contributing writer to
The New York Times Magazine) — “Roundup
Ready” genetically engineered corn does not increase crop yields, but it sure
does produce herbicide-resistant weeds, prompting farmers to use more and
stronger herbicide sprays. And, that causes a slew of “collateral” damage to
adjacent crops, wildlife and ultimately humans, too. (4.) (Please see, "What
is this STUFF? Agent Orange is Roundup Ready" below.)
Since Monsanto forbids family farmers from saving Roundup
Ready seed corn for next-season planting, farmers are locked into a never
ending cycle which not only ensures fat profits for Monsanto but guarantees
that we have no choice but to eat Frankenstein-corn. World-wide, for farmers
and consumers, “forbidden to save seeds” means it’s become more difficult for
people to feed themselves.
Some see "Freedom of worship" as a foundation of America.
However, American freedom of religion actually translates into: It’s O.K. for you
to practice your religion as long as it’s similar to mine — in my eyes. If, for
instance, you wear a turban, a veil, some form of garb or dress, display facial
hair or the hair on your head in an unusual way — then you may stimulate a
visit form the current version of the KKK — the FBI, the IRS, the CIA, or some
mentally disturbed person who sees your difference as proof that Satan lives
within you. Even worse, perhaps if you actually believe in walking Christ’s
path, well, then, that really makes you the ultimate threat to the
establishment.
FDR not only faced the Republican obstructionists and
regressives of his day, he out foxed and overcame them. And rather than
surrendering before the battle began, he went to the American people with new
ideas, plus — and most importantly — the means and the courage to achieve them.
FDR became the leader we needed when we needed him.
Compared to our leader, President Obama, there is no
comparison (save for the usual Republican obstructionists to obsess upon). FDR
actually did what he said he would do while our leader, President Obama, has
failed us when we needed him most.
Perhaps in learning that we have lost our four freedoms we
also have discovered another inconvenient truth. Barack Obama is no Franklin
Roosevelt.
What is this STUFF? Agent Orange is Roundup Ready
From the Center for Food Safety January 2014 Fact Sheet,
“Agent Orange” Crops: The Next Stage in the Chemical Arms Race”: AGENT ORANGE:
CHEMICAL WARFARE IN THE VIETNAM
WAR
The first planned use of 2,4-D—to destroy Japanese rice
fields in WWII—was preempted by the end of the war. Like many wartime biocides,
2,4-D was “repurposed” for domestic use — the war on weeds — only to realize
its original mission two decades later in Vietnam. In what has been called
the “largest chemical warfare operation in history,” the U.S. military dumped 11 million gallons of Agent
Orange (a mixture of 2,4-D and the even more toxic 2,4,5T) over Vietnam
from 1962-1971. The purposes of this chemical warfare were to destroy rice
fields and rainforests to deny the Vietnamese food and cover. The Veterans
Administration regards Agent Orange exposure as the cause of numerous diseases
in Vietnam
veterans: diabetes, neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, liver
dysfunction, chloracne, numerous cancers, as well as birth defects in the
children of exposed soldiers. According to one estimate, at least 3 million
Vietnamese suffer serious health problems from Agent Orange exposure, including
birth defects in children and grandchildren of those exposed. (5.)
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