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I updated my article - What's wrong with the USA? It is really very simple... - and decided to add to it a link to the following:
On behalf of a friend of mine, I publish his thoughts as an American living in Sweden and realizing the land he was born in is gone.....He finally decided to accept that it would not be within his lifetime that the US he once was proud of being a citizen of, would return - if ever.
Last week he became a Swedish citizen.
Following a rally in the Swedish capital, protesting the US occupation of Iraq and applying pressure on the Sweish government to do what it can to obstruct the US warfare state, he wrote this to me:
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Reflections on the past weekend and the future
Yesterday was a real roller coaster day of emotions for myself. It actually started on Saturday while attending the protest. As I stood there watching and listening I think I covered the entire emotional spectrum - spanning from sorrow to rage.
As I listened and watched the protest participants I could not help but see the people passing by. They varied from being maybe slightly curious or interested to seemingly annoyed that this was disrupting their personal Saturday shopping outing. When I observed the latter a feeling of intense hatred came over me for those types. Later, after some contemplation on this I came to the conclusion of what it is I really hold them in contempt for. I always thought it was because they were clue less, unconcerned, uncaring - whatever. And that is part of it. But the core root of my feelings is that they have the ability to do this whereas I, and others like ourselves cannot. I hate them for having this ability to be able to ignore all this and I do not.
Another thing that struck me was how the rest of the world knows about everything that is going on with the war, as far as the true motive, who has benefited from this, the Halibutons, Blackwater, etc, etc, etc - but the majority of the citizens of the country perpetrating it do not, or else choose to ignore it. The stupid thing is they get nothing in return for it. Not saying that
if they did would make it OK, rather, atleast there could be some justification in their minds for doing so.
I felt immense sorrow as I listened to the personal accounts of people who lost loved ones or had personal injury as a result of the war. The most touching was a little girl from Iraq that is now in Sweden and she wrote a letter to send to the American Ambassador in Sweden asking him why?, why is his country doing this and why does he support and work for a government that does these kinds of things? I am not ashamed to say it brought me to tears.
Then the anger resurfaced. I felt at once something has to be done to stop these people responsible for all this. But what and how. This is where my real despair comes from.
Now what I am about to say I am probably really stupid for putting into print. But I do not care.
My position is as follows:
I never have and never will openly acknowledge or encourage violence as a solution to our problems. However, I will advocate it being used in defence. I will never be the one to fire the first shot, so to say, but will do whatever means necessary if I or my loved ones are attacked first. In reality this has already happened. Maybe not in a physical sense but in other ways that have made my desire to harm no one and just be left alone - impossible.
I and others like me did not start this fight, it was brought to us. Brought to us by those who where not happy enough with all the advantages they had over us and want more. What they failed to realize is we, or at least myself, knew what the score was from the beginning. We had no desire to be part of the "club". We knew and basically accepted our lot in life, only desiring to be left alone and not have our noses rubbed in it. But they would have none of that.
One of the most striking moments in my life occurred only a few days before I moved to Sweden in 2004. I went with a friend to see Fahrenheit 911. After seeing that film I had no doubt in my mind I was making the right decision to leave. What was it in the film that did this? You probably will be surprised and it wasn't really anything that had to do with 911 or the handing of it. It was the scene where Bush was at one of those fancy 10,000 dollar a plate shindigs. When introduced he came out and made his opening remarks which included, I will paraphrase here, " well it is great to be back with my core group, The Have Mores" " we have more and we want more" And everyone in the room LAUGHED. They though it was funny, they think it is funny that what they do makes them even more rich and powerful. Now if that is not the ultimate in evil I do not know what is. It is one thing to do something that is bad but to laugh about it, take pleasure in it - is sick. I will not go into details on what I wish could be done to them and their families as well. Why should we care? They do not hesitate to use those same tactics on us, only to cry foul when the same is done to them in return, especially when done in retaliation. What do they expect? What would they do, or more accurately, what have they done when this happens to them? Turning the other cheek only gives them another free punch. Passivity has only gotten people like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr killed.and a place in the Martyr's Hall of Fame, right along with all the WWII concentration inmates who willing went to the slaughter. Well that will never be me.
After thinking these thoughts and seeing them in print I realize that I have become a very disturbed person. Just another reason to hate them. Hate them for making me this. I am willing to bear some responsibility for this as obviously I have had these feelings buried somewhere deep in my psyche. But I was always able to keep them there. Now, thanks to their provocation these feelings have risen to the surface and seem impossible to be put back in the bottle. I long to return to my life before all this and mourn knowing that this is impossible"
