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January 15, 2008
Is 9/11 Truth "Fundamentalism" Holding Back 9/11 Truth? Are We Constipated?
By Bill Douglas
Is 9/11 Truth "Fundamentalism" Holding Back 9/11 Truth? Are We Constipated? "Where there is no vision, the people perish." -- Proverbs, 29:18 Then I turned to the 9/11 truth movement leaders and asked them to join an ad hoc coalition to help get this novel the most exposure and readership possible, because if we could drive it to #1 the corporate media would have to cover 9/11 truth issues. The response was positive
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“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
-- Proverbs, 29:18 I want to start this by absolutely thanking much of the 9/11 leadership in research and activism, not only for all they’ve done and do for 9/11 truth . . . but also, for having the vision, to see that we’ve recently had a golden egg dropped in our laps. Because of 9/11 movers and shakers seeing with the upcoming 9/11 truth telling novel “The Shell Game”, by a N.Y. times best selling author . . . a “grand opportunity,” and thru telling their email lists, radio listeners, event attendees, and website/blog readers about “The Shell Game” . . . it has spiked up with each announcement on amazon, which is critical to all our work for truth. This campaign to help “The Shell Game,” (see TheShellGame.net) help us, has helped illuminate the “danger” of what I see as “9/11 truth fundamentalism,” and also the “opportunity” to move beyond that into the mainstream mind of America in a way that we can only achieve by overcoming “fundamentalist” tendencies in the movement. Let me explain: I first got interested in political/social issues in a real way in my mid-twenties after my first son was born. His precarious future, due to the escalating nuclear arms race, drove me to want to get involved in the bi-lateral nuclear freeze movement in California where we lived at the time. I went to a couple of meetings, and never really got involved because the organizers were granola-crunchy-vegan-spiritualists-who were holier than I was, and made it clear they were aware of how much more evolved than I was. Over the years, I began to refer to these folks as “movement fundamentalists.” It’s not enough that you agree on an issue and work together on it, no, you must agree with EVERYTHING they believe about the world, or you are not fit to work with them. However, my son’s mortality was at stake as Reagan and the Soviets kept their nuclear p*ssing match escalating so I tried again. I and my wife went to a meeting at a church, where a young charismatic man, named Tim Carpenter, was speaking about the nuclear freeze movement and what we could do about it. Some of you may be aware that Tim Carpenter is now, 20 years later, the head of Progressive Democrats for America. Anyway that young Tim was funny, and very intelligent, but he was a “regular guy.” I got to know him as a human being, and he followed baseball and knew where the Angels were in the major league rankings. He made me feel at ease, and that even though he was a vegetarian at the time, it was okay that and not a big deal what I was. It was only important that we shared the desire to stop the madness of the nuclear arms race together. Because of Tim’s approach, the bi-lateral nuclear freeze movement of the 1980s in Southern California grew immensely. Tim organized massive protests across from South Coast Plaza on Bristol involving thousands of people, with candles, outside the hotels where the military industrial complex held their weapons bizarres for the Pentagon in Orange County. With Tim, all were welcome, all were worthy, who wanted to join in stopping the insanity of the arms race. We were a wildly diverse group, long haired hippies, corporate yuppies, Catholic nuns, and everything in between all having the time of our lives, changing the world together. We all had different talents and skills, and were encouraged and applauded for bringing our individual skills to the fore to help capture the public’s attention for a nuclear weapons freeze. NOW, FAST FORWARD TO 2008. I teach stress management for corporations when I’m not a 9/11 truth activist full time, and am familiar with the dynamics of stress. Stress makes us have a narrower tunnel vision, tightening not only our muscles but our minds as well. The stress those of us who’ve been at 9/11 truth for a long time have been through is . . . enormous. A result of that stress I’m seeing is a tightening of our hearts and minds that may be constipating the growth of our movement. In the last few weeks, through a fluke of luck, I became aware of a courageous man in a position to help us expand awareness of 9/11 truth issues PROFOUNDLY. A few weeks ago I was doing a presentation at a local inner city high school. I told the class I’d also been doing presentations for people with Parkinson’s Disease. After the class was over, the English teacher, who knew that I’d been doing 9/11 truth work, after hearing that I’d been doing Parkinson’s therapy work as well pulled me aside and said, “You have to meet this best selling author, Steve Alten. He helps kids across the country get interested in reading through his “adopt an author” program, and he’s writing a new book about 9/11 you might be interested in, but he’s also just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.” I just didn’t think that a New York Times best selling novelist would be writing the “kind of 9/11 book” I’d be interested in. But, I did contact Steve because I wanted to send him my natural health info regarding his Parkinson’s in case it’d help. As a thank you, he sent me back a copy of his new upcoming novel, “The Shell Game.” I dropped it on my bed stand, where it laid for a couple of days, as I was reading a Steven King book at the time. One night, I decided to read a few pages of “The Shell Game.” The next thing I knew a rooster was crowing outside and the neighbors were leaving for work. I COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT I’D DISCOVERED!! This “NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING AUTHOR” had written a REAL 9/11 TRUTH BOOK !!! Immediately I contacted Steve Alten and told him that I’d been a 9/11 truth activist for nearly 7 years now and been involved in some of the landmark aspects of the 9/11 truth movement, and THAT I BELIEVED IN HIS NOVEL’S POTENTIAL TO HELP OUT 9/11 TRUTH AND THAT I WANTED TO DO EVERYTHING I COULD TO HELP DRIVE IT TO #1 TO BRING THE ISSUES IT COVERS OUT. I thanked Steve for having the courage to put his successful writing career on the line for truth. Then I turned to the 9/11 truth movement leaders and asked them to join an ad hoc coalition to help get this novel the most exposure and readership possible, because if we could drive it to #1 the corporate media would have to cover 9/11 truth issues. The response was positive and helpful. But, as I reached out to the 9/11 truth community at large, yes of course there was enthusiasm and hope from many, but I was a bit stunned to see too much of the “fundamentalism” that almost turned “me” off from the movement in my younger years. Picture novelist, Steve Alten, as a new volunteer walking into a 9/11 truth meeting. He says, I want to help. One guy’s a sign painter, so he paints signs to help get the truth out for the movement, another is a baker, so he bakes cookies to raise funds for the movement, and Steve is an action novel writer who offers to write to get the word out. In the world of my mentor Tim Carpenter, Steve would be welcomed in, given a hug, and thanked for his contribution. However, in this fundamentalist world, Steve has been: THIS IS IMPORTANT, NOT BECAUSE STEVE OR I GOT OUR FEELINGS HURT. IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT THREATENS TO KILL A GOLDEN GOOSE FOR 9/11 TRUTH WORK. You see, these above attacks have a poisoning effect on the whole movement’s potential to fully take advantage of what “The Shell Game” offers. If Steve Alten had continued down his normal career path of writing fiction about prehistoric monsters, etc., he’d have been able to take advantage of the normal media/reviewer/etc. tools the media offers to help authors get public attention. However, by stepping off the 9/11 truth cliff . . . he’s written much of that off for himself. Now Steve Alten’s website TheShellGame.net promotes all the 9/11 truth websites. They don’t advertise there, he promotes them gladly because he wants people to have access to as much info as possible so we can all arrive at the all important truth. However, because of the above attacks by a few, this makes 9/11 truth websites, newsletters, etc. etc. feel “uncomfortable” to RELENTLESSLY promote “The Shell Game” to drive it up to #1. 9/11 groups may feel comfortable mentioning “The Shell Game” once or perhaps twice, but not relentlessly, which is what is required for the movement to create the buzz to drive it to #1 and thereby get attention for the entire 9/11 truth movement, through the growing popularity of “The Shell Game” and TheShellGame.net’s 9/11 truth links. Why does mainstream media run the same ads over and over and over again? Simple, because that is how you build a momentum in people’s minds, to make a product successful. Now some fundamentalists say that “The Shell Game” is evil and the publisher is evil, because they may make a profit off “The Shell Game.” I pray they do, because if they become a wild success, then the 9/11 truth issue explodes into the public mind. My goal is to out 9/11 truth by any means necessary. I could give a good f**k if someone makes a profit. I wish that NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and all the others would make a good profit outing 9/11 truth, and you know dam good and well they’d make a fortune if they had the courage to do it. Well Steve Alten and his publisher did have the cajones to DO IT! God bless ‘em. Since when did everyone have to be a Jesuit bohemian communist who renounces all material goods . . . in order to be a 9/11 truth activist?? When these snide comments disparaging Steve Alten, myself, The Shell Game, or its publisher poisons these blogs, or is emailed to the 9/11 truth leaders . . . it intimidates them from doing what may truly get our message into the mainstream mind . . . which is relentlessly promoting “The Shell Game” in EVERY message they send out, every blogg they post, every oped they write. ACTIVISTS MUST SEE “THE SHELL GAME” AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN. That is how it works. If activists who get your emails or visit your bloggs, only see “The Shell Game” once, or twice, or even three times, it gets lost in the endless tidal wave of 9/11 information. Some will say, well that’s important information. That is true. All the events, and research, etc. IS VERY IMPORTANT . . . but do we only want to continue passing such information back and forth between people who already know 9/11 was an inside job? Or do we want to take advantage of a fleeting opportunity to make something happen THAT CAN BLOW THIS ISSUE OUT INTO THE MASS MIND!! So, how do we do that? By driving “The Shell Game” to the #1 spot on the NY Times best seller list, and getting Steve Alten on TV so he can look at the camera and push for a new 9/11 investigation. He himself has said his goal is to get Americans to see what he sees, that “9/11 truth activists are the great patriots of the 21st century.” When I say this, if we all yawn, and return back to business as usual . . . we will have missed this opportunity. This has to become a campaign, a fiercely fought battle for the next 90 days. Mentioning this everywhere, every time we communicate. Right now I am reading 9/11 truth posts and newsletters even from some who’ve joined the ad hoc coalition, WHO DO NOT MENTION “THE SHELL GAME” in their regular communiqués to their email lists, newsgroups, blogs, etc. When the famous bus boycotts that sparked the civil rights movement occurred in Montgomery . . . how did that happen? Did the preacher just mention it "once" or "twice"? Did people talk about it to one another once or twice? NO, THEY COULDN’T TALK OF ANYTHING ELSE. THEY WERE ELECTRIFIED BY IT. IT BECAME WHAT THEY LIVED AND BREATHED FOR THAT SHORT TIME IT TOOK TO CHANGE HISTORY. So, again, some might say, . . . well I’m working on other stuff that is equally or more important. I don’t doubt the importance of what you are doing, in fact as most of you know I’ve been in awe of what you’ve all done. HOWEVER, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A WINDOW THAT OPENS AND CLOSES WITHIN 90 DAYS . . . THAT MAY NEVER OPEN AGAIN . . . BY MOVING HARD AND FAST AND RELENTLESSLY THROUGH THAT WINDOW . . . AFTER THAT 90 DAYS . . . EVERYTHING YOU DO MAY HAVE THOUSANDS AND THOUSAND MORE EYES AND EAR PAYING ATTENTION TO IT. (See www.TheShellGame.net) If large independent publishers see that “The Shell Game” is not only not damaging, but profitable in a wild way . . . there will be other truth telling books coming. A paradigm shift can occur in publishing. WE can make it happen. BUT IT WILL TAKE A FURIOUS CAMPAIGN TO DO THIS. When corporate media betrays a nation, we must look for ways to go around it, to force it to cover things. WE HAVE A CHANCE TO DO THAT IN “THE SHELL GAME” by marshalling ourselves to MAKE IT HAPPEN. So, there will be those who will intimidate movement leaders into not supporting anything that can make a “profit” for someone. I think most of us are grownups, and are in this movement because our democracy is being lost and innocent people are being murdered in illegal wars because of the lies of 9/11. If “The Shell Game” can help get a mass public thinking about these issues, and LED INTO THE WORLD OF 9/11 TRUTH SEEKING, BY FINDING THE 9/11 TRUTH LINKS, BOOKS, VIDEO DOCS, AT THESHELLGAME.NET . . . then I don’t give a good f**k, if someone makes a profit, and neither should you! If we as a movement yawn, and turn away from this opportunity . . . well, I just can’t even contemplate it, it is too sad of a concept to entertain . . . Visit: and tell me that this isn’t an opportunity to electrify this movement. If are an active 9/11 activist, or webmaster, or group leader who’d like to join a growing coalition to use The Shell Game for all its worth to out 9/11 truth to a mass public, by using the valuable resources at the above website, VISIT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheShellGame911TruthOrganizing/ AND JOIN A MARCH TO MAKE HISTORY!
HOWEVER, THERE IS MUCH MORE TO DO. Please read on to see a “crisis” within the movement. The Chinese character for crisis is made up of two other characters, one is “danger” and the other is “opportunity.”
VIEW THIS 9/11 TRUTH TRAILER VIDEO OF "THE SHELL GAME"
HOWEVER, THE 9/11 TRUTH MOVEMENT COULD COUNTER CORPORATE MEDIA’S ATTEMPTS TO LIMIT HIS CONTRIBUTION TO 9/11 TRUTH!
By William E. Douglas, Jr., who is author of "The Amateur Parent -- A Book on Life, Death, War & Peace, and Everything Else in the Universe." Bill has been a guest columnist for the Kansas City Star, The Business Journal, and other media worldwide. His past essays include, "Exposing the 9/11 Conspiracy Wingnuts," "The Explosion of the 9-11 Truth Movement -- US Media's Dirty Little Secret," "Good Night, and Good Luck - WMD, NIST, Popular Mechanics, 9/11 and Media Crimes" and also "Why the Jewish Community Should Demand 9/11 Truth."