An Interesting Dialogue

Dear Friends,

Doing a little Spring cleaning in the old inbox and I came across this partial portion of a message thread that had originally been started by one Arlan Feiles, singer/songwriter extraordinaire, a week or two prior during the holy week of Yom Kippur. Arlan, who as most people know is also a very passionate humanist and activist for peace and human rights. At one point last fall he sent out a scourging letter to his entire fanbase to get more actively involved in fighting the American Government's illegal occupation of Iraq. One could tell from reading Arlan's email that he just hit "that wall" that many of us have hit over and over again in the last five years and was really grieving by the thought of another year, another month, another day of people over there killing each other in an invasion that at current academic statistics took an estimated 950 separate and direct lies told by the American White House Administration to the six billion of the world in order to justify.

Mad? Sure Arlan was mad. Any living, breathing, thinking person on planet earth right now is mad. Beyond mad probably. One cannot put into words the loathing that the world feels for the current United States White House Administration. These are people so ugly with evil and deceit that it is truly hard to look at their pictures let alone say their names. So let's not. We all know who they are. History will forever haunt humanity with the names of these wretched decrepit monsters and maniacs who somehow got away with disguising themselves as human and were responsible for the cruel useless and indecent death of so many hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.

So Arlan, in a bold move, shoots off this email to his friends and fans and asks that everyone get more involved. Now I'm not sure if his email provoked anyone to get more involved in the peace movement or not. Hell, at this point I don't even know if there is a peace movement in America. I think people in America are just fucking dead to it. The rest of the planet woke and one by one they all forced their respective countries out of this illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. But Americans... well... Like Arlan, I can't believe people can even utter the words "LA Law" or "Grey's Anatomy" or "Britney Spears" when thousands of innocent people are being killed by American soldiers and all these Freedom Fighters now running into Iraq in an attempt to oust the American invaders. It's a total fucking clusterfuck to be sure. And how anyone can think of anything else is beyond me. Sure we have CodePink and ANSWER and UFPJ and The Veterans Against the Iraq War... (all are linked to the right if you want more information about any of these great organizations) - but for the most part Americans just simply don't give a shit unless someone happens to blow something up right in their own backyard. Which was the point of Arlan's message. I did my best with the White House Jihad song which still provokes some good feedback and debate and whenever I think of something, I'll do it, whatever it is, just as an act of protest that no matter how many years they drag this thing out, I am still not suckered in and still don't respect nor condone nor approve of what they did.

Arlan's basic point was just that. "People I don't care what you do, but during this time of atonement and Yom Kippur what I'm most sorry for is that we were not able to stop these murderous hacks in our own fucking government from killing all of these people in our own blessed country's name. just DO SOMETHING. ANYTHING."

Too bad I don't have more of the ensuing message thread because what i can tell you Arlan's message did was get a whole lot of people riled up and start shooting off emails to this whole group - none of whom had signed up to be on his list in the first place... pretty soon everyone was chiming in with their own two cents. And being Arlan's friends and fans almost all of them were great and intelligent emails. Every now and then one came through that was a bit short sighted or ignorant in it's "America the great" patriotism - the person not recognizing that "what America stands for" doesn't mean shit compared to "what America actually DOES." A lot of Americans miss this point. In fact, most do. That's why we are still over there killing people.

Anyway, fuck it. So America will have the distinct honor of killing yet another million people by invading their country without being provoked and without a real legal reason. According to conservative statistics, the United States of America has killed more than Eight Million people in military or terrorist acts and invasions since 1945. Imagine that. Eight Million people killed by the United States Government in fifty years. And so now we will add another million or so to the list. Fascinating, haunting, and horrifying when you ponder it even for a few minutes.... As Martin Luther King, Jr. stated in 1967, during the Vietnam War, "My government is the world's leading purveyor of violence."

Well, below is an interesting little bit of some of the dialouge that was created by the great debate Arlan started. Some interesting thoughts... Read at your own risk. I take no responsibility for posting. Just find it interesting. If I find more, I will post more. What do I like best about America? Well there are so so many things. One of them being that we are a country founded upon the idea that we each have - at least today we do - the right to be able to speak our minds in public. And I am very appreciative to the people below who did so. I got a lot out of reading what they had to say.

Your humble servant,
The Raconteur

"I hope in this debate and discussion of the religious "right", is included the government of Israel, and that far too many of us Jews support, and their apartheid like government that is holding an entire people out and down in the name of "God". Too many of us, as American Jews, support this regime with the same blind faith that many right wingers here support our Republican government with. Had the Arab people of Palestine (the rightful inhabitants of "our" Holy Land) even been given the slightest of consideration from European governments in the 18th through 20th Centuries, and then by Zionists in the latter half of the 20th Century, many of the problems that our world brings us today, as Americans, and as Jews, would be non-existent, or minuscule in comparison. All we hear is a homophobic and hateful comment referencing Barry Manilow and a chastising of all of "us" for not doing enough. I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel the hypocrisy. And I also don't think its any one's business what I "need" to atone for. That belongs within my heart and spirit, not to someone on a soapbox of cards. I hope one day that there will be peace for ALL of "God's" people."
CR

"I am always proud of Arlan's willingness and ability to make people think - whether it be about politics, religion, humanity or any thing else. This letter is no different. As with his music he is asking us to think and to walk our talks. So here are my thoughts.

I don't believe religion is the problem. It is that some people do not follow the best teachings of their religion, but twist it to support their own hatred and greed.

At the base of most religions, there is a fundamental call for goodness and loving ones brother as thyself. If people would stop and act accordingly, the world would be a better place.

This is going on in our country right now with the religious right. I am saddened by this and hope that our next election will bring in a president and government that will be will truly be for all of the people and not just for self interest. And that we can again become the leader, that this world needs by being an example.

I also think that Arlan accomplished what he wanted. Thank all of you for bringing your thoughts to the table, in disagreement and discussion can only come clarity.

I wish all of you, regardless of belief, a wonderful, sweet, healthy and most of all peaceful New Year.

Arlan's Mom