Dear Editor (sent to various American newspapers just before the war on Iraq):

Do you ever get the feeling that our government has simply gone crazy? The Mad Texas Stetson Hatter has for months been trying to explain to us how continuously bombed, economically devastated, sanctioned and embargoed Iraq presents a terrible and imminent threat to the most powerful country on earth. General Colin Powell has explained to us, using „irrefutable evidence," that "no evidence" ('There is no smoking gun') is actually „evidence." On February 8^th Donald Rumsfeld explained to the nation on TV that continuing with the inspections would only „increase the likelihood of war."Apparently, instead of waiting for this "increased likelihood" of war, we had better just go ahead and start the bombing. That course, you see, would „preserve the peace."

In other words, „War is Peace."

All of this madness is only possible by keeping the general public hopelessly ignorant of the facts. The strength of those having their own agenda is thus increased. The real agenda has to do with oil and empire, not UN Security Council resolution breaches or WMDs. The success of this global chess game, hatched more than 10 years ago, depends entirely on keeping the masses fearful and ignorant.

In other words, „Ignorance is Strength."

The key to maintaining the government's mass distraction is control, either directly or indirectly, of the mass corporate media. With control of the media dissent is much easier to stifle and civil rights much easier to restrict and then remove. The first step was the hastily passed Patriot Act. This will soon be followed by the recently unveiled Patriot Act II¾Patriot Act I on steroids. (Check out www. publicintegrity.org). The truly amazing thing is that the majority of the general public still blissfully believes that our basic freedoms are intact and that we are not being indoctrinated and enslaved.

You see, „Freedom is Slavery."

Folks, it is clear for those who have eyes to see. Our government is now insane! George Orwell's frightening book, 1984, from which the above State Mottoes were taken, was just „off" by about 20 years.

Stop the insanity! Write or call your legislators. Do whatever you can think of. There is still a ray of hope, given a large and clear enough outcry, that reason my yet prevail over madness.

Published in the March/April issue of the American Rationalist ©